Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle For A Livable City, Regina Freer, Robert Gottlieb, Mark Vallianatos, Peter Dreier

Mark Vallianatos

While most historians, journalists, and filmmakers have focused on Los Angeles as a bastion of corporate greed, business boosterism, political corruption, cheap labor, exploited immigrants, and unregulated sprawl, The Next Los Angeles tells a different story: that of the reformers and radicals who have struggled for alternative visions of social and economic justice. In a new preface, the authors reflect on the gathering momentum of L.A.'s progressive movement, including the 2005 landslide victory of Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor.

The Southern Tree Of Liberty - The Democratic Movement In New South Wales Before 1856, Terry Irving

Terence H Irving, Dr (Terry)

Responsible government began in New South Wales after two decades of radical democratic agitation. Radical intellectuals from England, Ireland, Scotland and Europe mobilized the working men and women of the colony to resist the aristocratic form of government proposed by pastoralists and city capitalists. There was violence on the streets and goldfields, and some notable electoral victories. As 'a great fear' gripped the local elites the British government forced them to accept a more liberal form of representative government in the belief that this would placate the democrats and keep the colony safe for British imperial needs.

Cooperative Conservation: Increasing Capacity Through Community Partnerships -- Interagency Volunteer Program: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• Volunteer database increased 8% over last quarter. Database now contains 2,923 records.
• Website activity increased, recording an average of 51,568 hits per month, with an average of 4,985 pages viewed per month (12.4% increase in pages viewed).
• Team charter approved and signed by federal managers and IVP team.
• Volunteer orientation and training in 11 subject areas delivered to 80 volunteers.
• Recognition Banquet and Awards Ceremony recognized 180 volunteers.
• Volunteer event list revised for 2007.

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• Don’t Trash Nevada roll-out event held on October 12, 2006.

• Program website launched.

• 74 people have taken the on-line anti-litter and dumping pledge.

• Public-private partnership with Republic Services of Southern Nevada generated $11,917.97 in donations to Don’t Trash Nevada.

• Conducted 3 volunteer and 1 alternative workforce clean-ups this quarter.

• Fulfilled deliverable of 12 clean-ups for 2006 (9 volunteer / 3 alternative workforce).

• 16 volunteer clean-ups scheduled for 2007. • Two tons of agency-generated paper recycled this quarter, saving 14,000 gallons of water, 34 trees, and almost 8 cubic yards of landfill space.

• …

Cooperative Conservation: Increasing Capacity Through Community Partnerships: Cultural Site Stewardship Program: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• The Cultural Site Stewardship Program now has 249 enrolled site stewards, an increase of 732% since program inception in 2004.

• Four training classes were held in 2006, adding 72 new stewards.

• Site Stewards reported 55 significant impacts during the 12-month period compared to 25 impacts during the same period last year.

Appalachian And Rural Student Performance Differences On Kentucky's Educational Assessment: Eighth Grade Results, D. Clayton Smith

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

For assessment and accountability, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) developed the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). Because the KIRIS assessment relied on student performance and was “high stakes” for schools, the fairness of the assessment was important. This paper examined whether 8th grade students living in Appalachia and/or in primarily rural school districts perform differently on the assessment than their peers. The four years of data (1993-1996) for this study came from KIRIS Cycle 2 data. The dependent variable was a composite score of student performance on constructed-response reading, mathematics, science, and social studies tests. The study found …

Population Change, Economic Restructuring, And The Evolving Landscape Of Retail Activities In The Rural Great Plains, Alexander C. Vias

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Over the past 15 to 20 years, changes such as retail concentration (fewer, larger stores owned by fewer corporations), technological innovation, and new labor practices have transformed the retail industry. These broad changes affect rural communities where the retail sector still employs a large portion of the workforce. When combined with the declining population of many rural areas in regions like the Great Plains, the impact of retail change is even more significant. Explored in this paper is how restructuring in the retail sector is accelerating the loss of retail firms in many rural parts of the Great Plains, a …

