Social Statistics Commons^™

Internet Connectivity And Use In Nebraska: A Follow Up Study, Rebecca Vogt, Anne Byers, Connie Hancock, Charlotte Narjes, Roger Terry

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Nebraska Public Service Commission was awarded a grant from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for conducting a study of broadband use and needs in Nebraska. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln first conducted a survey for the Commission in 2010. The Nebraska Information Technology Commission (NITC) Community Council, the AIM Institute and Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) collaborated with the Commission on this survey. A follow-up survey was conducted in 2014 to see if any changes have occurred in the previous four years. The survey included questions about Nebraskans’ current use of technology, their opinions …

Arizona's Vulnerable Populations, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Warren Prostollo, Jay Kittle, Arlan Colton, Kim Demarchi, Darryl Dobras, Susan Goldsmith, Billie Fidlin, Jim Holoway, Tara Jackson, Rita Maguire, Elizabeth Mcnamee, Patrick Mcwhortor, Ray Newton, Pat Norris, Steve Pedigo, Scott Rhodes, Fred Rosenfed, Chad Sampson, David Snider, Bob Strain, Marissa Theisen, Devan Wastchak, Terri Wogan, Larry Woods, Antonia Adams-Clement, Nina Babich, Andrea Banks, Eric Bjorklund, Luke Black, Luis De La Cruz-Parra, Richard Fabes, Felicia Ganther, Joseph Garcia, Maria Harper-Marinick, Kevin Hengehold, Lane Kenworthy, Julie Knapp, Kelly Mcgowan, Ray Ostos, Kathleen Perales, Suzanne Pfister, Michael S. Shafer, Julia Grace Smith, Ed Strong, Cynthia Zwick

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Arizona’s vulnerable populations are struggling on a daily basis but usually do so in silence, undetected by traditional radar and rankings, often unaware themselves of their high risk for being pushed or pulled into a full crisis. Ineligible for financial assistance under strict eligibility guidelines, they don’t qualify as poor because vulnerable populations are not yet in full crisis. To be clear, this report is not about the “poor,” at least not in the limited sense of the word. It is about our underemployed wage earners, our single-parent households, our deployed or returning military members, our under-educated and unskilled workforce, …

Using Multi-Objective Value Estimation To Support Predictive Analytics For Human Service Project Management, David D. Wingard

Dissertations

Human service organizations need outcome measurement approaches that support project management for efficiency and effectiveness. While, in recent years, human services have increased their capacity to manage data and measure outcomes empirically, several barriers remain. First, current outcome measurement practices are not designed to effectively support the management of human services programs for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Second, human services organizations need a methodology to manage programs to identified outcomes. This dissertation explored meaningful solutions to both issues. In Paper 1 (Chapter II), this dissertation assessed strengths and limitations of current outcome evaluation approaches and suggested an innovative application of …

Social Distance In The United States: Sex, Race, Religion, Age, And Education Homophily Among Confidants, 1985 To 2004, Jeffrey A. Smith, Miller Mcpherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Homophily, the tendency for similar actors to be connected at a higher rate than dissimilar actors, is a pervasive social fact. In this article, we examine changes over a 20-year period in two types of homophily—the actual level of contact between people in different social categories and the level of contact relative to chance. We use data from the 1985 and 2004 General Social Surveys to ask whether the strengths of five social distinctions—sex, race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, age, and education—changed over the past two decades in core discussion networks. Changes in the actual level of homophily are driven by the …

An Evaluation Of Virginia Gold: A Medicaid Program To Improve Nursing Facility Quality Of Care, Gerald A. Craver, Amy K. Burkett, Karen E. Kimsey

The Qualitative Report

A qualitative case study design employing focus groups was used to evaluate certified nursing assistant (CNA) (n = 26) and resident (n = 30) perceptions of the Virginia Gold Quality Improvement Program, a Medicaid funded 2-year quality improvement intervention piloted in five nursing facilities. As part of the program, the nursing facilities implemented quality improvement projects to develop supportive work environments in an effort to reduce CNA turnover and improve quality of care. Overall, the focus group participants viewed Virginia Gold positively and reported that CNA turnover decreased, while care quality improved during the program. These findings are supported by …

Couples' Conceptualizations Of Problems In Couple Therapy, Cameron Kiely Froude, Rachel B. Tambling

The Qualitative Report

While a great deal is known about the problems that clients bring to therapy, little is known about the way in which clients conceptualize problems during the course of couple therapy. Understanding clients’ conceptualizations of problems is important because it provides the therapist with a client-centered context on how to approach discussions about the problems during the course of treatment. This manuscript provides the results of an exploratory qualitative inquiry concerning how clients conceptualize problems during therapy and across the trajectory of treatment. The sample consisted of 26 individuals comprising 13 couples attending couple therapy. Participants completed a semi-structured interview …

