Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Black Women's Health: A Content Analysis Of The Journal Of The American Medical Association, The American Journal Of Public Health, And The New England Journal Of Medicine (1989-1998), Tonia Marie Burkett

Dissertations and Theses

According to the National Vital Statistics Report (1998), Black women age 45-64 are ten times more likely than white women of the same age to die from diseases of the heart. They are five times more likely to die from diabetes. The goal of this study was to examine how articles published in leading medical journals between 1989 and 1998 accounted for such differences in health outcomes among Black and white women.

The explanatory content of the articles was analyzed and coded according to four types of attributions: genetic/biological, cultural/behavioral, structural/socioeconomic and alternative. Each type of explanation derives from different …

Coalition Formation: Governmental Practices To Resolve Social Issues, Delshanna Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Small groups have formed to resolve social issues since the beginning of time. It is the village concept where activists meet in the center of town to discuss a concern and together work toward a solution to a problem. This is represented in the town of Plato’s Republic and how they handled its dilemma with Socrates disrespect and disruptions to their way of ruling/ their culture. People met at a central location, discussed the issue, agreed on a solution and, together, enforced the resolution. Thus, first governments used groups to find solutions to community problems (Bell and Smith, p.1). Citizens …

Mexican American Baptists' Dependency On Anglo Baptist Institutions In South Texas: A Case Study In Bee County, Richard Carrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In the early 1800s, Anglo-Americans entered the Southwest in great numbers, bringing religious institutions with them, Mexican American Baptist dependency on Anglo Baptist institutions occurred. Anglos in the Southwest brought in the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and strict racial codes. Mostly Southerners, they sought to submit so-called foreign cultured people, in this case Mexican Americans, to a predetermined role in the economic and sociopolitical life of the Southwest. Anglo Baptists were part of this culture and influenced by the practice of this ideology. Applying the theory of Dependency, this study will examine the manifestation of dependency and its legacy in …

Gated Communities As Public Entities, Dennis W. Stransky

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gated Communities as Public Entities identifies these organizations as phenomena of recent land development practices. The topics discussed include the history of private dwelling associations, the makeup of these organizations, and the parallels between them and their larger, public counterparts. Specific areas such as taxes, infrastructure, codes covenants and restrictions, and law enforcement are discussed in detail. Gated Communities have become a large part of the available housing choices for many homebuyers. Approximately one-third of the homes constructed today are part of private associations created as various forms of private corporations. The laws related to the creation of private corporations …

Enhancing Human Development In The Periphery :, Sean Joseph Osner

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Advance Directives And Communication Styles In A Lower Rio Grande Valley Health Facility, Armando G. Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study explores physicians' decision-making communication styles at end-of-life and advance directives in a hospital. Participant observation, case studies and a survey questionnaire are used. Egalitarian communication style is found to have moderate reliability. A .6969 coefficient, is measured by Cronbach's Alpha model. Authoritative communication style, yields a less than moderate alpha coefficient of .4278. Regression analysis using these two variables as the independent variables obtains insignificant results. However, sixty-three percent of the respondents speak Spanish moderately or very little. Eighty percent of the surveyed sample do not have training to administer advance directives. Twenty-two percent of the respondents have …

Victims Confront Offenders: An Exploratory Study Of Victim Satisfaction During Mediation, Krystal C. Walton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if age, race, and gender were related to victim satisfaction during mediation while controlling for the type of offense. Satisfaction with the mediator's attitude, the session itself, the mediator, and the outcome were assessed to measure the victim's level of satisfaction with the various components of the mediation process. Data was collected from questionnaires mailed to crime victims' who had completed the mediation process through the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Norfolk, Virginia. This thesis looks at the relationship of age, race, and gender to victim satisfaction with mediation. Cross-tabulations were …

Delinquency And Victimization Among Adolescents An Examination Of The Relationship And Lifestyle Influences, Joy Eileen Livergood

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This research examines the correlation between delinquency and victimization. Consideration is given to the lifestyle influences including the routine activities and demographic factors. Data from the 1997 Monitoring the Future data set are analyzed in an attempt to understand the extent of the relationship as well as the impact of various lifestyle activities and demographic factors. The study was guided by previous research examining the correlation between delinquency and victimization as well as the impact of lifestyle elements. SPSS 9.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. Overall, the findings suggest that there is a correlation between delinquency and …

