Digital Commons Network^™

Introduction: This Bridge We Are Building: “Inner Work, Public Acts”, Chris Bobel, Tim Sieber, Karen L. Suyemoto, Shirley Tang, Ann Torke

Chris Bobel

The symposium for which this is an introduction arose like a flower out of soil usually not known for nourishing vibrant, critical intellectual reflections: routine university governance committee work. All authors have been co-members for two years of the Diversity Committee, of the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Sciences and Mathematics, at the University of Massachusetts Boston. While it is true that most of us share wider intellectual and programmatic collaborations outside this committee, it was genuinely the task of doing our committee work that gave impetus to this panel. For this symposium, we used as an …

Behind The Seams: An Ethnographic Study Of The Performative Nature Of Theatrical Costumes, Emily M. Lindholm

Student Publications

Actors are said to bring a play to life, but what about the garments that they wear? Like set production, light design, and direction, the role of the costume plays an important part in informing and enchanting the audience. However, this is not all that they do. This paper acts as an in-depth examination of the culture of costume creation and destruction at Gettysburg College, researching their roles as garments, as well as how the garments themselves "act" around others. Imbued with their own set of responsibilities, the costumes are expected to behave certain ways, perform specific functions, and put …

A Study Of Japanese Animation, Michele Gibney

Michele Gibney

This paper takes a sociological approach to the question of popular culture’s ability in Japan--specifically that of Japanese animation--to be reflective of the country's sociological concerns. This is not to say that all anime shows consciously reflect Japanese life, but by extrapolation of recurrent themes one can construct a model of certain sociological issues in Japan. The author split the paper up into five sections each of which tackles a different theme. These sections are: Education, Social and Class Differences, Environment, Post-Nuclear Visions, and An Emergent Feminism. The main point that the author conveys in each section is a way …

Village Literacy: Adult Education In Northeastern Kenya, Jodi Heidorn

Senior Honors Theses

The underdevelopment of effective adult literacy programs in Northern Kenya is a problem that must be addressed to meet the needs of a changing generation of nomadic pastoralists. Existing programs must be reevaluated in order to increase their efficiency and incorporate the unique aspects of local cultures into their design. This paper explores the broadening definition of literacy and discusses how there are in fact multiple literacies in any given culture. Next, it examines the history of education in Kenya and the barriers that may be unique to adult literacy programs in Northern Kenya. Also, it examines how changes in …

Should A Program Of Sex Education Be Mandatory In Public Schools From 4th-12th Grade?, Tara St. Onge

Sociology Student Scholarship

For a position paper and presentation in her Changing Family course last fall, Tara explored the debate surrounding sexual education in the public school system. After completing extensive research regarding the policies which are already in place and evaluating their success, Tara formed the position that a program of sexual education should be mandatory in public schools form 4^th to 12^th grade. During an era where popular reality television shows include “Sixteen and Pregnant” as well as “Teen Mom” depict what a large issue teenage pregnancy is and how mainstream it has become in society. Tara does an …

Rhode, Deborah L.: The Beauty Bias: The Injustice Of Appearance In Life And Law., Margaret Svogun

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Examination Of University Of New Hampshire Student Impact On The Town Of Durham, New Hampshire, Audrey Hickey

Honors Theses and Capstones

University of New Hampshire students and Durham, New Hampshire residents have a historically contentious relationship that reached a low point in the early 2000s. On three occasions, university students flooded downtown Durham, vandalized stores and started altercations with police. Local newspaper reports and anecdotes assert that relations have improved since that time.

This study utilizes 39 semi-structured student, resident, business- owner and administrator interviews to examine the current state of the relationship. A brief overview of town-gown relations and a case study of student-resident relations at the University of Delaware is included to highlight the universality of the issues in …

Book Review: On Critique By Luc Boltanski, Alexander M. Stoner

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

No abstract provided.

The Social Psychology Of Evil: A Look At Abu Ghraib, Kristin Richardson

All Theses

In the spring of 2004, the military police assigned to guard the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq found themselves at the center of numerous investigations regarding the abuse, torture, rape, and murder of detainees in United States custody. Their behavior was influenced and encouraged by U.S. officials, including President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The Bush administration effectively created a reality for the military police that fostered increasingly violent and aggressive tendencies beyond what is expected or allowed in similar circumstances. Existing literature and conclusions from previous studies support the claim that social and situational …

Usos E Significados Da Tecnologia Na Academia: Uma Abordagem Sociológica, João Monteiro Matos

João Monteiro Matos

perceives, uses, and interacts with new information and communication technologies (ICT) in their everyday working practices.

The main goal is to understand whether these new technologies can be an indicator of different scientific cultures, using the metaphor of the “two cultures” introduced by Charles Snow (1963).

I will make use of this metaphor to examine differences and specificities of two scientific communities: the natural sciences and the social sciences community at two institutions of the University of Lisbon.

This research follows a mixed methods strategy, combining the application of a survey and qualitative interviews.

