Sociology Commons^™

The Effects Of Defendant Race, Psychological Expert Witness Race, And Racially Salient Psychological Expert Testimony On Juror Decision Making, Lily Cheyanne (Manick) Munavu

Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of defendant race, psychological expert witness race, the racial salience of a psychological expert witness's testimony, and modern racism on juror decisions. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions that varied the race of the defendant (Black or White), the race of the psychological expert witness (Black or White), and the racial salience of the expert witness testimony (racially relevant or not racially relevant). Participants were asked to review the case documents of a criminal case in which the defendant was charged with battery and robbery. Participants rendered verdicts for both charges, …

Unwanted Sexual Experiences: Preliminary Development And Validation Of A Behavioral Analog Measure For Risk Perception, Response Appraisal, And Response, Robin M. Carter-Visscher

Dissertations

Based on research findings indicating that sexual victimization is a prevalent problem on college campuses and has significant consequences for victims, researchers have examined the effectiveness of sexual assault education programs on reducing incidents of sexual victimization and have found programs to be unsuccessful. Other researchers have begun to investigate behavioral factors associated with risk for sexual victimization in order to better understand mechanisms of sexual victimization and revictimization before developing and implementing interventions. One hypothesis that has received increased attention in recent years is that women with a sexual victimization history may have deficient risk perception and effective responding …

The Theory And Practice Of Drug Courts: Wolves In Sheep Clothing?, Kristen E. Devall

Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of an adult drug court in a medium-size Midwestern city. The primary impetus behind the creation of the drug court model was the partial recognition that the "get tough" approach to crime and the "war on drugs" was ineffective in "solving the United States' drug problem. Drug courts represent an integration of a public-health approach and a public-safety strategy of fighting crime and administering "justice." The bulk of the extant research regarding drug courts addresses one central question: "Do drug courts work?" Researchers and evaluators alike have attempted to answer this question over the …

Emotion Recognition And The Propensity To Engage In Sexually Coercive Behaviors: A Study With College Males, Beth J. Dietzel

Dissertations

Several variables have been investigated over the past years as risk factors for sexual aggression. Among them, substance use/abuse, family environment, attitudes towards women, and lack of empathy. Although researchers have identified several risk factors, predicting aggressive behaviors continues to be a difficult task. One variable that has received less attention in the literature is men's emotion recognition skills. Do men's emotion recognition skills affect their propensity to aggress?

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition skills/deficits and how such skills predict propensity to engage in sexually coercive behavior. There were two main goals of this study. …

Where Was The Government? In Inquiry Into The Events Of September 11, 2001, Elizabeth A. Bradshaw

Masters Theses

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have forever changed the geopolitical landscape. Yet despite the significance of such an event, those working in the field of state crime have been reluctant to investigate the role of the United States government in failing to prevent the attacks. Utilizing the five criteria of state crime put forth by Kauzlarich, Mullins and Matthews (2003), the actions and inactions of the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Federal Aviation Administration are examined. Drawing on the testimonies of government officials …

Supporting Divorcing Parents In Japan, Akemi Kishimoto

Masters Theses

The purpose of this current study was to investigate the level of acceptance among professionals in Japan for initiatives and services for families experiencing divorce. Questionnaires were mailed to 1963 professionals. Seventy questionnaires were returned from Family Court Officers (n = 3), Counselors at the Family Problem Information Centers (n = 8), family law attorneys (n = 2), university faculty (n = 53), and unspecified (n = 4). Results are summarized as follows: laws and rules about divorce in Japanese society, including historical aspects; focusing on children's interests; visitation and postdivorce relationships; educating the public, parents, and high school students; …

Risk And Protective Factors Of Micronesian Youth In Hawai'i: An Exploratory Study, Scott K. Okamoto, David T. Mayeda, Mari Ushiroda, Davis Rehuher, Tui Lauilefue, Ophelia Ongalibang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This exploratory, qualitative study examined the risk and protective factors of Micronesian middle and high school students in Hawai'i. Forty one Micronesian youth participated in 9 focus groups that explored their experiences within their schools, families, and communities. The findings describe youths' experiences of ecological stress beginning with their migration to Hawai'i, and the potential outcomes of this stress (e.g., fighting, gangs, and drug use). Cultural buffers, such as traditional practices and culturally specific prevention programs, were described as aspects that prevented adverse outcomes. Implications for prevention practice are discussed.