Assessment Of Religious Motivation And Its Effects On Health Related Behaviors, John Austin Davis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The belief that one’s religious behavior can influence health, either by formal offerings to religious shamans or the uttering of a prayer to an unseen deity, likely predates recorded history and finds its most basic beliefs expressed in Exodus 15:26, “I will put none of the diseases upon you which I put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord, your healer.” Findings and observations published in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that some of the membership among the more conservative denominations with strict proscriptions regarding health behavior experience lower rates of cancer and heart disease supported this belief, …

Has Title Ix Been Successful Since It's Inception In 1972, Vincent Gaudio

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

-

The Victim Rights Movement: A Social Constructionist Examination, Angela Renee Evans

Dissertations

What has been termed the victim rights movement has made great progress in promoting legislative changes regarding victim rights in the United States. This research examines the victim rights movement from a social constructionist perspective by focusing on two pieces of federal legislation passed in the 1980s: the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 and the Victims of Crime Act of 1984. Using the social constructionist perspective, the research examines who was involved in the claims-making activities and which claims were most likely to be heard and acted upon. Rather than seeing social movements as the result of some …

An Examination Of Voir Dire From An Interactionist Perspective, Peter R. Stevenson

Dissertations

Trial attorneys, historically, have used both scientific and unscientific selection techniques to empanel a jury, and these methods continue to be used in contemporary courtrooms. The ability of these techniques to pick a 'good” jury has been shown to have limited utility. This ineffectiveness may be due, in part, to a false assumption about the passivity of prospective jurors during questioning. An interactionist perspective sees individuals as much more active in that they control the information given out. Most potential jurors offer genuine presentations of self during jury selection in that they truthfully respond to the questions posed by courtroom …

Childcare And Experiential Knowledge: Expanding Definitions Of Childcare, Lori L. Mcneil

Dissertations

Childcare is traditionally defined as care for children while their parents/guardians are in the workforce or attending school. While technically accurate, it is argued that traditional definitions of childcare are partial and consequently do not fully describe childcare based on an experiential dimension. Thus, this research project sought to augment normative definitions of childcare by including the voices of children in childcare, parents using childcare and those caregivers providing childcare.

Several theoretical frameworks were used for this research. First, standpoint theory (Harding, 1987) was presented in order to inform an alternative perspective of childcare based on “experiential” rather than “expert” …

Coping With Chronic Fatigue, Susan Lynne Jensen

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine sense of coherence in those individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and to explore its relationship to age, gender, work status, duration of illness, fatigue and functional ability/ disability in this population.

This study used a combined methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of thirty individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome was surveyed by means of a self-administered questionnaire, including Antonovsky’s 13-item shortened Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale. A subset of 12 participants participated in the qualitative portion of the study, and answered specific questions regarding their …

The Organizational Culture In Community Foundations, Nanette Marie Reiser

Dissertations

Because of the current and future critical roles community foundations play in their geographical areas, the limited research to inform the community foundation field, and the importance o f studying organizational culture, there was a need to study the organizational culture of community foundations. A questionnaire was sent to 179 community foundation staff members in one state in the Midwest. Responses were received from 98 of the 179 staff members.

It was found that the actual organizational culture of the community foundation “industry” was differentiated across all variables (staff overall, paid staff size, asset size, and age of foundation). Organizations …

Capital Punishment: A New Perspective On Race And Ethnic Differences In Punishment And Death Sentence Outcomes, Martin G. Urbina

Dissertations

A review of the existing literature on death sentence outcomes (i.e., executions, commutations) shows evidence of discrimination against minority defendants (e.g., African Americans). Prior studies, however, have followed a Caucasian/African American and/or execution/commutation approach. Latino defendants have either been excluded or treated as a monolithic group. Thus, little is known about death sentence outcomes for Latinos, whose experiences differ from those of African Americans and Caucasians. Additionally, little is known about the treatment of the various ethnic groups (e.g., Cubans, Mexicans) that constitute the Latino community. And, since the focus has been on executions and/or commutations, little is known about …

