Sociology Commons^™

Medical Cannabis And Recreational Marijuana: Patient Perceptions, Stigma, And Gender During A Time Of Emerging Legalization, Matt Reid

Dissertations

Marijuana’s status as an illegal drug has been redefined over the previous three decades. Despite Michigan and 32 other states having comprehensive medical cannabis programs, both academics and laypeople commonly present the medicalization of marijuana as an intermediary phase or proxy for fully legalized recreational use. While some evidence exists to support this position, this framework marginalizes the struggles and experiences of patients who have found relief through their therapeutic use of cannabis. As such, the goal of this study is to re-center the voices of cannabis patients in academic conversations of cannabis as medicine.

My study is unique in …

The Voices Of Single-Headed Household African American Mothers Concerning The High School Completion Of Their Daughters, Lametria A. Johnson_Eaddy

Dissertations

African American female students in urban schools are not graduating from high school at the same rate as females of other ethnic groups (Bucknor, 2015; Martin & Halperin, 2006; Stillwell & Sable, 2013). This study sought to investigate the voices and lived experiences of single-headed households of African American mothers whose daughters graduated from high school within the traditional four-year schedule. Through the voices and lived-experiences of these African American mothers, this study sought to capture the impact certain internal and external support systems from within both the home and school environments had on their daughters’ persistence in graduating from …

Testing A New Photovoice Model: A Meta-Analysis On Participatory Action Research Methodologies In Geographical Research, Nolan Bergstrom

Masters Theses

Photovoice was developed in the early 1990s for use in public health studies evolving from participatory action research (PAR) and photographic methods. It attempts to mitigate the power dynamics between researcher and researched by allowing participants to be the primary knowledge producers. The Photovoice methodology has left open methodological avenues to implement Photovoice as a research tool in many fields. This research aimed to modify the Photovoice methodology to include mobile technology, social media to create a new model of Photovoice.

This research was conducted in K.I. Sawyer, MI, a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan over a …

Agritourism Development In Southwest Michigan: Motivations Of Agritourists And Operators, Esther Akoto Amoako

Masters Theses

National agricultural statistics show that the number of agritourism farms and the proportion of agritourism related revenues in the United States has steadily increased during the last ten years, especially among small family farms. The recent growth in agritourism is both demand - and supply-driven. However, there are limited studies that explore agritourism motivations from both the visitors' and operators’ perspectives. This study examines what the agritourists' and operators’ motivations are and the challenges facing the industry to provide information for those currently involved and those wanting to include agritourism in their operations. Online and in-person surveys and unstructured interviews …

Social And Demographic Drivers Impacting Family Planning And Family Size In Buraydah City, Saudi Arabia, Sami Abdulkarim Alwulayi

Masters Theses

The goal of this research is to identify factors impacting changes in family size for medium-size cities in Saudi Arabia. Since the initial comprehensive development plans were adopted in the 1970s, Saudi society has changed rapidly in many different ways, and demographic change is one of the most noticeable. This mixed methods research is based on an online survey conducted in the summer of 2019 of 560 married couples and their families living within the 29 neighborhoods of Buraydah City, Saudi Arabia. Specifically, this research examines socioeconomic and demographic conditions related to family planning, as well as collecting perspectives on …

Cancer Health Disparities Among African Americans: A Socioecological Approach, Seth M. Spitzley

The Hilltop Review

Research shows that health outcomes are influenced by race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education and literacy levels, and the physical environment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). The health statuses of minority groups, such as African Americans, are adversely impacted by inequality (Randall, 2009). In Kalamazoo, Michigan, the leading cause of death for all residents in Kalamazoo County was cancer, where black individuals have the highest death rate among any other racial or ethnic group. That African Americans comprise less than 11% of the population in Kalamazoo County thus suggests that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by cancer …

Moving Beyond Race, Gender, And Education: Exploring The Relationship Between Disability, Depressive Symptoms And Long-Term Financial Outcomes, Mellissa K. Wright, Clifford L. Broman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Data on poverty status reveals that there is a distinct sub-population of individuals who are at a significantly greater risk of being chronically poor. Although many researchers have examined the demographic characteristics of individuals who are the most likely to be persistently poor, the emphasis has been on race, sex, and education. Little attention has been paid to the role that disability might play in long-term poverty. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to utilize longitudinal Add Health data in order to explore whether or not the presence of a disability might also affect an individual’s likelihood of experiencing …

Young Adult Drinking And Depression: The Long-Term Consequences Of Poverty, Maternal Depression, And Childhood Behavioral Problems, Rachel Mckane, Molly K. Richard