Concept Mapping As A Data Collection And Analysis Tool In Historical Research, Nancy Baugh, Ann Mcnallen, Michelle Frazelle

The Qualitative Report

Nurse researchers explored the history of Mary Breckenridge’s Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) during the years 1925 to 1965, to elicit how her experience could inform present day concerns regarding universal access to healthcare. A historical biographical approach informed by critical theory was selected as the methodology. As historical research tends to generate large volumes of data, concept mapping was selected to collect, reduce, organize and interpret data. Additionally, concept mapping can assist researchers to agree on meaning as seen in interrelationships of the data. The final aggregate concept map is a graphic, visual representation of the outcome of this historical …

Representations Of Middle Age In Comedy Film: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Margaret Gatling, Jane Mills, David Lindsay

The Qualitative Report

The discourse of middle age includes a commonly-held perception that it is a time of crisis resulting in unusual, atypical, dramatic or extravagant behaviours. The aim of this study was to find out if the discourse of middle age, as depicted in comedy film, supports this stereotype. Three comedy films were reviewed using dispositive analysis to critically-evaluate the actions, objects and language employed to represent middle age on-screen. The findings show that crisis, sparked by a fear of ageing and with some distinct gender differences, is a frequent feature of on-screen middle age. Building on the generally accepted hypothesis that …

Academic Staff Perceptions Of Factors Underlying Program Completion By Australian Indigenous Nursing Students, Roianne West, Kim Usher, Kim Foster, Lee Stewart

The Qualitative Report

An increase in the number of Indigenous health professionals is one way to help reduce the poor health outcomes of Australia’s Indigenous people. However, while Indigenous students are enrolling in Australian tertiary undergraduate nursing courses in increasing numbers, their completion rates remain lower than non-Indigenous students and many barriers hinder course completion. This critical interpretive qualitative study explores academic staff perceptions of factors enabling successful course completions by Indigenous nursing students from universities in Queensland, Australia. Content analysis of data revealed five themes: (a) Individual student characteristics; (b) Institutional structures, systems, and processes; (c) Relationships, connections, and partnerships; (d) Family …

A'S For Everyone: The Effect Of Student Consumerism In The Post-Secondary Classroom, Anthony D. Plunkett

The Qualitative Report

With millennial students as the primary population in many higher education institutions today, many instructors experiencing a paradigm shift of behaviors they are observing in their classroom. Many educators are observing today’s students failing to take personal responsibility for their educational endeavors and in turn viewing their educational experiences as a services-for-payment relationship rather than an exploration of knowledge. With this shift and the ever present consumerism type behaviors now being observed, the role of instructor has changed and many are seeking tools to effectively manage their students and classroom.

Believing Is Seeing: Korean Immigrants' Perception Of The Former South Korean President Roh, Hyunjung Kim

The Qualitative Report

This study explores how individual characteristics interact with news media choice and people’s perception of mediated news events and public figures focusing on South Korean immigrants’ perception of the former South Korean President Roh. Thirteen South Korean immigrants were interviewed, and the results demonstrate a three-way relationship between (a) interviewees’ political orientation, (b) media choice, and (c) perception of Roh and the newspapers. The interviewees supporting Roh, who read online news on a regular basis but did not read conservative newspapers, recognized the political claim that the oligopoly of the conservative newspapers has influenced public opinion on Roh, while the …

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Technology In Relationships: Findings From An Open-Ended Survey, Katherine M. Hertlein, Katrina Ancheta

The Qualitative Report

The technology world has been growing and flourishing the interest in designing technologies that mediate and create a feeling of relatedness within interpersonal relationships beyond the explicit verbal communication. The purpose of this article is to present a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of technology in couple relationships. To accomplish this, we conducted a recursive open-coding analysis on an already existing data set. Findings indicated the advantages of technology in relationships include the contribution to the development of relationships, relationship management, and relationship enhancement. Challenges introduce by technology into relationships include distancing, lack of clarity, and impaired trust. Implications …

Revealing The Colour And Personality In Texts: Putting The "Person" Back Into Our Results, Rod Pitcher

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to show how the colour and personality contained in texts can be derived and analysed. This colour and personality indicates something important about the respondents’ thinking which is lost using normal analytical techniques. The method used to extract the meaningful words was largely intuitive. That is, I selected the words which seemed to me to indicate something about the thoughts of the respondents and provide colour and personality to the text. These words show how the subject under discussion is seen by the respondent. I would suggest that the method described in this paper …

Putting A Human Face On The Minimum Wage, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

What is a “livable wage,” and should we strive to raise wages for American workers?