Adult Survivors Of Family Violence And Abuse, Marcie De La Cruz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The topic of family violence and abuse is a very sensitive issue. Yet, violence is a part of everyday life. Although people are constantly being bombarded by violent acts on television and in newspaper articles, family violence and abuse is a topic that is to a certain extent, taboo. Even with this taboo topic, family violence and abuse has been widely studied and researched; however, the majority of the research has concentrated on a quantitative aspect. Thus, this study looks at family violence and abuse through qualitative eyes. In the grand tradition of case studies and narratives, this qualitative study …

Effect Of Cooperative Learning (Student Teams -Achievement Divisions) On African American And Caucasian Students' Interracial Friendships, James Edward Cook

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gauge the impact of cooperative learning teams on interracial friendships. The participants were 256 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in English classes (20% African American and 80% Caucasian) at a rural middle school in Louisiana. After delivery of instruction, the experimental group studied worksheets in teams, received rewards based upon the team's performance, and received individual grades based upon individual exam scores. The control group studied worksheets individually and received individual grades. This eight week study utilized the sociometric question, “Who are your friends in this class?” as the pretest and posttest …

An Empirical Analysis Of Taxpayers' Attitudes And Behavioral Intentions Regarding Compliance With Federal Income Tax Laws, Stanley Wayne Hays

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze variables that potentially affect taxpayers' attitudes about income tax compliance. Phase one of the study focused on the relationships between four groups of variables and ethical perceptions of compliance behaviors. The four groups of variables follow: demographic variables such as age, education, and household income; personal characteristic variables such as idealism, relativism, conservatism, and religiosity; situational variables including an overall attitude about paying federal income taxes and impressions of the effectiveness of a number of law changes intended to make the IRS more responsive; and, consequential variables comprised of five dimensions of …

Community Building In Ethically Restructured States: The Baltics, Dovile Budryte

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Drawing on democratic theory, this dissertation explores a thesis that the experience of ethnic restructuring significantly effects the ability of a democratizing state to successfully consolidate its emerging democracy. Ethnically restructured states, it is hypothesized, have an especially hard time creating inclusive democratic political communities, which is a necessary prerequisite for a consolidated democracy.

To test the thesis, the comparative case study method is applied to the ethnically restructured states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The goal of the case studies is to examine the approaches that the Baltic states used to reduce polarization. The historical background to the case …

The Application Of Attitude Functions To The Study Of Job Attitudes, Alistair Macdonald

Graduate Theses

The current research applied the study of attitude functions to the domain of job attitudes. This study hypothesized that the psychological needs behind attitudes towards the organization would moderate the relationships between job attitudes. Forty-eight surveys were used from a sample of 81 faculty members. No significant moderating effects were found. However, a regression analysis found direct relationships between attitude functions and job attitudes. The social-adjustive (SA) function demonstrated a positive significant relationship with affective commitment and normative commitment. The self-esteem-maintenance function (S-E-M) demonstrated a negative significant relationship with affective commitment, normative commitment, and job satisfaction, and a significant positive …

Medical Students And Their Attitudes Toward Abortion: An Assessment Of Which Factors Influence Medical Students' Willingness Or Unwillingness To Perform Abortions, Katherine M. Krupa

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine which factors, if any, influence medical students' willingness or unwillingness to perform abortions. Ample research has been conducted evaluating both the general population's and college students' attitudes toward abortion; however, limited research has been collected on medical students. The present research study attempts to fill this void. The following research questions will be reviewed and evaluated throughout the current study: (1) What personal factors if any influence medical students' willingness or unwillingness to terminate a pregnancy; (2) Are medical students willing to perform abortions for the reasons that women are requesting them; …

The Effects Of Education And Exposure On College Students' Perceptions Of Dating Violence, Kristian Moore

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between previous exposure to violent situation and an individual's tolerance level of dating violence. In addition, the effect that intervention, in this case a film, can have on one's perception is also examined. This research is quasi-experimental in design and uses a pre-test/post-test design. A baseline sample of 137 Old Dominion University undergraduate students was surveyed at time one at which previous exposure to conflict situations as well as tolerance levels to dating violence were assessed. The film was presented between times one and two. The post-test was given …