Transforming Caregiving: African American Custodial Grandmothers And The Child Welfare System, S. Yvette Murphy, Andrea G. Hunter, Deborah J. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Growing numbers of African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren under the auspices of the child welfare system; however, little is known about the manner in which child welfare policies and practices impact custodial grandparenting. Based on focus groups with African American grandmothers who are raising grandchildren as formal kinship caregivers, this study explored the ways in which the new formalized relationship between the child welfare system and African American custodial grandmothers is transforming the meanings and practices related to intergenerational caregiving in African American families. Drawing on cultural and historical traditions, grandmothers forge a transformative partnership with child welfare that …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 35, No. 2 (June 2008)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• GLOBALIZATION, PRECARIOUS WORK, AND THE FOOD BANK - Ernie S. Lightman, Andrew Mitchell and Dean Herd
• FAMILY FOSTER CARE FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN IN EGYPT - Hamido A. Megahead
• POTENTIAL IMPACT OF EITC ADJUSTMENTS ON FINANCIAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY AMONG LOW INCOME FAMILIES: A SIMULATION MODEL - Younghee Lim and Catherine Lemieux
• TRANSFORMING CAREGIVING: AFRICAN AMERICAN CUSTODIAL GRANDMOTHERS AND THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM - S. Yvette Murphy, Andrea G. Hunter and Deborah J. Johnson
• DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY IN AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE HISTORY: 1897-1943 - Peter Szto
• USING SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION THEORY AS A FOUNDATION FOR MACRO-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS IN COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY HIV …

Using Social Construction Theory As A Foundation For Macro-Level Interventions In Communities Impacted By Hiv And Addictions, David Allen Patterson, Robert H. Keefe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many professionals working with people living with HIV and alcohol and other drug addictions rely heavily on micro and mezzo-level interventions. The authors argue that although these approaches are effective for helping people living with some social problems they are too narrow for working effectively with HIV-positive and alcohol and other drug-addicted individuals. The authors use social construction theory to analyze the social problems of HIV/AIDS and addictions and make recommendations for macro-level interventions that may help curtail the dual problems of HIV and addictions.

This Journey Is Not For The Faint Of Heart: An Investigation Of Challenges Facing Transgender Individuals And Their Significant Others, Emily Lenning

Dissertations

This study investigates the challenges imposed on transgender individuals and their significant others as a result of the deviant labels that have been used to stigmatize non-traditional expressions of gender. Using webbased surveys and an on-line focus group, the themes of language and its limitations, psychological trauma, and social challenges are explored and analyzed using discourse analysis. With a total of 311 subjects, 254 transgender individuals and 57 significant others, this research challenges the utility of gendered language as it is currently constituted, addresses the importance of significant others in understanding the transgender experience, and identifies the various social, psychological …

An Evaluation Of The Challenge Day Program, Deborah S. Higgins

Masters Theses

This research is an evaluation of the Challenge Day anti-bullying program conducted in four Kalamazoo County schools. An analysis was conducted of survey data collected as part of the Challenge Day intervention. T-test comparisons of means were prepared for pre-test and post-test survey responses. This was done for each school that participated in the program: Vicksburg Middle School, Vicksburg High School, Parchment Middle School, and Parchment High School. Changes were noted as either positive (an increase in positive behaviors, attitudes, perceptions or a decrease in negative behaviors, attitudes, perceptions) or negative (a decrease in positive behaviors, attitudes, perceptions or an …

Too Little, Too Late: The Current Generation Of College Women And Sexual Health Education, Nicole C. Schumaker

Masters Theses

This research was conceived when I acknowledged the ways in which women of my generation have been educated about their bodies and about their sexuality. In a review of the literature on adolescent female sexuality, there is substantial evidence to suggest that in regards to early female sex education, adolescent sexuality is linked with danger, victimization, and passivity. Accordingly, it is asserted that these understandings of female sexuality disallow young girls to see themselves as initiators and decision-makers thus compromising their development of sexual subjectivity and responsibility in adulthood.

Data for this project were collected through ten semi-structured interviews with …

Does Belief Matter? Social Psychological Characteristics And The Likelihood Of Welfare Use And Exit, Michele Lee Kozimor-King

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Numerous studies have reemerged examining social psychological variables as predictors of individual differences in the human experience. Still, current research focusing on the effects of self-beliefs on welfare use and exit is limited. This study examines the effects of social psychological variables on the likelihood of welfare use and five-year outcomes of wonen using data from the 1979 through 2000 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Binary logistic regression estimates suggest that social psychological characteristics are initially related to welfare use, but do not remain oce control variables are introduced. While social psychological predictors do not appear …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 35, No. 1 (March 2008)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL ISSUE ON HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL POLICY

• INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE - Richard K. Caputo, Special Editor
• LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD: EPITOMIZING DEVOLUTION THROUGH FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS - Robert J. Wineburg, Brian L. Coleman, Stephanie C. Boddie, and Ram A. Cnaan
• SOCIAL WORK IN THE WORKFARE REGIME: A COMPARISON OF THE U.S. AND AUSTRALIA - Catherine McDonald and Michael Reisch
• SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION: AN IDEOLOGICALLY STRUCTURED MOVEMENT - Judie Svihula and Carroll L. Estes
• THE ILLUSION OF CHANGE, THE POLITICS OF ILLUSION: EVOLUTION OF THE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT OF 1988 - Luisa S. Deprez
• WHEN DOES …

Review Of Sociology In America: A History. Craig Calhoun, Editor. Reviewed By Richard Caputo., Richard Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Craig Calhoun (Ed.). Sociology in America: A History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. $85.00 hardcover, $30.00 papercover.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 34, No. 4 (December 2007)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• TWO DECADES AFTER MCMARTIN: A FOLLOW-UP OF 22 CONVICTED DAY CARE EMPLOYEES - Mary deYoung
• NEGOTIATING 'PROFESSIONAL AGENCY': SOCIAL WORK AND DECISION-MAKING WITHIN THE ONTARIO CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM - Henry Parada, Lisa Barnoff, and Brienne Coleman
• A CRITIQUE OF THE GLOBAL TRAFFICKING DISCOURSE AND U.S. POLICY - Moshoula Capous Desyllas
• A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF LETTERS TO PRESIDENT KENNEDY FROM PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR FAMILIES:USING THE RESEARCH POEM IN POLICY ORIENTED RESEARCH - Rich Furman and Allison Shukraft
• THE RESEARCH PRACTICES AND NEEDS OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN AN URBAN CENTER - Randy Stoecker
• PUBLIC AND PRIVATE …

The Research Practices And Needs Of Non-Profit Organizations In An Urban Center, Randy Stoecker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

How do nonprofit organizations use data and research? What challenges do they face in conducting research and managing data? In spring of 2004, 80 nonprofit organizations in Toledo, Ohio returned a survey on their research and data needs and practices. The survey found that nonprofits collect data on a wide variety of topics, but do not use much of the data that they collect, and do not collect much data that could be useful for other groups, particularly neighborhood organizations. The average nonprofit in the survey has five employees and four volunteers who, together, spend 56 hours per week collecting, …

Essays On Intrahousehold Allocation And The Family: Fertility, Child Education, And Nutrition, Alemayehu Azeze Ambel

Dissertations

Understanding the constraints that households face when making decisions on fertility, education, and health is beneficial for effective interventions aimed at enhancing investments in human capital, promoting gender equity, and reducing poverty. This dissertation consists of four essays that analyze the nature, performance, and determinants of fertility, child education, and nutritional status in a developing economy.

The first essay identifies peculiar constraints, including gender preference and income uncertainty that households face when making fertility and schooling choices. The underlying assumption in the theoretical analysis is that in the absence of formal risk and capital markets, households may revert to informal …

Gender Disparity In Nigerian Education: Women’S Experience Of Barriers To Equal Educational Opportunity, Eugene Okoli

Dissertations

Discrepancies between males and females in access to schooling, school completion rates, and participation in employment opportunities are still more the norm in some regions of the world than others. Limited access to education plagues women in Nigeria as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa. Disparity in access to educational opportunity is a pressing gender equity issue in Nigeria (World Bank, 2003).

Relatively few studies have focused on obtaining the viewpoints of women who experience this phenomenon. To hear the voices of these women regarding how they gained or were denied access to education in the Nigerian context, a cross-section of …

A Critique Of The Global Trafficking Discourse And U.S. Policy, Moshoula Capous Desyllas

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines the dominant discourse on trafficking in persons and the implementation of international and U.S. policy to address trafficking globally. Features of the United Nations Protocol and the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act demonstrate how trafficking frameworks currently in place contain underlying fears of migration and female sexuality. The implications of policy on the construction of third world women as "victims to be saved" through governments, National Government Organizations, feminists and the media will show how these misrespresentations only reinforce racism and dualistic simplifications of a complex issue. An emphasis is placed on the importance of women's agency …

A Qualitative Study Of Letters To President Kennedy From Persons With Mental Illness And Their Families: Using The Research Poem In Policy Oriented Research, Rich Furman, Allison Shukraft

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using the research poem as a tool of data representation, this paper presentsfindingsfrom an analysis of letters sent to President John F. Kennedy regarding the formulation of mental health policy during the early 1960s. The article presents the experiences of consumers of mental health services and their families-shapers and receivers of mentalhealthprovisionsth atareinfrequentlygivenv oice. Traditional thematic analysis was conducted, and data subsequently were represented in three poetic forms:free verse, the pantoum, and the tanka.

