Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding The Impact Of Pedagogical Changes In An Honors Activism Course: A Case Study, Aaron Peeksmease

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The purpose of this portfolio is to document learning outcomes after initiating three pedagogical changes in an Honors Sociology of Activism course taught at UNL in both the Fall of 2022 and Fall of 2023. The first change was to provide students with prior student work of an assignment to see if student performance on the assignment improved. Findings indicated that providing examples of previous student work did not raise grades on the overall assignment, but did result in stronger projects for that one aspect of the overall assignment. The second change examined the impact of introducing reading quizzes and …

Gig Work & College Students: An Analysis Of The Student Employment Experience, Lauren Andriaansen

Honors Projects in Politics, Law, and Society

Gig work has become increasingly popular with the prevalence of flexible and remote work opportunities. Despite this emerging trend, there is an overwhelming lack of research regarding undergraduate college students’ experience in that sector; the age group that is the most active in the gig economy. The majority of people partaking in alternative work arrangements do so in addition to their full-time jobs, and for young adults in college their full-time job is being a student. This research aims to understand the factors of gig work that contribute to students having a positive work experience during university. Additionally, this study …

Undergraduate Experiences Of Black Women At Pwi Campuses, Nilsa Laine

Honors Projects in History, Literature, and the Arts

Black women in modern-day American society face various forms of oppression as a result of misogynoir, the disliking of or bias against black women. A smaller society of our modern societies is college campuses. Predominantly white institutions (PWIs) specifically have a structure that results in a unique yet universal cultural experience for Black women. This research will answer the question: are there commonalities between Black women in their undergraduate experiences at PWI campuses? Qualitative research will be conducted with methodology including archival research and interviews to collect data. Intersectionality theory, Invisibility theory, and Black feminist thought/theory will be used as …

Intimate Partner Violence, Socioeconomic Status, And The Media, Christianna Victoria Page

Theses and Dissertations

News media’s communication of social issues can create societal pushes for policy change. This is true regarding femicide and violence against women. How news media communicate demographics such as socioeconomic status (SES) of intimate partner femicide (IPF) victims in a digital space is underexplored. This study is a thematic analysis analyzing how digital news articles communicate the SES of IPF victims. The sample for this study was taken from a population of digital news articles about IPF sources from ten major U.S.-based online news sites and analyzed 50 digital articles for news media’s communication of SES of victims. Results from …

Sociology 2023 Apr Self-Study Report & Documents, Unm Academic Program Review

UNM Academic Program Review

UNM Sociology APR self-study, review team report, and initial action plan for Fall 2023, fulfilling requirements of the Higher Learning Commission.

The Metazine Example Zine, Kate Tuley

SOCI 258: Gender Race and Poverty

This was created in Google Slides as an example of a zine which also provides background for zines in general, page examples from published zines, documentation for creating and including citations and bibliography, and links to further resources.

The Dark Side Of Iconicity: How Controversial Icons Become Lightning Rods For Passionate Audiences, Vanessa Kristin Bittner

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

This dissertation delves into the dynamic interplay between controversial public figures, audiences, and the creation of icons today. Through three distinct articles, it explores how icons emerge and evolve within contentious political discourse. The first article introduces the concept of "dialectic icons," exemplified by figures like Colin Kaepernick, demonstrating their ability to evoke emotional responses and drive social polarization. The second article examines the role of antagonistic audiences in magnifying negative iconization, using Greta Thunberg as a case study to reveal the conflict potential of these figures. The third article introduces the notion of "iconic extensions" using the MAGA hat …

Relocating Urban Lives: Negotiating Urban Identities And Urban Culture Beyond The City, Nicholas Payne Kearns

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

During the mid-2010s, I had done participant-observation with Puerto Ricans in Western Massachusetts who had relocated from various cities, attempting to understand their particular experiences and the particular challenges that they had faced. I had spent time with them in a neighborhood with concentrated poverty where they would often meet up to socialize, and through conversations, I had attempted to gain a more meaningful perspective on this demographic about which not that much research has been produced. By engaging with seven men who had relocated from as far away as Salinas, Puerto Rico and Jacksonville, Florida, and more proximate urban …

Beyond Bias: Three Papers On Bias In Social Networks And Mitigating Bias In Social Science Research, Jeffrey K. Sachs