There are lots of conflicting studies and reports. The Congressional Budget Office projects that an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour would eliminate 500,000 jobs while raising the incomes of nearly 17 million Americans.

Even prominent economists like David Card and David Neumark diametrically disagree on the likely consequences of raising the minimum wage, and their studies of results in New Jersey have consistently yielded conflicting results for decades. [excerpt]

Identifying Ugliness, Defining Beauty: A Focus Group Analysis Of And Reaction To Ugly Betty, Adria Goldman, Damion Waymer

The Qualitative Report

This article discusses the ideological construct “beauty” that permeates our society by focusing specifically on socially constructed ideals of beauty and ugliness as they are represented in media text, specifically, in the TV sitcom Ugly Betty. For this study we conducted focus group interview sessions to explore the influence an alternative representation of beauty and ugliness, as portrayed in the show Ugly Betty, has on college aged females’ definition and interpretation of beauty—typically questions explored using traditional experimental and other quantitative methods. Moreover, this study provides insights into tensions surrounding how beauty and ugliness are defined and the implications of …

Letters To Grandma: A Comparison Of Generational Perspectives Of Women's Growth As Higher Education Faculty, Elyn Mcreynolds Palmer

The Qualitative Report

This ethnographic compilation is the result of a course exercise in qualitative research. A current student of Texas Tech University interviewed an 87-yearold faculty member from the 1950s, comparing her experiences to those of the author in similar, present-day academic environments. The author developed the format of the paper as letters between a young faculty member and her experienced grandmother. Results of the study reflect many similarities between the experiences of past female faculty members and female faculty of today; the exercise does convey, however, many advances for women in the academic culture as well. Finally, the recorded experiences of …

Conversation Analysis And Gender: Establishing And Challenging The Relevance Of Gender In Ca Research, Stephanie Anne Shelton

The Qualitative Report

In this book review, I addressed the ways that qualitative researchers have examined the links between Conversation Analysis (CA), which often is criticized as a method without context or theory, and the issue of gender. I consider the ways that the editors adopt the controversial position that CA is a politically laden method and that authors extend and challenge existing CA research. I point out the ways that this book both inconsistently connects its chapters and establishes its intended audience, while clearly offering a balanced examination of the ways that gender-in-talk is often relevant but not omnipresent in conversations.

Through Their Lens: The Potential Of Photovice For Documentation Of Environmental Perspectives Among Kenyan Teachers, Cassie F. Quigley, James Dogbey, S. Megan Che, Jeffrey Hallo, Patrick Womac

The Qualitative Report

This study explores the potential of photovoice for understanding environmental perspectives of teachers in the Narok District of Kenya. The objective of this paper is to share this photo-methodology with environmental educators so they may use it as an innovative methodological tool to understand the construction of environmental perspectives. The researchers analyzed the digital images and the accompanying narratives for themes emerging for each of the key terms. The researchers utilized Critical Visual Methodology to guide the data analysis. Each photograph was coded according to its site of audiencing (including both compositionality and social modalities). The themes - shares local …

Feeling Elite: The Collective Effervescence Of Team Usa At The 2012 Itu World Triathlon Grand Final, Caroline Faure, Karen M. Appleby, Beverly Ray

The Qualitative Report

Collective effervescence is an amplified, excited reaction made possible when a group of people experience something emotional together. We used a descriptive mixed methods approach to investigate both the individual and collective emotions of Team USA age group triathletes as they participated in the 2012 International Triathlon Union’s (ITU’s) Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand. The results of our study suggest that participation in this event evoked emotions consistent with the themes of Intrinsic Arousal, Anxiety, National Pride, and Social Arousal. Further, the results indicated that this group of experienced athletes was less motivated by performance outcome goals (i.e., placing …

The Unremarkable Things Matter: A Book Review Of David Silverman's A Very Short, Fairly Interesting And Reasonably Cheap Book About Qualitative Research (2nd Ed.), Lun Li

The Qualitative Report

In this review of the book, A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research by David Silverman, I write from the perspectives following Silverman’s arguments about “unremarkable things matter” in qualitative research. Based on his inspiring thoughts on modern qualitative research, I also express my reflective ideas as a doctoral student.

Media Portrayal Of Individuals In The Lower Class And Its Effects On Attributions Of Educational Hardships, Krista A. Burke

Communication Studies

This study investigated how media portrayals of individuals in the lower class affect people’s beliefs about educational hardships in lower socioeconomic areas. Specifically, this study looked at the attributions of these hardships to determine if media consumption had an effect on the internality of attributions. It was hypothesized that increased media consumption would be related to an increased tendency toward internal attributions. It was hypothesized that increased media consumption would lead to lower support for policy changes regarding education. A survey was distributed to assess media consumption habits and attitudes toward educational hardships in the lower class. Correlation results yielded …

The Art Of Personal Science, Jeff Fajans

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Quantified Self isn’t really about finding answers or solving problems—it’s about asking new questions.