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The objective of this research is to investigate the relationships among childhood poverty, maternal depressive symptoms, internalizing and externalizing childhood behavioral problems, and depressive symptoms and alcohol use in young adulthood. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample and path analysis, a special case of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the results indicate that both childhood poverty and maternal depressive symptoms are associated with negative behavioral outcomes in childhood and young adulthood. This study also examines mediating effects of maternal depressive symptoms, and both externalizing and internalizing childhood behavioral problems. The findings indicate that the relationship between childhood poverty and …

Beyond The Neighborhood: Defining Membership In Diverse Community Contexts, Brad Forenza, Brian Dashew, Diana Cedeño, David T. Lardier

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this research is to form an overarching definition of community membership that encompasses all community contexts. Utilizing qualitative interviews with 102 members of five known community contexts (communities of action, circumstance, interest, place, and practice), the authors use cross-case analysis to explore common, transcendent themes of membership. Three takeaways emerge: first, that individuals identify with communities to address personal needs but come to see social benefits; second, that individuals join communities to deepen existing relationships, but develop new ones; and third, that through engagement, individuals strengthen a sense of self that is unique to community context. Through …

Physical Activity In Two Low-Income Detroit Neighborhoods: Disentangling Human Agency From Social Structure, Daniel J. Rose

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article explores strategies developed by African American residents in response to barriers to physical activity in two low-income Detroit neighborhoods. Using 47 in-depth, qualitative interviews, a grounded theory approach allowed the analysis to be reframed around the ways in which structural factors conditioned, but did not determine the human agency of residents seeking physical activity. Interviews revealed numerous responses to structural barriers such as devising home routines, cognitive mapping to avoid perceived threats, and leaving the neighborhood to access resources. Differences in neighborhood contexts, along with unique individual concerns, showed that agency was neither a constant nor independent force, …

Flawed Assumptions Of Welfare Participation: A Comparative Analysis Of Ohio And North Carolina Counties, Kasey Ray

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Welfare participation has been a longstanding issue of public debate for 50 years but remains largely understudied in welfare literature. The purpose of this research is to challenge the flawed assumptions of welfare participation by examining the varying spatial inequalities that influence U.S. welfare participation rates among eligible poor. This comparative analysis uses spatial inequality theory to examine welfare-to-work participation rates in all North Carolina and Ohio counties. I find that Ohio county welfare-to-work participation rates are most affected by region, race and gender while North Carolina county rates are most affected by politics, industry and race.

Applying Transformative Organizing Theory To White Antiracist Organizing, Josal Diebold

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

White antiracist organizing is a type of community organizing that works to build a movement that challenges the political, social, economic, and cultural manifestations of white supremacy, especially in white communities. In striving to harness strategic white antiracist organizing, an applicable theoretical lens is needed to guide both scholarship and practice. Transformative organizing theory, predicated on the need to organize and work for change on multiple levels at once, is particularly salient. This paper highlights how transformative organizing theory can anchor and cultivate white antiracist organizing through the application of key theoretical concepts, such as suffering and oppression; self-awareness and …

The Social Construction Of Arab Identity In The U.S.: The Historical Complicity And The Modern Responsibility Of Social Work, Suhad Tabahi, Jacob Bucher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper presents the sociopolitical experiences of early Arab migrants in the United States (U.S.) and the process of contradictory and socially constructed racial categorizations favoring white supremacy. While there is much discourse of the racial formation of Arab immigrants since 9-11, the actual racial project started in the early twentieth century, through varies entities including the social work profession where the “othering” process of early Arabs Americans existed in social welfare practice. Examples of the pejorative attitudes towards Arab immigrants from the early social work discourse are examined through proceedings from the National Conference on Social Welfare (NCSW) in …

Review Of Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers By David Scott Fitzgerald, Wolfe Padawer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Refuge Beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers by David Scott FitzGerald, Oxford University Press (2019).