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

The dissertation consists of three relational-based approaches to analyzing bias in socialnetworks and social data. The first study introduces two group fairness metrics that incorporate network structure, revealing its substantial impact on fairness outcomes, which is often overlooked by traditional metrics. The second study investigates information diffusion processes, highlighting the potential for inequality generated by conventional seeding strategies. It focuses on designing equitable network interventions, considering each group’s relative influence. I calibrate the diffusion models to actual diffusion processes to assess various network influence measures and their likelihood of producing equitable outcomes under a set of fairness constraints. The analysis …

Sociology Final Project/Presentation, Allyssa Baumbach

AI Assignment Library

This assignment requires students to demonstrate their learning through a presentation of a sociological topic to a lay audience. The presentation development process involves use of AI as a brainstorming and organization tool. Students critically analyze and evaluate the quality and accuracy of the AI-generated material and make adjustments to the output as appropriate for their topic and goals for presenting.

Postgraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards The Social And Economic Factors Affecting The Emergence Of Anomie, K. M. Al-Tkhayneh, Z. K. Ellala, N. R. Alsalhi, H. S. Al-Srehan

Journal of Statistics Applications & Probability

This study aimed at identifying the attitudes of postgraduate students in Jordanian universities towards the social factors affecting the emergence of anomie in Jordanian society. The method used was a descriptive analytical approach. The study sample consisted of 273 postgraduate students in five public Jordanian universities enrolled in the second semester of the academic year (2018/ 2019) for the degrees of higher diploma, master’s degree, and doctorate. The study sample was selected using the simple random way. The study used a questionnaire which consisted of (24) items that represent the social dimension affecting the emergence of anomie in Jordanian society. …

Homesteading In Maine: Motivations And Current Trends, Alexandrea Merchant

Master's Theses and Capstones

People in the United States who practice the alternative lifestyle of “homesteading” seek to live self-sufficient lives by growing food, building dwellings, and living with resolute autonomy. Great variation exists in the degree of self-sufficiency attained and desired by individuals engaged in homesteading. It was the purpose of this study to illuminate the motivations underlying adopting and engagement in this lifestyle in Maine homesteaders. Through interviews with 10 homesteaders in Maine and participant observation, I documented the narratives and elucidated the motivations of this under researched group. Common themes emerged. Participants expressed concerns about personal health, the environment, and institutions. …

Toward A Multilevel Sociology Of Fraud, Brooke Harrington, Camilo Arturo Leslie

Northwestern University Law Review

This Essay applies a distinctively sociological multilevel analysis to fraud to provide novel insights and recommendations on an old problem. Rather than treating fraud as a problem of “criminogenic environments” or of individual psychologies and motivations, this multilevel analysis investigates the ways in which individuals (the micro level) interact with organizations (the meso level) and institutional systems (the macro level) to produce fraud. We illustrate these interactions and the insight that an interactive analysis can provide by using ethnographic data from an in-depth case study of the R. Allen Stanford offshore financial fraud. The case, which occurred in the Caribbean …

Caste And The Classroom: A Review Of Wilkerson's Work, Evans-Amalu Kelsey

Feminist Pedagogy

Isabel Wilkerson’s (2020) Caste is a useful book to integrate into introductory courses in education training programs to discuss the sociological context of where the education system in the United States of America is situated. This book review suggests how preservice teacher programs may use Wilkerson’s work to bolster theoretical understanding in the inequitable structures education is built on, and what actionable steps can be taken both in and outside of the classroom.

Building Decision Tools For Sustainable Grassland Management: A Case Study Of Participatory Research In La Réunion, Sophie Gerbaud, Vincent Blanfort, P. Thomas, Ph. Lecomte, J. P. Choisis

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

During the last 30 years, cattle breeding has developed in La Reunion Island (France, Indian Ocean) with strong support from local authorities and extension structures. The Union des Associations Foncières Pastorales (UAFP) initiated and still sustain a large effort on grassland improvement. During the same period, CIRAD managed different research programmes on agronomic aspects of pasture management). Scarcity of space, the volcanic soil and tropical climatic conditions contributed to repeated forage shortages during the dry season, making forage production a major issue for cattle breeders. In 1991, CIRAD launched a research programme to elaborate decision tools for assessing and improving …

Understanding Arguments To Protect Farmland In Idaho: Innovative Solutions And Community Insights To Drive Policy Change, Sarah Halperin, Jen Schneider, Rebecca L. Som Castellano, Jodi Brandt

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Between Spring 2022 and Spring 2023, a team of researchers at Boise State University conducted interviews with people involved in farmland protection efforts. Our goal was to understand how interviewees frame the issue of farmland loss. Frames can draw attention to an issue, contextualize decision-making, and influence the policy solutions considered. Through a frame analysis, we gained a clearer understanding of potential approaches for farmland protection in Idaho.

We conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with individuals representing government agencies, academic institutions, land trusts, non-profit organizations, and farmers. After conducting the interviews, we analyzed the transcripts in a systematic manner to identify …

Gendered Experiences In Learning, Interpreting, And Using Sexual Consent, Emma Ryan

Master's Theses

Previous research has sought to understand how individuals use or prefer to use sexual consent, what children learn about consent, and if parents teach sexual consent to their children (Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2009; Jozkowski et al., 2013; Padilla-Walker et al., 2020). While research aims to comprehend how people involved in sexual intimacy use sexual consent, literature excludes non-heterosexual couples and non-binary folks’ consent experiences (Beres et al., 2004; Sternin et al., 2021). This exclusion hinders society’s knowledge about sexual consent education, consent use, and interpretation. Therefore, although the understanding of sexual consent has grown, we do not have ample knowledge …

Social Aspects Of Silent Divorce In Saudi Society: An Empirical Field Study On A Sample Of Families In Riyadh, Intisar N/A Al-Shubaily Dr.

Journal of Arabic Sciences and Humanities

This study aimed at investigating the social aspects of silent divorce in the Saudi society, whereby it focused on three main aspects of the phenomenon, namely: the causes of silent divorce; its manifestations and the most important effects accompanying such form of divorce. In addressing the subject matter, the empirical fieldwork adopted social survey as its method for data collection. A questionnaire was specifically designed and applied on a purposive sample of 188 case. The results study revealed a number of important results most important of which are: 1) For causes of divorce, kin intervention (spouses relatives) in spouses affairs, …

Capturing Visuals In Hospitality: A Multi-Dimensional Exploration Of Photographs In Interdisciplinary Research, Ningqiao Li

Theses and Dissertations

The widespread practice of photo-taking and sharing behavior fosters research on photographs to probe into consumer behavior and business strategies. Consequently, the critical role of photographic research has been acknowledged in the fields of marketing as well as tourism and hospitality. To delve deeper into understanding photographs, this dissertation carried out three independent but interconnected studies to examine photographs from both macro and micro perspectives.

The first study systematically reviews photographic research across sociology, marketing, computer science, and tourism and hospitality. It explores key topics, methodologies, and theories, and compares the merits and drawbacks of various research methods employed in …

Dialoguing Narratives Of Social Movement Theories And Subjectivities, Sarra Moneir

Future Journal of Social Science

This paper serves as a theoretical study for displaying a sample of the prime literature on social movement theories in comparison with one another, shedding light on the gaps and fundamental contributions. This will be carried out in comparison to the scholarship on subjectivity. Social movement and social movement theories have been inevitable tools of analysis since primarily the 1980s, serving as replacements for modes of apprehending popular mobilization. Since then, theoretical contributions in this field have grown and shown a multitude of orientations and focal strategies on how to focus and study social movements in their various forms and …

Portfolio For Soci 346: Environmental Sociology, Gwendwr Meredith

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Environmental sociology, SOCI 346, is the study of how social systems interact with ecosystems. As such, it is a very broad course that is tasked with understanding complex and often controversial questions about the social causes, consequences, and responses to environmental disruption. In this teaching portfolio, I enumerate how I use a backward design for crafting assessments that cater to my specific teaching goals and learning objectives for the course. In the first stage of this process, I reflected on what learning outcomes I wished to achieve and determined that structuring the course in modules aligned with the learning objectives …

Rural And Urban Difference In The Acceptance Of Alternative Water Management Strategies: Case Study Of Idaho Residents, Monica L. Hubbard, Rebecca L. Som Castellano