Editor's Preface, D. Clayton Smith

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

introduction of Doug Smith as new editor of SRS

The Effects Of Race, Place, Class, And Gender On Instructional Strategies In Kentucky's Seventh Grade Science Classes: Individual And School Level Analyses, Stephen K. Miller, D. Clayton Smith, Larry S. Ennis

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This study explored the relationship of student demographics to teaching method in Kentucky’s seventh grade science classrooms for 1997-98, based on performance assessment data (student level N = 21,499; school level N = 264). Students’ perceptions of seven instructional strategies from the KIRIS student questionnaires were placed into three groups: traditional, inquiry-based, and computer. At the student level, these strategies were regressed on race, gender, free/reduced lunch, urbanity of the district, Appalachian status, and Educational Service Region. At the school level, the three approaches were regressed on aggregate school data for these same variables. Findings indicated that demographic factors do …

From Vulnerability To Resiliency: Assessing Impacts And Responses To Disaster, John J. Green, Duane A. Gill, Anna M. Kleiner

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Hurricane Katrina devastated the social, economic, and physical infrastructure of communities along the Gulf Coast, and many organizations responded in a massive effort to meet their needs. Building from a livelihoods theoretical framework emphasizing the vulnerability-resiliency continuum, this research note focuses on informing services provided during post-disaster relief, recovery, and redevelopment. Based on a case study conducted in East Biloxi, Mississippi, we describe a project that included a needs assessment survey and qualitative interviews. Research findings address the expressed needs of community members following the disaster, types of relief and recovery assistance provided to them, and the kinds of social …

Poet Revisited: A Reanalysis Of Albrecht And Murdock's Part-Time Farming Model, Lisa A. Eargle

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

In this paper, I reanalyze Albrecht and Murdock’s (1984) POET (Population, Organization, Environment, and Technology) model of part-time farming prevalence using 2002 data and two indicators of part-time farming prevalence: percent of farm operators working 100 days or more off-farm and percent of farm operators whose principal occupation is not farming. I compare the results of analyses using these two measures to one another and to the results produced in Albrecht and Murdock’s earlier study using 1978 data. Findings from the analysis of 2002 are similar to those produced with 1978 data. However, the findings from the 2002 analyses do …

Mental Health And Substance Abuse Services Preferences Among American Indian People Of The Northern Midwest, Melissa Lynn Walls, Kurt D. Johnson, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examines factors that influence preferences between traditional cultural and western mental health and substance use associated care among American Indians from the northern Midwest. Personal interviews were conducted with 865 parents/caretakers of tribally enrolled youth concerning their preferences for traditional/cultural and formal healthcare for mental health or substance abuse problems. Adults strongly preferred traditional informal services to formal medical services. In addition, formal services on reservation were preferred to off reservation services. To better serve the mental health and substance abuse treatment needs of American Indians, traditional informal services should be incorporated into the current medical model.

Knowledge, Access, And Utilization Of Health Care Resources By Minorities In Rural Areas, Cassandra Crockett

All Theses

This research seeks to understand how knowledge, access, and utilization of health care resources are obtained by residents in one South Carolina upstate county. In particular, whites and minorities living in rural parts of Anderson County are studied in an effort to address issues of barriers that obstruct the ability to obtain knowledge, access, and utilization of health care resources. A primary objective of this research is to determine whether or not knowledge of health care resources is a result of previously using them. In other words, are individuals knowledgeable about available health care resources before they become ill? It …

Assessing Perceived Marriage Education Needs And Interests Of Latino Individuals In Utah County, Utah, Iliana Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized focus groups to assess the perceived needs and interests for marriage education among single and married Latino individuals residing in Utah County, Utah as well as the identification of common themes and differences for this population. Male and female groups at various points in the marital developmental life stage were studied including high school students (15-18 years of age), single never married young adults (19-30 years of age), committed (engaged or cohabiting) adults, married persons recently transitioning to parenting, and married people with children. The sample consisted of 10 groups, 5 female and 5 male. In addition, …

Low-Income Families In New Hampshire, Allison Churilla

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

New Hampshire boasts the nation's lowest percentage of people living in poverty and maintains strong rankings in other quality-of-life measures. But 48,000 New Hampshire families with low incomes struggle to make ends meet, this issue brief finds. The brief identifies characteristics that heighten families' risk of a lower income and documents recent trends in the economic status of low-income families in the state.

