Sociology Commons^™

Technology And Time, Jon Vanwieren

Masters Theses

This thesis sets out to further reveal the technology and time interrelationship in human society. It is through an investigation of an array of sociological, theoretical, philosophical, historical and artistic responses to modernity that this relationship is explored. Primary analytic focus is placed on two contemporary authors who have addressed the technology and time relationship. These authors are Manuel Castells and Paul Virilio. Castells and Virilio offer two distinct portraits of the modem-technological world. By contrasting these authors' projects, methods and intellectual heritage, the question of technology and time is further scrutinized. Advanced here is an argument that time is …

A Socio-Historical Analysis Of The Benton Harbor, Michigan Desegregation Case Between 1967 And 1981, Tiffany Anne Loftus Butzbaugh

Dissertations

This study focuses on the socio-history of the Benton Harbor Area School District's ("BHASD") desegregation froth 1967 when Berry v School District of TheCity of Benton Harbor , C.A. 9 W.D. Mich. (1967) ("Berry ") was filed until 1981, when the court-ordered busing took effect. The purpose is to write a socio-historical analysis of BHASC Board of Education (BHASC Board) decisions regarding racial balance and imbalance in BHASC schools. Specifically, I study theBHASD Board, the administration, and the community concerning the following socio-historically relevant decisions: (1) the transfer of students from theSodus attendance district in the BHASD to the …

The Effect Of Alcohol On Women’S Detection Of Risk In A Date Rape Analogue, Marci Marroquin Loiselle

Dissertations

Research strongly suggests that alcohol is a risk factor for date rape for both victims and perpetrators (Abbey, 1991, Fritner & Rubinson, 1994; Miller & Marshall, 1987; Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987; Norris & Cubbins, 1992; Marx, Van Wie, & Gross, 1996). Many victims of sexual assault consume alcohol prior to being raped (Marx, et al., 1999), and "early recognition of when a social situation with a male acquaintance or intimate partner has become threatening can aida woman in preventing a serious incident of sexual aggression" (Norris, et al, 1999, p. 230). This study's purpose was to experimentally address the link …

Changing Women: An Ethnographic Study Of Homeless Mothers And Popular Education, Lorna Rivera

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article discusses ethnographic research conducted between 1995 and 1998 that studied the impact of popular education on the lives of fifty homeless and formerly homeless mothers. Data collection involved indepth interviews and participant observation in a family shelter located in one of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. The article argues that popular education increased the women's self-esteem, they were inspired to help other low-income women, they learned to advocate for their rights and they became more involved in their children's education. The findings suggest that popular education can best address the academic, personal, and community goals of very poor women.

Review Of Ageism: Stereotyping And Prejudice Against Older Persons. Todd Nelson (Ed.). Reviewed By Nancy R. Hooyman., Nancy R. Hooyman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Todd Nelson (Ed). Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002. $45.95 hardcover.

In-Group Disparaging Humor: Conditions Of Amusement And Consequences For Social Identity, Mark Allen Ferguson

Masters Theses

The present research develops and empirically tests a theoretical model of ingroup disparaging humor. In an experiment, one hundred and seventy-five undergraduates were exposed to a comedy routine that disparaged an in- group, an outgroup, or did not contain disparaging content. Subjects then completed measures of amusement and social identity. Results suggest that in-group disparaging humor can simultaneously elicit amusement and threaten social identity. The implications of these results for understanding the effects of in-group disparaging humor on amusement and social identity are discussed.