Identifying And Assisting Human Trafficking Survivors: A Post-Training Analysis Of First Responders, Sarah Erwin, Jessie Peter, Rochelle L. Dalla Dr., Virginia Chaidez, Amy Encinger, Lee Kreimer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

First responders and the agencies for which they work face numerous challenges in identifying and assisting human trafficking survivors. This article aims to outline the ways in which first responders in a Midwestern state identify and provide services to human trafficking survivors. Six months after attending a two-day training aimed at recognizing and assisting human trafficking survivors, first responders were invited to participate in a follow-up survey regarding the training that they received. Responses were collected from 270 participants who work at various government, medical, or social service agencies in both rural and urban service areas across the state. Results …

When Personal Raises Political: Experience Of Racial Discrimination And Distrust Of Authorities Among Children Of Immigrants, Luis Fernandez-Barutell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Substantial research has addressed the association between welcoming or hostile contexts and sociopolitical behavior among second generation immigrants. Previous analyses have conceptualized positive elements (e.g., group solidarity) and negative factors (e.g., anti-immigration bias) related to specific outcomes, such as voting or activism. This study examined factors associated with distrust of authorities and, in particular, whether experiencing personal discrimination based on race/ethnicity is related to distrust of government and police among second generation Latinos in the United States. Our results confirmed that experiencing discrimination in two contexts (school and police) is indeed related to distrust of authorities. Recommendations for practice and …

Integrating Social Emotional Skill Development Throughout College Access Program Activities: A Profile Of The Princeton University Preparatory Program, Catherine M. Millett, Marisol J. C. Kevelson

Journal of College Access

In a prior study we demonstrated that college access program participants have positive views of the extent to which the program supports the development of their social and emotional skills and related college help-seeking behaviors in college. In this follow-up study, we explore the extent to which participant views vary by length of participation in the program in high school (i.e., dosage) and the extent to which alumni enrolled in college differ from college graduate alumni in their perceptions of the influences of the college access program. Results reveal that a multi-year college access program may influence different social and …

The Wrongful Conviction Program: A Program Evaluation, Ashley M. Chlebek

Masters Theses

The Western Michigan University Wrongful Conviction Program (WCP) operated under a grant awarded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2015 through 2018. The WCP partnered with the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project (WMU-CIP) to assist in the screening, review, and investigation of claims of innocence. The WCP trained undergraduate students to conduct case investigations and supported WMU-CIP in several ways.

The evaluation presented here examines the activities of the WCP to understand the ways in which it achieved its intended goals, as well as the ways in which it impacts participating students and the innocence movement. …

Planning And Presenting A Yearly Informational Conference For Grandfamilies, Susan M. Collins 3512464

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Abstract

This practice brief describes the planning and implementation of a local yearly conference for grandparents raising grandchildren. The conference was first held in 2002, and today is offered by a task force consisting of Area Agency on Aging staff, grandparents, Human Service program staff, representatives of various provider agencies and organizations, and academics from a local university. This practice brief describes funding, venue, logistics of the conference day, topics of most interest over the years, and the challenge of reaching grandfamilies. Also described is how evaluation by grandparents has helped the conference evolve to remain relevant and meaningful for …

The Impact Of A Goal-Setting Intervention With Custodial Grandmothers: A Demonstration Project, Julian Montoro-Rodriguez, Bert Hayslip

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

The increasing number of grandparents raising grandchildren underscores the need to provide assistance to grandparent caregivers in terms of training them not only to refresh intergenerational skills, but also developing appropriate and effective strategies associated with the setting of personally meaningful goals for themselves. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a socio-cognitive pilot demonstration program to improve the health and social psychological outcomes for grandmothers raising grandchildren using the theory of Selection, Optimization and Compensation (Freund & Baltes, 1998).

Sixteen grandmothers raising a grandchild under the age of 18 without the assistance of that child’s …

The Socializer - Fall 2019, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Fall 2019 Sociology departmental newsletter.

Cisgender Fragility, Zachariah Graydon Oaster

Masters Theses

Cisgender people in the United States are socialized in an environment that shields them from gender-identity-based stress. Like the construct of white fragility (DiAngelo, 2011), cisgender persons exhibit defensive behavior in response to encountering any gender-identity-based discomfort. Once triggered, defensive acts and false claims are deployed in an attempt to return to a state of comfort and normalcy. The stress that cisgender persons feel, and the defensive actions that they take upon encountering such gender-identity-based discomfort is what I refer to herein as Cisgender Fragility.

This theoretical construct of Cisgender Fragility is nuanced through intersectional synthesis of queer and race …

Implementing Behavior Analysis And Intervention For Individuals With Cognitive Impairments In Skilled Nursing Facilities: Summary Of Results, Janet S. Hahn, Jonathan C. Baker, Sandra Wagner, Andrea Perez, Minyoung Kim, Sydney Bulock

Center for Gerontology Reports and Publications

Summary of Purpose

The purpose of the project was to provide behavioral consultation and services to aging persons with cognitive impairment at skilled nursing facilities in Michigan. The goal was to use empirically supported non-pharmacological approaches to reduce behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD; wandering, agitation, disruptive vocalizations, etc.) and help slow down or remediate lost skills, reduce the use of medication to manage BPSD, to improve staff knowledge and abilities, and to develop modules that can be adopted and used by other skilled nursing facilities.The project was led by Dr. Janet Hahn, a social gerontologist with extensive experience …

Culture Without Borders: Intercultural Awareness Through Interviews And Images From International Asian Students, Zhi Xin Wee

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand and raise awareness of international Asian students’ culture and experiences at Western Michigan University. As an immigrant, I am interested in listening to personal stories about people’s culture and upbringing. I want to give students an opportunity to share their narratives and a chance to help contribute to a better understanding of culture and inclusion on campus.