The Quantified Self, Behind The Cover Art, Leslie Love Stone

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

We lead quantified lives. The information we send and receive through our computers, CD players, and smart phones is coded in ones and zeroes. We exist as numerical accounts, license numbers, and login IDs. Anyone who has ever waited on hold for a live customer service representative understands the desire to be treated like a person, not a number. We each want acceptance for our inherent peculiarities and consideration for our circumstance—conditions we believe extrinsic to numbers.

Teacher Technology Narratives: Native Hawaiian Views On Education And Change, D. Lilinoe Yong, Ellen S. Hoffman

The Qualitative Report

Narrative inquiry is a method by which "silenced voices" may be heard. In this study, eight Native Hawaiian teachers share their experiences of the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program (HLIP), or Papahana Kaiapuni, within the Hawai‘i public school system. The teachers describe change over time in HLIP with a focus on technology and their perceptions of how it has enhanced preservation of the Hawaiian language. By giving voice to their views on indigenous culture and teaching, the stories provide a rich and nuanced view of growth and school reform as framed by the teachers' own words. Themes of commitment to students …

Real Projects, Virtual Worlds: Coworkers, Their Avatars, And The Trust Conundrum, Michael F. Lohle, Steven R. Terrell

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study informs project managers of the impact that the authentic projection of coworker identity via avatars has on trust and potential project management success when teams use virtual worlds to collaborate. By exploring the common experiences and reactions of potential virtual team participants to a demonstration that showed how to customize avatars and use them to communicate with others, it facilitated the development of a grounded theory that confirms whether the projection of authenticity via avatars is an antecedent of team trust and real project management success. Real management success was the main objective, since it is vital …

Networked Grounded Theory, Alexios V. Brailas

The Qualitative Report

The present paper demonstrates a research method combining Grounded Theory and Network Analysis for the inductive generation of a theory solely based on the empirical data being analyzed. This method was developed during my PhD research on the utilization of a virtual community (case study in Wikipedia) in formal Education institutions (tertiary or secondary education). The focus of this paper is on demonstrating the research method developed during this study. Networked Grounded Theory constitutes a remodeling of Grounded Theory and the rationale for the inclusion of Network Analysis techniques into the process of theory generation is explained. The software used …

One Step At A Time: A Journey Of Hope, Inspiration, And Determination, Melinda Hermanns, Barbara K. Haas

The Qualitative Report

Approximately three million persons in the United States face the challenge of living with Parkinson's Disease (PD). In spite of medical and surgical interventions, the disease progresses, resulting in bradykinesia, rigidity and postural instability that impair functional ability and quality of life. The purpose of this case study is to illuminate the impact an exercise program may have on an individual with PD. A single case study design was used to explore the effect of exercise on the quality of life of a 73-year old gentleman with advanced PD. Interviews and field observations of the client, wife, and staff at …

Graduating Black Males: A Generic Qualitative Study, Edward E. Bell

The Qualitative Report

Black males face a difficult educational battle. Across America, graduation statistics for Black males are sobering. The purpose of this study was to explore why Black males drop out of school and to examine the current employment status of the study participants. The research took place in rural North Carolina. Fifteen Black American male high school dropouts took part in a snowball sample. This study was qualitative and used open and axial coding. Findings from this study may provide guidance and directions for school and community leaders to help Black males stay in school through graduating.

Researching Children's Lives And Social Situations With Respect And Integrity, Dudu Jankie

The Qualitative Report

In Research with children: Theory & practice, Michelle O’Reilly, Pablo Ronzoni and Nisha Dogra engage the readers in navigating the successes and hurdles of researching with diverse children. The book, which is meant for “researchers who are new to research with children” presents engaging descriptions on how to link in culturally sensitive ways the overall research process involving the lives and social situations of children who are participants in qualitative and quantitative research projects. Furthermore, the book balances the theory and practice of research with children through the activities used and the practical examples provided, some of which are drawn …

Collaboration In Action: A Book Review Of Alice Mcintyre's Participatory Action Research, Jacqueline Fields

The Qualitative Report

In this review of the book, Participatory Action Research (PAR) by author Alice McIntyre, I write from the perspective of a PhD student at the beginning of her doctoral social work program and who is considering using PAR in her future research. I highlight McIntyre’s description of PAR, its application as a research technique, the challenges that confront the researcher, and the rewards that could result from the PAR approach.