An Exploratory Study Of Domestic Violence Attitudes Among Virginia Magistrates, Elaine M. Phillips

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Currently, 43 states utilize magistrates in the criminal justice response to domestic violence. In Virginia, magistrates have the power to grant emergency protective orders and arrest warrants in domestic violence cases. In 1996, Virginia instituted a new mandatory arrest law. This study explores magistrates' attitudes toward the new law. It also examines their attitudes toward victims and offenders involved in domestic violence cases. The study utilizes data from Crossland's 1998 survey of Virginia magistrates (n=239). Hypotheses based on conflict theory and feminist theory lead to hypotheses that predict that magistrates' attitudes will vary depending on the race, educational level and …

Victimless Crime: A Comparison Of Public Offense Ratings Of Misdemeanor Offenses And Virginia Sentencing Guidelines, Theresa M. Dutton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to explore the hypothesized gap between what state guidelines on criminal sanctioning recommend for misdemeanor offenses, and what the public perceives· as just punishment for these offenses. The research also addresses the issue of victimless crime. In this regard it was additionally hypothesized that there exists a significant difference in public opinion towards sentencing those crimes that specifically do not have a victim, with those that do.

The design of this study is based on one conducted by Peter Rossi and Richard Berk (Rossi and Berk 1997). For this study, a sample of students attending college …

Perceptions Of Police Abusive Behavior: Factors Influencing Citizens' Attitudes Toward The Police Use Of Excessive Force, Debra P. Laville-Wilson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzed several factors to determine their influence on the public's perceptions of the police use of excessive force or police brutality. Conflict theory and cognitive consistency theory were used to conceptualize the perceptions of police brutality. Based on these theories, five hypotheses were predicted. Secondary data from a 1995 National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice were re-analyzed. The data provide 1,005 respondents for the analyses. Analyses were performed at the bivariate and multivariate level.

Findings from the bivariate analysis show that Blacks were three (3) times more likely than Whites to perceive the police use of excessive …

A Study Of Faculty Attitudes At Old Dominion University Toward The Use Of Technology In Higher Education, Charles R. Gray

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to uncover and analyze the attitudes, perceptions, and possible concerns of the faculty at Old Dominion University toward the use of new computer technologies in education. Level of experience with the use of new technologies is also examined. This project utilizes a sample of 207 full-time faculty members employed at Old Dominion University during the Spring 2000 semester.

Faculty members between the ages of 24 and 34 had significantly more experience with the use of new computer technologies than did those faculty members who were 50 or more years of age. Faculty members who …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Language Attitudes And Academic Performance In Northampton County, Virginia, Public Schools, Glenda L. Rose

English Theses & Dissertations

This language attitude study targets third grade, fifth grade, eighth grade and high school students in the Northampton County, Virginia, Public School System. Two hypotheses were proposed. First, students exhibiting negative attitudes toward their own dialect have a lower performance level in language arts classes than students expressing positive attitudes. Second, factors such as sex, race, grade level, and level of exposure to other dialects are reflected in language attitudes. In order to determine the validity of these hypotheses, school officials were asked to identify five students performing well and five students having difficulty in the language arts. Ten third …

The Role Of Life Review In The Negotiation Of Ldentity In The Elderly And Dying, Edith Kathleen Robertson Sheehan

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology by Edith Kathleen Robertson Sheehan on June 7, 2000.

State-Corporate Crime In The Defense Industry: A Case Study Of General Dynamics’ Procurement Of The Trident Submarine, James E. Robinson

Masters Theses

This study outlines the evolution of White-Collar criminological studies of the 1940's, to the more specific study of State-Corporate in the Defense Industry. Furthermore, it outlines the procurement process used by the Department of Defense and puts these processes within a theoretical framework to better explain how State-Corporate crimes occur.

This study focuses on the process by which billions of dollars are wasted each year within the military procurement process, and specifically outlines the fraudulent procurement practices utilized by the General Dynamics Corporation when it built the Trident Submarine during the 1970's.

This study also explains the concept of the …