Interspecies Encounters: An Ethnography Of A Veterinary Hospital, Dana Atwood-Harvey

Dissertations

There were three broad reasons for this research. The larger goal was to continue to advance the incorporation of 'other' animals and the rest of nature in general in sociological theory and research. The second was to suggest to those who have incorporated 'other' animals into their research, to include them as participants. The third was to redirect the focus of those who have incorporated 'other' animals as participants, to the impact that ideological structures and other social factors have on human-'other' animal encounters. Toward this end, I directed the focus of my study to examine human-'other' animal encounters ina …

African American Single Mother - An In-Depth Study, Donna Jean Russau

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the life and role of the African American Single Mother (AASM) in America as the topic of this study. The AASM in this study will voice her experiences. The point of view of this thesis is that the AASM is in the unique position of being the only person able to convey facts about her life from her personal perspective. Through the voice of the AASM, this researcher will develop a written document which describes her life experiences and roles in which she operates in her family. This study will give the view of life of AASM's …

The Mommy Track: The Consequences Of Gender Ideology And Aspirations On Age At First Motherhood, Jennifer Stewart

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While there is extensive and compelling evidence that growing up in an impoverished background leads to early fertility, few studies explain why early socioeconomic disadvantage leads to early childbearing. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I test whether gender ideology, as well as educational and occupational aspirations, mediates the connection between poverty and teen fertility patterns. Traditional gender ideology depresses age at first motherhood. Adolescent aspirations appear to act as protective factors in the production of early pregnancy.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 30, No. 2 (June 2003)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• THE MOMMY TRACK: THE CONSEQUENCES OF GENDER IDEOLOGY AND ASPIRATIONS ON AGE AT FIRST MOTHERHOOD - Jennifer Stewart
• CHANGING WOMEN: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF HOMELESS MOTHERS AND POPULAR EDUCATION - Lorna Rivera
• THE SETTLEMENT HOUSE TRADITION: CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURE CONCERNS - Beverly Koerin
• THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN A NEW FOSTER PLACEMENT: PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT,
• PARENTAL CONTACT AND PLACEMENT DISRUPTION - James G. Barber & Paul H. Delfabbro
• LINKING WELFARE CLIENTS TO JOBS: DISCRETIONARY USE OF WORKER SOCIAL CAPITAL - Michelle Livermore & Alison Neustrom
• HEAD START, OTHER PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS, & LIFE SUCCESS IN A YOUTH COHORT …

The Qualitative Investigation Of The Social Construction Of Female Sexuality Within A Sexualized Work Environment, Christi L. Young

Masters Theses

This qualitative investigation seeks to identify the sociocultural determinants and psychoemotional ramifications of essentialist gender role socialization on female employees in a sexualized work environment (SWE). Sexualized work environments incorporate work and sexuality and exist on a continuum according to the frequency and intensity of the sexual economic exchange that takes place within them. In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten female employees at a comedy club to explore the social construction of female sexuality in such an environment. Subjects commented on the various advantages and disadvantages of working in a SWE as well as on general issues …

One Mind Or Two? How Psychiatrists And Psychologists Manage Medical-Scientific And Religious Interpretations Of Mind, Ellen Wagenfeld-Heintz

Dissertations

Building upon concepts from sociology of medicine, religion, knowledge, and professions, this study explores the social determinants of separation and integration of medical-scientific and religious approaches to mind and mental health. Using qualitative interviews, it shows how, to what extent, and why psychiatrists and psychologists of Judeo-Christian religious orientations or nonaffiliated believers in the State of Michigan are willing or reluctant to integrate religious paradigms in their mental health practices. The study turns to a content analysis of 3,680 articles from two leading professional journals to assess the participants’ claims regarding the treatment of religion prevalent in psychiatry and psychology. …

Crimes On College Campuses, Angela M. Turner

Masters Theses

A college or university is not a place where crime is expected. Crime was not recognized as a discrete campus problem until recently. Information on this topic is limited and difficult to obtain. The purpose of my research is to measure the amount of crime on the campus of Western Michigan University (WMU). My research is focused on the crimes of rape, sexual assault and theft. The victims I study are students and resident hall assistants. My research method includes a self-report survey from a sample of 300 students and resident hall assistants enrolled at WMU.