Through this study, I will explore the unique stories from international Asian students at Western Michigan University to encourage and bring awareness of the many dimensions of diversity. At the end of this research, I …

At The Crossroads Of Race, Class And Culture: Identifying The Unintended Consequences Of Technology On The Agency Of Blues Musicians, Michael D. Berghoef

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the impact the rapid evolution and implementation of technology has had on blues musicians and the music they created and shared with their audiences over the past sixty years. The past 150 years have seen the conversion of nearly all musical participation as live, unmediated and with close proximity of performer to audience, to an experience that is increasingly recorded, digitally mediated and often listened to in isolation from others.

While a great deal of live music is still performed around the world on a daily basis, the impact of the largescale cultural shift move to what …

Police-Community Collaboration In An Upper Midwest City, Samuel Imbody

Masters Theses

Recent clashes between law enforcement and civilians have brought the issue of police-community relations to the forefront of many political discourses. While community policing has achieved a degree of success in alleviating these problems, many of the issues raised by the seminal Kerner Commission in 1967 remain today. This phenomenological case study represents a contemporary look at a city named “Heartland,” which has received accolades from numerous organizations for its community policing efforts. The primary source of data were in-depth interviews with police officers, and members of community organizations in the city of Heartland, analyzing how these two parties collaborate …

Subjective Religiosity And Organized Religiosity As A Predictor Of Sexual Affect Among African Americans, Janelle B. Grant, Kyla Day Fletcher

The Hilltop Review

Historically, religiosity and attendance at a church with a majority African American or Black population was of practical value for African Americans, these branches of practicality extended to sexual health, such as delayed sexual intercourse and higher instances of using contraception. Overall, however, public sexual discourses show some African American communities as “at risk” regarding sexual health, which can make an African American individual feel negatively about their sexual experiences. The current study aimed to understand how subjective religiosity and organized religiosity influenced African Americans to experience a positive, negative, or shameful sexual affect, We found that higher levels of …

There’S No “Me” In “Imgur”: Applying Side Theory And Content Analysis To Viral Posts On Imgur.Com, Ryan P. Castillo

The Hilltop Review

The Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) asserts that social (i.e., collective) identities are more salient under conditions of anonymity, prompting “deindividuation” as group members place more focus on community standards and downplay individual differences. As a result of deindividuation, social standards become the driving force of group interaction, and the successful practice of group norms identify individuals’ in-group status while reinforcing the social identity of the community. The current study applies the SIDE model to the anonymous image-sharing platform Imgur.com to ascertain whether self-referential posts are assessed more negatively than other-referential and non-directed content, and to examine whether …

Integrating Sociological And Psychological Perspectives On Collective Efficacy, Michael Gearhart

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Collective efficacy is rooted in both psychology, and sociology. Discussions of the differences between the sociological and psychological conceptualization and operationalization of collective efficacy is limited. In psychology, collective efficacy reflects a group’s belief that collective action can be successful. In sociology, collective efficacy is a theory that describes the process by which social cohesion is activated as informal social control. Mutual efficacy was designed to incorporate the psychological concept of efficacy into collective efficacy theory. In this study, I conduct a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis to study the factor structure of social cohesion, mutual efficacy, and informal social control …

Examining The Nexus Of Obesity, Mental Health And Rural County Level Food Access: Testing The Enduring Role Of Persistent Poverty, Margaret Ralston, Kecia Johnson, Leslie Hossfeld, Bettina Beech

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study investigates the nexus between obesity, mental health, and food access across counties in the state of Mississippi. Recent research suggests that food access and poor nutrition may not only lead to poor physical health, but may also increase depression. Data from the USDA and the CDC were used to estimate obesity and mental health rates across counties. Analyses revealed that poverty was the key factor influencing on obesity and mental health at the county level. More specifically, county level per capita SNAP benefits and status of persistent poverty were predictors of obesity and mental health. Findings are discussed …