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Idaho is one of the fastest-growing states in the US. The stressors of population growth and climate change are increasing the strain on its water resources, emphasizing the need for water management strategies. Public support, however, can vary by a range of factors, including geography. This study aims to assess the rural and urban distinctions of support for water resource management. In 2014, 401 people from Idaho’s general public responded to an online survey, with 375 of the respondents georeferenced into three groups: urban areas; urban clusters (small towns); and rural. The responses showed similarities in support among the groups; …

Journey With A Purpose, Walter Prescher

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The modern church is in bondage from years of trauma rooted in the Post-Christendom decline. As the church has responded to the trauma it is enduring, it has responded by becoming stagnant as it seeks to maintain any relevance it still has. What the modern church is going through has strong parallels with the Hebrew people who were in bondage in Egypt and were delivered through the wilderness into the promised land of Canaan. Following this example, this dissertation walks church leadership through an understanding of the traumatized church and presents a what a modern-day Exodus journey could look like …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (Tanf): Investigative Report On The Current Effectiveness Of Case Management And The Justification For Continued Education Trainings, Karina Martinez

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 1996, as part of larger legislation under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act’s (PRWORA), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Under TANF, U.S. families with children are being capped at 60 months nationwide in program participation, consecutively or intermittently. TANF’s primary goal for single mothers, living at or below the poverty level, to obtain self-sufficiency through the support of case management. Previous research suggests, TANF case manages are impacted by program policy and the expectations TANF recipients have, to gain employment. These factors influence the identity of the case …

Dungeons & Dragons: Fractals Of The Human Self, Katie Anderson

Honors Theses

Dungeons & Dragons at its core is roleplay based storytelling, which implies the idea that the game is a work of fiction. While the world of Iad and the Free States of Tarvan does not exist on planet earth, the experiences and emotions felt by the players and their characters within the world are very much real. Players use extensions of themselves, their characters, to interact with the world around them, forging relationships and new lines of fate and destiny. Characters are fractals of their out of game personas, attached to one’s base personality and expanding outwards. The development of …

Social Worker’S Acceptance Of Telehealth In Rhode Island And Massachusetts: Is It Transformative?, Sinead Martin

Social Work Student Scholarship

Sinead Martin ’23
Major: Social Work>Faculty Mentor: Dr. Katherine Kranz, Social Work

Apocalypticism As A Predictor Of Conspiracism Among American Adults, Olivia Summers

Appalachian Student Research Forum

Apocalypticism is the belief in an impending large-scale catastrophic event that would threaten the survival of the human race. Despite the high level of apocalypticism among American adults, there has been little empirical research conducted to determine whether this proclivity is socially consequential. Conspiracism, a related factor, is widely studied empirically and is associated with many negative societal effects. Though research suggests a possible correlation between these variables, empirical research has not examined whether apocalypticism is a robust predictor of conspiracism. I hypothesize and test whether apocalypticism is predictive of belief in conspiracy theories using data from the 2018 Chapman …

Burnout In Human Services: Collaboration As A Prevention Strategy, Lena Jovancevic, Christa Moore, Julianna Jenkins

Appalachian Student Research Forum

The phenomenon of burnout in child welfare, human services, and similar forms of care work has traditionally been viewed from predominantly psychological and organizational perspectives. Such perspectives tend to focus on the cluster of symptoms practitioners experience and implications for occupational impairment. A clinical sociology perspective adds to these views by considering the scope of social settings and cultural work practices that produce an environment rife with ecological stressors that, among other negative impacts, produce factors that influence the prevalence of burnout in care fields. The authors suggest that building greater awareness of the social dimensions of burnout may lead …

Follow The Algorithm: Assessing Facebook's Group Recommendation Behavior Regarding Conspiracy Theories And Echo Chambers, Abraham Neis-Eldridge

Appalachian Student Research Forum

This research was motivated by the growing concerns regarding social media platforms roles in the presentation of conspiracy theories as compelling alternative narratives regarding contemporary social events. Specifically, this research asks whether Facebook’s algorithm autonomously recommends groups that are organized around conspiracy theories regarding contemporary political and social events to end users, despite the user not previously indicating interest in those topics. Based on coverage of biases in Facebooks content ranking and recommendation algorithms surrounding the 2020 presidential election, it was hypothesized that, over time, Facebook would increasingly seek to recommend conspiratorial content to its users to retain them on …