This study will contribute to the …

The Implications Of Africa-Centered Conceptions Of Time And Space For Quantitative Theorizing: Limitations Of Paradigmatically-Bound Philosophical Meta-Assumptions, Nikitah O. Imani

Black Studies Faculty Publications

“The Implications of Africa-centered Conceptions of Time and Space for Quantitative Theorizing,” looks at Eurocentric scientific conceptions of time and space, how they effect theorizing concerned with these matters, and how they are altered as one considers non- Eurocentric conceptions. For example, one might look at the assertion of circularity, holism, and continuity in contrast to linearity, disjunction, and discontinuity. The example focused on is a scholarly article focusing on constraints associated with time travel. The article deconstructs the piece as Eurocentric and re-conceptualizes it from an African-centered cultural and social perspective.

Becoming An Administrator, F. Patrick Lattuca Iii

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

This study is part of a limited but growing body of research that examines and describes the social side of pulic school administration. Most training programs that prepare public school administrators are highly effective with regard to providing students the theoretical foundation that surrounds administrative roles, but as the literature illustrates, there is a gap between theory and practice. This autoethnographical dissertation addresse this gap by providing an analytical description of what individuals do when acting as a public school administrator. Specifically, this study follows the transition into an assistant principalship and how the author was socialized into that role

The Female Fear / Book Review, Emily Adler

Emily S. Adler

These four books written by feminists with both academic and activist credentials contribute to our understanding of how violence against women forms an integral aspect of male dominance. They challenge the myths of home as haven and of men as protectors of women.

Culture, Gender, And Labor Force Participation, Roger Clark, Thomas Ramsbey, Emily Adler

Emily S. Adler

This report assesses the impact of culture on women's share of the labor force. Measuring both economic factors and cultural milieu, we found that culture was related not only to levels of women's share of the labor force but, in some instances, to changes in those levels. A secondary finding of the study was that the economic development of a nation had a strong positive association with increases in women's share of the labor force and that one measure of dependency (commodity concentration) had a strong negative association with such change.

Neonatal Euthanasia, David Sugarman, Robin Montvilo, Colette Matarese

Robin K Montvilo

An attributional analysis of neonatal euthanasia was undertaken in two studies to compare the responsibility attributions of nursing and non-nursing students (Study 1) and nurses (Study 2) toward a physician for a critically ill neonate's death. In both studies, vignettes about a newborn's death differed with respect to the physician's treatment of the critically ill newborn. In the student study, the physician was attributed the least responsibility for the newborn's death when cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted but failed, followed by the physician's issuance of either a "Do Not Resuscitate" order or an order to turn off the infant's respirator. Greatest …

Sudden Death And The Myth Of Cpr / Book Review, David B. Sugarman

David B Sugarman

Whether we think about Miracle Max, quoted above, or Dr. Mark Green from the television show, ER, our society harbors a stereotype of emergency healthcare practitioners who serve the public interest by rescuing critically ill or injured individuals from sudden death, that is, the termination of cardiopulmonary functioning. Stefan Timmermans, a Brandeis University sociologist, offers both the general public and the academic reader a backstage view of our healthcare system's failing attempt to live up to the mythical images that we have constructed. His observations are simultaneously enlightening and disturbing.

Approaching A Sociology Of Aesthetics: Searching For Method In Georg Simmel's Rembrandt, Michelle Marie Nixon

Theses and Dissertations

Art leaves the viewer with an aesthetic experience. Through art, "a truth is experienced that we cannot attain in any other way" (Gadamer 1975: xxii-xxiii). Traditional sociological methods of studying art negate both this experience and the concept of aesthetics altogether. This thesis attempts to find a method to approach the sociological study of aesthetics that acknowledges its existence and the aesthetic experience by studying the work of sociological founder, George Simmel, in his recently translated monograph Rembrandt: An Essay in the Philosophy of Art. Even though it has recently been translated into English, among German-speakers, it was the …

The Sociology Of Harriet Martineau In Eastern Life, Present And Past: The Foundations Of The Islamic Sociology Of Religion, Deborah A. Ruigh

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper is a critical analysis of Harriet Martineau’s philosophical stance and epistemological modes, her systematic sociological methodology, her use of this methodology, and her sociology of religion. How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), and other relevant works will be used to examine Martineau’s evolving epistemological modes as well as her sociology of religion. How to Observe, Martineau’s treatise on systematic sociological methodology and cultural relativism, will serve as an exemplar for analysis of Martineau’s methodological practice as evidenced in Eastern Life. The research problem herein is three-fold: (1) to examine …

Factors That Influence Helping Behaviors: Does Race And Socioeconomic Status Of A Victim Influence Whether Others Help?, M’Keba Barksdale

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Personal Factors that Influence Helping Behaviors The murder of Kitty Genovese played an historic role in promoting research on helping behavior (Manning, Levine & Collins, 2007). For many years research articles, psychology books, and other references about the murder of Kitty Genovese informed people that she was stabbed to death in front of her home while 37 witnesses watched and did not help. However, more recent research has shown that this research was not accurate (Manning, Levine & Collins 2007). There were actually 38 witnesses and some who testified at the murder trial, that at a first glimpse it did …

The Motherhood Earnings Penalty: A Study Of Inequity Between Daycare Providers And Elementary School Teachers, Amanda Regis