I provide statistics from …

The Politics Of Exclusion And Paranoia: The Know Nothing Party As A Case Study In Frustration-Aggression Analysis, Elton W. Weintz

Masters Theses

Historically, American democracy has been based on a policy of exclusion where the empowered have enjoyed the luxury of deciding which groups would be eligible to participate fully in the great American experiment--a flawed system based upon discriminatory notions of class, racism, sexism, and nativism. Richard Hofstadter's paranoia interpretation--that irrational beliefs in conspiracies led to civic participation in exclusionary movements--provides some rationale for this exclusionary behavior.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this paper applies the social psychological theory of frustration-aggression analysis in conjunction with Hofstadter's paranoia interpretation in an attempt to further understand exclusionary behavior in American history. In particular, this …

The Nonprofit Sector In Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Study, Abdulrahman Al-Othaimeen

Masters Theses

As Saudi Arabia's economic and social environments have become more complex, the role of the nonprofit sector has grown in importance. At the same time, the sector faces the challenges of technology changes, shifting demographics, global influences, and increasing connectedness to the private and government sectors. In past decades, charitable services depended on individuals. It has, however, moved from individual services to charitable organizations. This study describes the work of hundreds of private and community organizations and agencies that practice the charitable work. They provide similar service and programs: human service, childcare, education, health care, and consulting. Philanthropic agencies influence …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 30, No. 1 (March 2003)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Issue on Institutional Enthnography: Theory and Practice

• DOROTHY SMITH AND KNOWING THE WORLD WE LIVE IN - Marie Campbell
• TURNING THE KALEIDOSCOPE: TELLING STORIES IN RHETORICAL SPACES - Bonnie M. Winfield
• "ARE YOU BEGINNING TO SEE A PATTERN HERE?" FAMILY AND MEDICAL DISCOURSES SHAPE THE STORY OF BLACK INFANT MORTALITY - Elaine R. Cleeton
• "FOR THE FAMILY": ASIAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S TRIPLE DAY - Kamini Maraj Grahame
• CHRONIC ILLNESS AND ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATION: MEETING DISABLED STUDENTS' "UNIQUE NEEDS" AND PRESERVING THE INSTITUTIONAL ORDER OF THE UNIVERSITY - Karen E. Jung
• A CHILD'S DEATH: LESSONS FROM HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS' …

"Are You Beginning To See A Pattern Here?" Family And Medical Discourses Shape The Story Of Black Infant Mortality, Elaine R. Cleeton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Postmodern and poststructuralist theorizations of the interrelations of the particular and the universal have identified women's bodies to be the last frontier for scientific discovery leading to and satisfying the modern compulsion to stabilize and control life from birth to death. This institutional ethnography of one city's response to an elevated infant mortality rate among the babies of African American urban, impoverished women explores their discursive transformation from single mothers who cannot begin prenatal care before the second trimester because too few physicians will treat Medicaid patients, into sexually-immoral, illegaldrug- using women who deliberately harm their babies. The study locates …

Antiracism Discourse: The Ideological Circle In A Child World, Miu Chung Yan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Antiracism is a dominant discourse in contemporary societies. The understanding of antiracism, however, varies. Government, through its own textually mediated organization of apparatus, tends to homogenize the discourse. This paper is to demonstrate, by employing institutional ethnography, how a child's act can ignite the socially organized textual engine to include the children's world in the ideological circle of antiracism discourse dominated by the government. Institutional ethnography, as demonstrated in this paper, is a useful tool for social workers to deconstruct the textual condition in which social work practice is embedded. The ideological circle is a powerful concept to help social …

"For The Family": Asian Immigrant Women's Triple Day, Kamini Maraj Grahame

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines how Asian immigrant women manage the demands of family,job training, and paid work in their new society. Using institutional ethnography, a feminist research strategy developed by Dorothy Smith, the study begins with the women's experiences to explore the extended social relations which give shape to them. The study argues that among those extended relations are the organization of the labor market in the contemporary period, immigration legislation, and the ideological practices embedded in developing, managing, and administering public policies such as job training. A critical eye is turned to social science discourses on family which penetrate the …

