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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Role Of Voluntary Association Membership On Rural Community Residents' Awareness Of Community Issues, Gary A. Goreham, Richard W. Rathge, Larry Leistritz
The Role Of Voluntary Association Membership On Rural Community Residents' Awareness Of Community Issues, Gary A. Goreham, Richard W. Rathge, Larry Leistritz
Great Plains Sociologist
Over the past several decades, communities in rural America have undergone dramatic changes, such as declining-populations, aging populations, loss of businesses, churches, and schools, and sagging economies. In agriculturally dependent rural counties, many of these changes have been related to shifts in the structure of agriculture, and more currently, to the economic crisis facing the agricultural industry. Awareness of and support for those farmers experiencing financial strain has been noted by both researchers and the public media. However, the degree to which residents of rural communities are aware of how farm financial strain affects their rural communities has not been …
Economic Hardship And Stress Among Farm Operators In North Dakota: The Suffering Effect Of Social Support, Kevin A. Kettner, Jack M. Geller, Richard Ludtke, Janet Kelly
Economic Hardship And Stress Among Farm Operators In North Dakota: The Suffering Effect Of Social Support, Kevin A. Kettner, Jack M. Geller, Richard Ludtke, Janet Kelly
Great Plains Sociologist
The changing economic character of American agriculture is producing more than just surplus crops, it is also producing measurable increases in stress. This stress is a consequence of the faltering economic conditions in rural America (Cogner et. al,, 1986; Farmer, 1986), which has significant implications for the well-being of our rural population. Long term depression, increased suicide rates, family strain and violence are all results of this economic change (Farmer, 1986). Faraer (1986), characterized the rural sector as financially, emotionally, and socially troubled. These troubles are directly linked to the economic crisis rural America is experiencing. Social scientists and mental …
Retirement Patterns Of Elderly Farm Operators, David Kavanagh, James R. Stewart
Retirement Patterns Of Elderly Farm Operators, David Kavanagh, James R. Stewart
Great Plains Sociologist
Gerontological literature abounds with studies of retirement and has successfully refuted many of the prevailing myths and misconceptions about the negative effects that retirement was purported to have upon health, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Atchley (1971) concluded that a large majority of retirees generally expressed satisfaction with retirement. Heidbreder (1972) and Streib and Schneider (1971) also found mostly positive attitudes expressed by professional, white-collar and blue-collar workers and a majority in each occupational group reported that they were pleasantly surprised with their ease of adjustment to retirement. These and other studies, however, relied almost exclusively upon surveys of urban populations. …
The Agricultural Crisis In The Upper Midwest: Responses To Financial Distress On The Family Farm, Thomas C. Langham
The Agricultural Crisis In The Upper Midwest: Responses To Financial Distress On The Family Farm, Thomas C. Langham
Great Plains Sociologist
The farm crisis in the Upper Midwest in the mid-1980s created financial distress that has deeply affected farm families. This paper examines the experiences of these families attempting to survive their financial troubles. It provides a portrait of their personal characteristics and gives a sense of the conditions that they confront in their daily lives. Out of the insights gleaned, this study furnishes ideas for future research. Twenty-two husbands and nineteen wives from twenty-five farm families participated in this study. The data collected from these financially troubled families was gathered between February and November 1986. It was obtained through use …
Psychological Centrality And Self-Concept Change, Clifford L. Staples
Psychological Centrality And Self-Concept Change, Clifford L. Staples
Great Plains Sociologist
Any theory of the self-concept must address itself to the "thorny problem of self-concept change (Rosenberg, 1979: 76)." That is, what are the conditions under which individuals will be willing or unwilling to change the way they think and feel about themselves? Here we explore the possibility that the psychological centrality (Rosenberg, 1979: 73-77) or relative phenomenological importance, of a self-conception is one factor that influences a person's willingness to consider changing that self-conception. Rosenberg (1979: 75-76) develops the problem of psychological centrality and self-concept change in terms of the apparently contradictory evidence generated by attempts to get people to …
Status Inconsistent Entrepreneurs And Robert Merton's Innovation, Paul E. Krueger
Status Inconsistent Entrepreneurs And Robert Merton's Innovation, Paul E. Krueger
Great Plains Sociologist
From where springs forth entrepreneurs? The United States is experiencing an unprecedented increase of entrepreneurs. They have emerged in growing numbers during the past ten to fifteen years (Drucker, 1985), reaching a crescendo in what American Demographics has called the "Entrepreneurial Eighties" (Russell, 1985). Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley recently recognized this occurrence by declaring an "Entrepreneur Day" for his city at the annual meeting of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization (Givens and Goldberg, 1986). What is an entrepreneur? There have been many definitions since the term was coined by French economist J. B. Say in about 1800 (Drucker, 1985). According …
National Anthem Protests In America, Seth Johnson
National Anthem Protests In America, Seth Johnson
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
The NFL national anthem protests have divided America. This paper investigates how media portrayals of the protests reflect and likely exacerbate these divisions by analyzing coverage by three major news outlets: FOX, MSNBC and CNN as well as one sports outlet: ESPN. Several transcripts of commentary were sampled from each outlet. The data were coded using qualitative analysis technique employing both open and axial coding. The results show that FOX tended to portray the protests as anti-patriotic; MSNBC and CNN were more inclined to frame the protests in terms of fighting racial injustice. ESPN noted its disappointment over the fact …
Changing Attitudes Towards Marriage And Family In The United States, Sandra Pickard
Changing Attitudes Towards Marriage And Family In The United States, Sandra Pickard
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
In this study, I cross-tabulated findings with both age and gender to see if attitudes towards marriage, such as when marriage should occur, what roles children play in the marriage, and the significance of marriage in society, were changing from one generation to the next and if men and women were affected equally by this change using data from an online survey that I conducted (n=128). The research revealed that attitudes are shifting slowly regarding marriage and the place of children in marriage. The change is most pronounced in what we see as the function of marriage, the acceptance of …
Race, Drug Use, And The Justice System, Amanda J. Neubauer
Race, Drug Use, And The Justice System, Amanda J. Neubauer
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
A great deal of research concludes that drug use is relatively similar across races for adults, and that men use more than women. The current study makes use of self-report delinquency surveys of students in a South Dakota State University Juvenile Delinquency course and a California State University, San Bernardino Juvenile Justice course to determine if these trends also apply to juveniles. The current study will examine race and gender trends as they relate to illicit substance use in juveniles.