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Sex Education In Our Schools, Kelley Conti

Honors Projects

This research project involved interviewing 42 parents with children between the ages of 12 to 18-years-old regarding their views and opinions on sex education for today’s youth. All 42 parents agreed they wanted a more informative sex education for their children than what they were exposed to as children. This included those with formal sex education as well as those that learned from peers, siblings or in their neighborhood. Another aspect all parents agreed on was the need for a more comprehensive sex education. Thirty-eight parents thought abstinence should be included as an option in sex education classes but not …

Balancing Yin And Yang, Roger Clark, Angela Lang

Roger D. Clark

The first three-quarters of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at …

Why All The Counting? , Roger D. Clark

Roger D. Clark

This article addresses the question of why counting has figured so prominently in feminist social science studies of children’s literature. It documents the quantitative approach to children’s books used by both liberal and radical feminists, gives an account of why this approach has been so popular among feminist social scientists, and outlines some of the achievements and limitations of this approach. The article also indicates some reasons why recent, multicultural feminist, social science studies have used a more qualitative approach to children’s literature, as well as some reasons to expect that one might count on a greater balance of qualitative …

Multinational Corporate-Investment And Womens' Participation In Higher-Education In Noncore Nations, Roger D. Clark

Roger D. Clark

This article posits a theoretical connection between multinational corporate (MNC) investment and women's participation in higher education in noncore nations. It suggests that because MNC investment encourages a "breed-and-feed" ideology for women, the prejudicial hiring of men in high-status occupations, and the lack of state regulation of gender discrimination, its presence skews the demand for higher education away from women. Panel regression analyses of data from 66 noncore and 44 peripheral nations indicate considerable support for this position.

Culture, Gender, And Labor Force Participation, Roger Clark, Thomas Ramsbey, Emily Adler

Roger D. Clark

This report assesses the impact of culture on women's share of the labor force. Measuring both economic factors and cultural milieu, we found that culture was related not only to levels of women's share of the labor force but, in some instances, to changes in those levels. A secondary finding of the study was that the economic development of a nation had a strong positive association with increases in women's share of the labor force and that one measure of dependency (commodity concentration) had a strong negative association with such change.

Economic Dependency And Gender Differences In Labor Force Sectoral Change In Non-Core Nations, Roger Clark

Roger D. Clark

This study examines two versions of how economic dependency has affected relative gender positioning in non-core nations' labor forces since the 1960s. A "new dependency" version asserts that multinational corporate investment in manufacturing has transformed the labor forces of such nations, permitting women unusual access to relatively high-paying, if ephemeral, light manufacturing positions. A "traditional trade dependency" version suggests that, despite the aforementioned transformation in some non-core nations, the dominant form of dependency in most remains traditional: they export primary goods in return for manufactured imports. This version claims that some structures not only deter women's entry into the labor …

A Multicultural Feminist Analysis Of Picture Books For Children, Roger Clark, Heather Fink

Roger D. Clark

The authors provide a multicultural feminist analysis of picture books for children by looking at the illustrations and listening carefully to themes of oppression and resistance in 33 picture books that focus on characters that are on the powerless side of some powerless/powerful social dichotomy. The authors find many images that either depict oppression or celebrate difference. They also find stories that extol the virtues of cooperation among similarly oppressed others, cooperation among differently oppressed others, and escape. They annotate the books to provide some sense of the themes of oppression and resistance that appear in each of them.

Of Caldecotts And Kings, Roger Clark, Rachel Lennon, Leanna Morris

Roger D. Clark

The authors mark the twentieth anniversary of the classic study by Weitzman et al., which found considerable gender stereotyping in picture books for preschool children, by replicating and extending their study with an updated sample that includes books by Black illustrators. The authors find evidence that female characters and female relationships receive considerably more attention in recent books by both conventional illustrators and Black illustrators than they did in the late 1960s. They also find, consistent with the liberal feminist aims of Weitzman et al., evidence that male and female characters are shown in a more egalitarian fashion than they …

The Face Of Society, Roger Clark, Alex Nunes

Roger D. Clark

We have updated Ferree and Hall's (1990) study of the way gender and race are constructed through pictures in introductory sociology textbooks. Ferree and Hall looked at 33 textbooks published between 1982 and 1988. We replicated their study by examining 3,085 illustrations in a sample of 27 textbooks, most of which were published between 2002 and 2006. We found important areas of progress in the presentation of both gender and race as well as significant areas of stasis. The face of society we found depicted in contemporary textbooks was distinctly less likely to be that of a white man, very …

Exploring Theology And Practice In Islamic Parenting, Mergin Akin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore Muslims’ parenting styles and determine how factors such as religion, education, income, physical and verbal punishment experienced as a child, and the perception of Islamic childrearing influence their parenting styles. The research focuses on the main tenets of parenting in the Islamic tradition such as fatherhood, motherhood, children’s and parent’s rights and responsibilities, discipline methods, and physical punishment. The study also informs the role of marriage in Islam and the adopted concepts and theories of Western sociological literature. Findings show that authoritative parenting was the most predominant parenting style among study participants. …