Social Functioning: A Sociological Common Base For Social Work Practice, Thomas J. Blakely, Gregory M. Dziadosz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article describes the experience of a social work mental health agency with Social Role Theory (SRT), that is an organizing concept for the delivery of its assessment and treatment program. SRT has been called the process variable of the program, meaning how services are delivered. Social functioning, a concept taken from SRT, is a treatment outcome. The overall purposes of the article are to describe the contribution of sociology to social work practice, and to advance the argument that social functioning is a common base for social work practice generally.

Greek-Letter Membership And College Graduation: Does Race Matter?, Ronald E. Severtis Jr., C. Andre Christie-Mizell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Research, utilizing a nationally representative sample of 3,712 Americans, revealed that Greek-letter membership increases the probability of college graduation more for African Americans than for European Americans. Conversely, father's education is a more robust predictor of educational outcomes for European Americans compared to their African American counterparts

Community Development Corporations And Public Participation: Lessons From A Case Study In The Arkansas Delta, Valerie H. Hunt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this paper, I focus on the role of community development corporations (CDCs) in fostering public participation in the local political process. Using survey and interview data gathered from CDCs operating in the Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas, I show that the CDC is an important intermediary between the citizens and the local political arena. While, according to this study's findings, the CDCs' long-term goal is to develop a lasting sense of efficacy among CDC participants, leading to direct political participation by citizens, the nature of CDC funding does not fully support these efforts. As a result, these critical activities …

The Role Of Informal Social Networks In Micro-Savings Mobilization, Margaret Lombe, Fred M. Ssewamala

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The influence of informal institutions on economic outcomes for low income individuals and households has received little attention in the United States. Yet, drawing on social capital theory and existing studies from developing countries where informal institutions have been widely used in promoting economic opportunities offamilies in poverty, one would expect these institutions to have positive effects on the economic outcomes of low income individuals in the context of an IDA program. Using a sample of 840 respondents who were enrolled in a community action program, this study assesses the effects of informal networks of social support on performance in …

Advice And Help-Seeking Intentions Among Youth In Israel: Ethnic And Gender Differences, Moshe Sherer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study addresses intentions to seek advice and help among Jewish and Arab youths in Israel. The sample included 805 Jewish, 159 Moslem, 42 Christian, and 43 Druze youths. Two instruments were used: a demographic questionnaire and a questionnaire on help-seeking intentions. Results indicated that members of the ethnic groups preferred using different sources for advice and help. Compared to Moslem and Druze youths, Jewish youths preferred to turn to fathers, siblings, school counselors, and social workers; Compared to Arab youths, Jewish youths expressed less intention to seek assistancef rom their mothers; and compared to Moslem youths, Jewish youths expressed …

Incarceration And Unwed Fathers In Fragile Families, Charles E. Lewis Jr., Irwin Garfinkel, Qin Gao

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Criminal justice policies have resulted in millions of Americans being incarcerated over the past three decades in systems that provide little or no rehabilitation. This study uses a new dataset-The Fragile Families Study-to document poor labor market outcomes that are associated with incarceration. We find that fathers who had been incarcerated earned 28 percent less annually thanfathers who were never incarceratedT hese previously incarceratedfa thers worked less weeks per year, less hours per week and were less likely to be working during the week prior to their interview. We also found that fathers who had been incarcerated were more likely …

Interpersonal Violence And Animals: Mandated Cross-Sector Reporting, Dennis D. Long, Joan H. Long, Shanti J. Kulkarni

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Research indicates an association between interpersonal violence and animal cruelty. This article examine the virtues and limitations of creating statutory authority requiring professionals to report substantiated abuse, neglect, and cruelty across service delivery systems (e.g. child and adult protect services and humane societies). Such a legislative approach authorizes and legitimizes "mandated crosssector reporting." The probative and research value of this type of initiative is examined as well as ethical and political considerations.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 34, No. 3 (September 2007)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY IN THE ARKANSAS DELTA - Valerie H. Hunt
• THE ROLE OF INFORMAL SOCIAL NETWORKS IN MICRO-SAVINGS MOBILIZATION - Margaret Lombe and Fred M. Ssewamala
• ADVICE AND HELP-SEEKING INTENTIONS AMONG YOUTH IN ISRAEL: ETHNIC AND GENDER DIFFERENCES - Moshe Sherer
• INCARCERATION AND UNWED FATHERS IN FRAGILE FAMILIES - Charles E. Lewis, Jr., Irwin Garfinkel and Qin Gao
• GREEK-LETTER MEMBERSHIP AND COLLEGE GRADUATION: DOES RACE MATTER? - Ronald E. Severtis, Jr. and C. Andrg Christie-Mizell
• FROM FINANCIAL LITERACY TO FINANCIAL CAPABILITY AMONG YOUTH - Elizabeth Johnson and Margaret …