Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examination Of Knowledge And Attitudes About Human Sexuality As Predictors Of Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Diane Waymire

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study investigated the variables influencing adolescent sexual behavior. Using cognitive learning theory, social learning theory, and social development as an organizing framework, factors influencing adolescent sexual behavior and the respondent's personal demographics were examined for their contribution to explaining adolescent decision-making about sexual activity.

A convenience sample of high school students from a Riverside county school district provided data for the study. Data was gathered by using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 55 students from two of the three school sites within the district participated in the study during the winter quarter of 1995.

The findings of the …

Housing Satisfaction In The Suburbs: A Racial Comparison, Amonda Stokes

Masters Theses

The primary focus of this study was to compare African Americans' and European Americans' satisfaction with housing in the suburbs. Previous literature suggests that African Americans are living in older suburbs, close to the central city, and in lower quality housing than European Americans.

The population of this study consisted of black and white households living in the suburbs. This was a national sample taken from the American Housing Survey (1991). Cross-tabulations were conducted to determine differences by race of affordability, age of housing unit, ownership, neighborhood satisfaction, and housing satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which variables …

Maternal Morbidity In Menoufeya Governorate, Egypt: A Socio-Cultural Perspective, Naglaa A T Nahal

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Traditional Siwan Music Cassettes Sold Here, Ruth M Mitchell

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development And Community Organization, Elena Volpi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Egyptian Theft Of U. S. Intellectual Property, Shahira H Tewfik

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Departure And Persistence: Exploring Student Experiences At The Master's Level, Jennifer Lee Zoltanski

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the events and circumstances that lead to persistence and departure within the sociology master's program at Portland State University. It examines how individual and institutional characteristics interact and influence student decisions to dropout or continue in the master's program. It utilizes Vincent Tinto's (1993) theories of persistence and departure and his concepts of social and academic integration as they apply to sociology master's students. The purpose of the research was to describe how students became socially and academically integrated and how integration influenced patterns of persistence of departure. The aim also was to determine whether background variables …

The Language Of Sport And The Social Construction Of Gender, Katherine L. Mcdowell

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

Feminist scholars have argued that through the exclusion of women and the association of men with physical competence, power and even violence, the institution of sport has traditionally provided men with a homosocial sphere of life that bolsters the ideology of male superiority (Messner, Duncan, & Jensen, 121). Feminists have also argued that as the experiential and moral expression of our culture, common English vocabulary - and the language of sport in particular - powerfully reinforces, protects, and perpetuates patriarchal and sexist social order (Miller 55-56). In essence, feminists hold that if everyday language is a critical constituent of social …

Child Abuse In The Wake Of Natural Disasters, Thom Curtis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Natural and technological disasters impact thousands of families in the United States each year. Catastrophic events leave homelessness, unemployment, injury, and death in their wake. The cost to society is usually measured in homes destroyed, jobs lost, casualties, and expected dollar expense of recovery. There are the social, psychological, and family consequences of catastrophic stressors. Anecdotal reports suggest that among these consequences is an increase in family violence, including child abuse. This dissertation tests the hypotheses that reported and confirmed child abuse increases in the wake of natural disasters.

Child Protective Services (CPS) records of several jurisdictions that have experienced …

Reconstructing Development, Doaa Abdel Motaal

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Crisis Of Infertility: Effects Of Length Of Treatment On Emotional And Marital Adjustment, Christie L. Markestad

Graduate Theses

Twenty infertile couples participated in the present study to investigate whether infertile couples receiving medical treatment experience changes in their emotional, marital and sexual adjustment as a result of the length of time they have been in treatment. The couples were divided into three groups based on how long they had been seeking medical attention for infertility. The instruments administered were: SCL-90-R (Symptom Checklist), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS). It was predicted couples who were in the initial stages of treatment would experience increased levels of emotional, marital and sexual distress, however those levels would …

Martial Adjustment Among Nontraditional Graduate Students, Virginia Siegfried

Graduate Theses

This study used a pretest-posttest design to examine the marital adjustment of 108 nontraditional graduate students as-compared with 42 adults in the general population. Participants' scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale showed no significant differences between the two groups, contrary to the study hypothesis. It was also hypothesized that the marital adjustment of graduate students would be better at the beginning of the semester term rather than at the end of the term, and that male graduate students would have a higher level of marital adjustment than female graduate students. Neither of these hypotheses were supported by the data. Overall, …

The Influence Of Workplace Stressors, Resources And Perceptions On Work-To-Family Spillover: An Application Of The Double Abcx Model, Steven A. Dennis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in the American workforce have raised concern over the interface between family and work. The responsibilities and frustrations of the work domain frequently spill over to the family domain and vice versa. The purpose of this research has been to investigate the influence of workplace stressors, resources, and perceptions on subsequent negative work-to-family spillover. The theoretical direction for the study stems from a modified application of McCubbin and Patterson's double ABCX model, which fits well into the larger spillover perspective.