European Integration And International Relations Theory, Engin Erdem

ENGIN I ERDEM Dr.

One of the most significant developments in the twenty-century world politics has been the foundation of European Community (EC), and its evolution into the European Union (EU). Now, the EU is a supranational entity that is composed of twenty-five member states while it will be twenty-seven with the membership of Bulgaria and Romania in January 2007. The EU poses great challenges for both the policy and academic world. On one hand, the EU has become a powerful international actor in the current international politics. On the other hand, the academic world needs to explain the genesis and development of European …

A Study Of Instructional Technology Resource Teachers In Virginia's Public School Divisions: Who Are They And What Do They Do?, Kimberly M. Hooker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of instructional technology resource teachers (ITRTs) within Virginia's public school divisions focusing on how ITRTs used their time throughout the school year to integrate technology into the curriculum. Based on data from surveys of current ITRTs, the researcher investigated further to find relationships, if any, among the professional and educational backgrounds and work calendar of these teachers and their responses to their actual role. The study also addressed training that the ITRTs have received to assist them in their job duties and explored the participants' perceptions of their roles as …

In Pursuit Of The Ed.D.: A Study Of East Tennessee State University's Doctors Of Education: Who They Are And Why They Persisted., Mata J. Banks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to Kerlin (1995a), first-generation students are not expected to survive to doctorate degree attainment because of vulnerability to negative affects associated with their status; yet persist they do at East Tennessee State University. The desire to study the first-generation East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education and the limited number of first-generation graduate studies available, especially in the academic field of education, promoted developing this study. It was the intent of this study to offer additional empirical research toward understanding variables associated with first-generation persistence as encountered by East Tennessee State University's Doctors of education.

Quantitative analysis derived through …

Following In Their Footsteps: The Risks Of The Intergenerational Cycle Of Incarceration Among Inmates And Their Children, Megan Harris

All Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to test the proposition that parents who are currently incarcerated are at high risk for having children who are also incarcerated. Furthermore, several risk factors, commonly found in homes with previously or currently incarcerated members, were identified and analyzed to predict the odds of an incarcerated parent also having an incarcerated child.
The current study found that the majority of the demographic variables were significant predictors of child incarceration. Furthermore, only a few risk factors were found to be significant predictors of an inmate's child being incarcerated: an inmate having two or more prior …

Minutes, 12/12/2006, The Commission For Lesbian, Gay Bisexual And Transgender People At The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville

Commission for LGBT - Reports, Minutes, Events and Other Documents

No abstract provided.

Social Withdrawal And Its Behavioral Correlates Among Chinese Preschoolers, Peixia Wu

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have recognized that social withdrawal in early childhood is a complex and multifaceted construct which includes three main observed subtypes: reticence, solitary-passive withdrawal, and solitary-active withdrawal. Each is differentially associated with children's behavioral outcomes in Western societies (e.g., United States, Canada). Furthermore, potential gender differences may exist regarding the distinct associations between non-social behavior and indices of maladjustment across boys and girls due to differential societal and cultural gender-role expectations. Previous studies suggest that subtypes of observed social withdrawal can be identified in Chinese preschoolers. It is important to examine the behavioral correlates of observed withdrawn subtypes in the …

The Causes And Correlates Of Childhood Obesity: A Study Of Children Between 10 And 14 Years Of Age, Rajani Shakya

All Theses

ABSTRACT


Obesity is an alarming public health problem among people of all age groups in nearly every society. The increasing obesity rates are especially serious in the United States. The main purpose of this thesis is to explore the causes and correlates of obesity among American children between the ages of 10 and 14 using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Child Data (NLSY79-CA).
This thesis hypothesized three major causal factors for the likelihood of children between the ages of 10 and 14 to be overweight or obese: socio-demographic groups, activities that children prefer to participate in, and the associated health …

Older Adults' Satisfaction With Physical Therapists' Communication And Physical Therapy Treatment, Neela M. Lakatoo