The Influence Of Disorganized Neighborhoods On Delinquency, Nicole Zaun
The Influence Of Disorganized Neighborhoods On Delinquency, Nicole Zaun
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
Disorganized neighborhoods are associated with high levels of violence which can impact resident’s relationships and delinquency. Using self-report surveys from students in a juvenile delinquency course at South Dakota State University and a juvenile justice course at California State University, San Bernardino, this project will compare neighborhood disorganization and friend influence across delinquent behavior. It is expected that there will be a high correlation between disorganized neighborhoods and self-reported delinquency.
Unveiling White Privilege In South Dakota, Sarah Horvath
Unveiling White Privilege In South Dakota, Sarah Horvath
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
Past research has shown white privilege, or the tendency of a certain group of people to receive increased opportunities and access to the benefits of society, to be commonly experienced by people identifying themselves as “white” (McIntosh, 1989). In this study, we explored the relationship between the race of participants and their reported experience of white privilege. The present study examined if this concept is applicable and holds true in current society among Midwestern undergraduate students and the general public in a Midwestern state. A total of 329 participants (46 undergraduate students and 283 from the general public) in a …
The Legal Minimum Drinking Age: What Good Does It Do?, Andrea Mulock
The Legal Minimum Drinking Age: What Good Does It Do?, Andrea Mulock
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
Underage drinking is a huge problem in the United States. Rational choice and deterrence theories suggest that the best way to deal with the problem is to create and enforce strict laws against underage drinking. However, are these truly effective mechanisms in this regard? This paper explores these issues by analyzing underage alcohol consumption patterns in three sets of states classified as “lax”, “strict” and “typical” in terms of their underage drinking laws using data from the 2012 National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). T-tests did not show significant differences between underage alcohol use and binge drinking in …
Measuring White Privilege In South Dakota, Brianna Allington
Measuring White Privilege In South Dakota, Brianna Allington
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
In 1989, Peggy McIntosh introduced the “White Privilege” survey, which was a research instrument designed to indicate day-to-day incidences of small advantages which exist in our society attached to being white. Those enrolled in the class, on average, strongly agreed more with the survey compared to the general population. This could be attributed to differences in education and the effects of race. By looking at data collected individually and across racial groups, it can be seen that there are extreme differences in outlooks on white privilege between those who are white (76% of the total sample) and those who are …
American Indian Transportation Issues In South Dakota, Tracey Mcmahon
American Indian Transportation Issues In South Dakota, Tracey Mcmahon
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
This paper provides an overview of tribal transportation obstacles. My primary focus is on the quality of reservation roads and its relationship to funding and politics. The Indian reservation road system is one of the most underdeveloped transportation networks in the United States. A majority of these roads are dirt and gravel and, therefore, dangerous for traveling. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives between ages one and 44 (Hamilton 2003). Because federal funds for tribal transportation fall short of transportation needs, tribes do not have enough money for either road construction …
The Effect Of Parental Education On Emotions And Behaviors, Chelsea Parkinson, Shivaram Poigai Arunachalam
The Effect Of Parental Education On Emotions And Behaviors, Chelsea Parkinson, Shivaram Poigai Arunachalam
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
Current literature suggests that emotions are learned through socialization. The following study was completed using results compiled by a survey done for the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Sociology of Rural America course (Soc 240). The authors wished to ask the question "Do the education levels of parents affect the emotions and behaviors of their children?" There were approximately 540 respondents to this survey, all college students at SDSU. Questions dealing with students' emotions were analyzed with respect to each respective student's parents' education level. The findings suggested that there is a connection between the parents' education levels and the …
A Statistical Analysis To Improve Public Perception Of A State University's Police Department, Stephanie Davis, Terri French, Nancy Stuefen
A Statistical Analysis To Improve Public Perception Of A State University's Police Department, Stephanie Davis, Terri French, Nancy Stuefen
The Journal of Undergraduate Research
This paper addresses the question "How friendly is the University Police Department?" (UPD). This question was included in a survey given to 792 students at a Midwestern State university in October 2002 and was conducted by the university's Introduction to Criminal Justice class. Survey results indicated that 35% of the survey respondents said that UPD was "not very friendly" 27.9% indicated UPD was "somewhat friendly" 18.8% indicated UPD was "never friendly," and 3.7% indicated UPD was "very friendly." The rest of the respondents (14.7%) did not respond to the question. The proposed program recommendation outlined in this paper were developed …