The data for the study came from 1992 National Study of the Changing Workforce [NSCW). A subsample of respondents …

Maternal Responsivity To A Child With A Disability: A Comparison In Single- And Two-Parent Families, Kristin Bollwinkel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to examine the differences between mothers in single- and two-parent families as they interact with their child with a disability. The sample consisted of 240 children with developmental disabilities and their mothers. Maternal interaction behaviors were measured using the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale. Demographic information, child characteristic measures, and family functioning variables were also considered. Analyses of covariance indicated that there were no differences between interaction behaviors of mothers in single- and two-parent families. However, relationships between income, education, and family cohesion, and the types of interactions displayed between mother and child were found. …

Clinical Typologies Of Youthful Male Sex Offenders Derived From The Sex-Offender Characteristic Inventory-Male Version (Soci-M), Susan L. Ericksen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Sex-Offender Characteristic Inventory-Male Version (SOCI-M) was filled out by a national sample of 78 clinicians experienced in the treatment of youthful sex offenders. Using factor analysis, clinician perceptions of the biopsychosocial characteristics related to normal, conduct-disordered, and sex-offending youth were determined.

All of the variables in the categories considered in this study factored into at least three distinct normal, conduct-disordered, and sex-offender youthful factors, with sex-offender variables loading onto more than one sex-offender factor in some categories. The normal youth factors accounted for the greatest variability in the Learning Disabled, Tourette's Syndrome, Borderline Traits, Histrionic Traits, DSM III-R Diagnosis, …

Investigating The Private Investigator, Michelle Garland

Honors Theses

A fast growing field of service is private investigations. There are an estimated 65,000 private detectives at work in the United States. This figure is up almost 65% from the estimated 40,000 in 1986. Investigation is a process of collecting data and applying logic which requires deductive and inductive reasoning. The purpose of this project is to examine these techniques, as applied to private investigation. This project will identify the various methods of investigation employed and focus on some ethical concerns of the profession. The structure is as follows: individuals who hire services will be identified, the ways in which …

Effects Of Witnessing Domestic Violence On Children, Theresa L. Bundy

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of domestic violence on children. The main questions explored were the effects of domestic violence on the self-perception and behavior of children. The children at a shelter for domestic violence completed the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children and the Self-Perception Profile for Children, depending on the child's age. The children also completed a questionnaire on their views of relationships and their future. The mothers of the children completed a standardized scale that paralleled the scale completed by the children, along with questionnaires on the …

Gophers, Ghosts, And Electronic Dreams: A Feminist Critique Of New Literary Forms, Jennifer Sue Boyers

Masters Theses

New literary forms was used as a method to show that women writers construct notions of objectivity, subjectivity, reflexivity and privilege fundamentally different than do males who are writing new literary forms. A narrative new literary form construct was employed and epistemological issues were explored in a self-referentially reflexive way.

The history and epistemological assumptions of new literary forms was explored in order to provide a context for the study. The feminist critique examined the use of autobiography in sociological writing, looked at women writers in the area of science studies, and explored essentialist and non-essentialist feminist epistemologies.

It was …

The Nature Of Law And Its Effects On Certain Criminal Acts: A Comparative Study Of Saudi Arabia And The State Of Michigan, Abdulrahman Almejel Alfaraj

Masters Theses

The nature of law and its effects on certain criminal acts was the focus of this study. In this study the researcher compared the effect of two laws: (1) Saudi Arabia law which is a sacred law, and (2) the State of Michigan law which is a secular law. This comparative was on three criminal acts: (1) Homicide, (2) Rape, and (3) Theft. The data for this study were based on secondary data obtained through records available to the public. The purpose of this study is to examine and to compare the nature of punishment for crime and its effects …

Race And Language On A College Campus, William H. Dozier

Masters Theses

This research was used to measure the attitudes of students toward African American English at a predominantly European American University. It was hypothesized that significant differences would be found between the responses of the African American and European American students. Using a random telephone survey of the population, three (Language Legitimacy, Language Acceptance, and Cultural Value) of the four hypotheses were found to be significant. The fourth hypothesis (Employment Inhibition) was rejected indicating that both groups felt language was used as an employment stratification device. The data showed that although there were significant differences in the attitudes by race over …

Toward A Biocritical Sociology, John Neuhaus

Dissertations

This dissertation is a critical discourse with three prominent trends in contemporary sociology. It is a critique of Emile Durkheim's admonition that sociological analysis, by definition, requires the exclusion of biological and psychological data. It shows, in contrast, that the exclusion of biosocial data removes vast sources of information which are useful and necessary in any interpretation of human behavior. This work also demonstrates that a biosocial perspective facilitates the development of a transcultural theory of human needs, which, if utilized, would enable sociologists to clarify a number of unproductive disciplinary conflicts concerning the definition and extent of social problems. …