Gerontology Theses

Little research documents the impact of communication on the relationship between the physical therapist and the older patient. As key health professionals, physical therapists need to know the degree to which a therapeutic relationship is occurring with the older adults they treat, and what aspects of the communication process can be improved to effectively meet the needs of this unique patient population. This exploratory study examines the relationships between older adults’ perceptions of physical therapists’ patient-centered communication (PCC), and their satisfaction with communication and physical therapy treatment (SPT). The sample consisted of 40 participants from 4 different physical therapy sites, …

Getting By Gatekeepers: Transmen's Dialectical Negotiations Within Psychomedical Institutions, Elroi Waszkiewicz

Sociology Theses

Transsexuality remains grounded in pathologizing discourses. Mental health professionals largely classify transgender experiences as disorders, and transgender people seeking to alter their bodies typically must obtain authenticating letters from therapists verifying such diagnoses. Physicians usually require these letters to perform transition-related services, and sometimes require additional legitimization. In these ways, psychomedical professionals impose gatekeeping measures that withhold and confer services to transsexuals who desire medical transition. Using qualitative interview data and grounded theory methods with 20 female-to-male transsexuals, this study demonstrates that transmen typically represent informed consumers whom carefully research psychomedical protocol and anticipate providers’ adherence to professional standards. When …

Stand By Your Man, Redneck Woman: Towards A Historical View Of Country Music Gender Roles, Cenate Pruitt

Sociology Theses

Country music, considered a uniquely American musical genre, has been relatively under-researched compared to rock and rap music. This thesis proposes research into the topic of country music, specifically the ways which country music songs portray gender. The thesis uses Billboard chart data to determine commercially successful songs, and performs a content analysis on the lyrics of these songs. I will select songs from a fifty year period ranging from 1955 to 2005, so as to allow for a longitudinal study of potential changes in presentation. Attention will be focused on the lyrical descriptions of men and women and how …

Senior Multipurpose Facilities And Quality Of Life Among African American Older Adults: A Case Study, Davette A. Taylor-Harris

Gerontology Theses

Little is known about the impact of senior multipurpose facilities on the quality of life of African American elders. This thesis examined the context of African American elders’ participation in these facilities. Qualitative methods were used. Fifteen in-depth participant interviews, one facility program coordinator interview and eighteen weeks of participant observation were completed. The principles of grounded-theory method were used during data analysis. Findings reveal that racial experiences played an important role in participants’ sense of community. Female and male participants engaged in different types of activities. While some participants reported physical improvements, all participants recounted social and emotional benefits …

Faculty Profile: Michele Wakin - Understanding Homelessness In America, Andrew C. Holman

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Fitting In To Fieldwork: Ninth Grade Mudslinging And Going The (Ethnographic) Distance, Jodi H. Cohen

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Boffin's Books And Darwin's Finches: Victorian Cultures Of Collecting, Michael W. Hancock '89

Doctoral Dissertations

Although wealthy continental virtuosos had passionately and selectively accumulated a variety of natural and artificial objects from the Renaissance onwards, not until the nineteenth century did collecting become a conspicuous national pastime among all classes in Britain. As industry and empire made available many new and exotic goods for acquisition and display, the collection as a cultural form offered the Victorians a popular strategy of self-fashioning that was often represented in the literature of the age as a source of prestige and social legitimation. Through interdisciplinary readings of Victorian fiction, narrative nonfiction, and poetry, my study examines how textual representations …

Aboriginal Women Working In Vocational Training And Education: A Story From Central Australia, Kate Lawrence

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This article outlines research undertaken by an Aboriginal women’s non-government organization (NGO) into vocational training and education (VTE) needs and issues for remote Aboriginal communities in Central Australia. It describes the Central Australian context, and in particular the impact of remoteness, inequity and disadvantage upon Aboriginal people’s access to and participation in VTE. Waltja Tjutangku Palyapayi (Waltja) is an Aboriginal NGO based in Alice Springs, at the centre of the desert region of inland Australia. Waltja supports the development of family services and the self-determination of remote Central Australian Aboriginal communities. Senior Aboriginal women from widespread communities govern Waltja. In …