Sisters In The Hood, Deborah Burris-Kitchen

Dissertations

This research assembles and organizes the literature in the areas of African-American women, the political economy of racism, the Black feminization of poverty, drug use and distribution, and gang violence. This dissertation explores extant theoretical approaches with a special emphasis on their relationship to the underground economy. The researcher uses ethnographic methods to examine the role that female gang members play in the underclass drug infested community of south central Fort Wayne, Indiana. Of the Black females interviewed, some were drug dealers, others were using illegal drugs, and still others were females who just found themselves in the inner-city, in …

The Role Of Elites In The Quality Of Life In Kalamazoo And Calhoun Counties, Sam S. King

Dissertations

My research examined the role of elites in the quality of life from 1890 to 1990 in two southwestern Michigan communities: Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. This research is grounded in three research literatures: community power, elites and quality of life. My approach combined a quantitative analysis of six dimensions of quality of life and an historical analysis using case methods to look at the two communities over a 100 year time span.

My assumption at the beginning of this study was that elites play a major role in the quality of life. My data showed that some elites did have …

The Impact Of Mentoring On Leadership Among Young African-American Females, Joyce A. Montgomery

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived effectiveness of the mentoring relationship on the leadership behavior of female mentees in a community leaders program. More specifically, the researcher was concerned with what effects do the variables age, residence location, and family position have on aggressiveness, amount of influence, respect of knowledge, parental substitute and supportiveness components of leadership behavior among adolescent female mentees.

The target population consisted of 47 African-American adolescent females ages 14 through 18 years old attending the Community Leadership Program (CLP) based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The major data-gathering scale used, The Mentoring Leadership …

Lost In The Fifties: A Study Of Collected Memories, Janelle L. Wilson

Dissertations

This is a study of ordinary people's recollections of the decade of the nineteen fifties. The theoretical concepts of collective memory and collected memories guide design and analysis. Unstructured interviews with 33 individuals who grew up in America in that decade were conducted. The snowball method identified potential informants. The data from these interviews, combined with secondary sources on that time period, served to reconstruct this decade. A number of themes emerged from the data; the decade was seen: as an apolitical time, as fun and innocent, as fearful with respect to atomic weaponry and Communists, as problematic for race …

An Examination Of Factors Influencing The Definition Of Rape, Connie Sue Minton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the concept of rape and factors which influence the definition of rape. A survey consisting of demographic and attitudinal questions and rape scenarios was administered to college students at two middle-sized universities in the southeast. The results indicate that as the level of intimacy between the victim and the rapist increases the likelihood of a situation being defined as a rape decreases. In this study religion and political attitudes were two independent variables which did not influence the definition of rape while race, gender, relationships with women, and attitudes toward women were …

A Formative Analysis Of The Full Integration Of Students With Severe And Profound Disabilities In Age-Appropriate Elementary School Classrooms, Nancy Cheshire Rosenblatt

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research was conducted in a large urban elementary school where six students with severe and profound disabilities (SPD) were integrated fully in age-appropriate classrooms. The purpose of the research was to collect evidence regarding the effectiveness of this full-integration program. The results were as follows: (1) Reading and math achievement scores were not affected by the presence of an SPD student in the classroom except for in grade 4 where apparently math achievement was affected adversely. (2) Fourth graders in classes with a fully-integrated SPD student had more positive attitudes about persons with disabilities than students in the control …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effect Of Computer-Assisted Instruction On The Academic Achievement Of Students In Grades 6 Through 12: A Comparison Of Urban, Suburban, And Rural Educational Settings, Edwin Patrick Christmann

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This meta-analysis analyzed grades 6 through 12 school students' academic achievement effect sizes from experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational studies that examined the effects of microcomputer-based computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the academic achievement of urban, suburban, and rural students across various subjects. Those studies compared secondary students who were exposed to CAI with those who were exposed to traditional instructional strategies.

A total of 3,476 students participated in 24 studies which resulted in 35 conclusions. The sample size ranged from 28 to 425; the mean sample size was 140 students.

The mean effect sizes of urban, suburban, and rural students uncovered …

The Effect Of Technology-Rich School Environments On Academic Achievement And Attitudes Of Urban School Students, Charles R. Grimm

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of technology-rich educational environments on student academic achievement and attitude. The primary independent variable was the type of school (technology-rich school (TRS) and traditional school (TS)). Additional independent variables included gender, ethnicity, and computer ownership. The dependent variables were: (1) student academic achievement (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (4th-grade), Virginia's Literacy Passport Test (6th-grade), and Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (11th-grade)) and (2) and student attitudes (questionnaire).

The design examined the differences between TRS and TS (N = 1088). Compared were 4th-grade elementary school students attending a TRS (n = …

A Comparison Of Graduation Rates For Community College Transfer Students And Non-Transfer Students At An Urban, Regional University, Rory Jay Deshano

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.