Mothering, Crime And Incarceration, Kathleen J. Ferraro, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

This article examines the relationships between mothering, crime, and incarceration through the narratives of thirty women incarcerated in a southwestern county jail. The responsibilities of child care, combined with the burdens of economic marginality and domestic violence, led some women to choose economic crimes or drug dealing as an alternative to hunger and homelessness. Other women, arrested for drug- or alcohol-related crimes, related their offenses to the psychological pain and despair resulting from loss of custody of their children. Many women were incarcerated for minor probation violations that often related to the conflict between work, child care, and probation requirements. …

Malign Neglect Or Benign Respect: Women’S Health Care In A Carceral Setting, Angela M. Moe, Kathleen J. Ferraro

Sociology Faculty Publications

A central tenet of feminist criminological scholarship is the examination of women’s experiences with crime and incarceration through their own narratives. Through semi-structured interviews with thirty jailed women, this article examines carceral conditions through the critical lens of the female inmate. Highlighted in this article is the availability and quality of health care in a detention center in Arizona. The findings indicate a contentious duality, exposing both heinous neglect and benign solicitude in the care delivered to jailed women. This duality is situated within the dismal health care system available to indigent women in the region.

"Active Living": Transforming The Organization Of Retirement And Housing In The U.S., Paul C. Luken, Suzanne Vaughan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examine the transformation of the social institutions of retirement and housing in the US in the latter part of the 20th century. Using institutional ethnography we explicate a woman's experience relocating to an age segregated community. Her relocation is predicated upon ideological practices that reconceptualize retirement as "active living" and the construction of a setting in which retirees engage in this new lifestyle. We demonstrate the textual mediation of this ideological and organizational reformation through an examination of an advertising campaign undertaken by the Del Webb Development Corporation in the marketing of Sun City, Arizona. The advertising texts provide …

The Social Construction Of Personal Protection Orders: Gendered Differences?, Kristen E. Devall

Masters Theses

Personal Protection Orders (PPOs) were enacted as one method of responding to the issue of domestic violence that was thought to be escalating in epidemic proportions across the United States. This research was grounded in social constructionist theory and sought to examine the perspectives of judges who authorize/deny PPOs and the implications these perspectives have for the legal process as well as the larger criminal justice system. Through my examination of the petitioning process, I gained insights about the relationships that exist between petitioners and respondents as well as the reasons petitioners cite for why s/he is seeking a PPO. …

"For Their Own Good?": Sex Work, Social Control And Social Workers, A Historical Perspective, Stéphanie Wahab

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article provides an overview of the social responses to prostitution since the mid 1800s and how the responses of social workers have been shaped by shifting social contexts. Understanding the complex interplay of these forces is key to mapping out the divergent social work practice approaches with sex workers and their influence over time. The article presents three main constructs which have influenced social work responses to sex work; 1) the notion that women needed to be protected for their own good, 2) competing class values and, 3) social control.

Review Of Preserving Privilege: California Politics, Propositions, And People Of Color. Jewelle Taylor Gibbs And Teiahsha Bankhead. Reviewed By Devon Brooks., Devon Brooks

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Jewelle Taylor Gibbs and Teiahsha Bankhead, Preserving Privilege: California Politics, Propositions, and People of Color. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.

The New Poverty Studies: The Ethnography Of Power, Politics And Impoverished People In The United States. Judith Goode And Jeff Maskovsky (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Judith Goode and Jeff Maskovsky (Eds.), The New Poverty Studies: The Ethnography of Power, Politics and Impoverished People in the United States. New York: New York University Press, 2001. $55.00 hardcover, $19.50 papercover.

Perceptions Of A Prejudiced Campus: Institutional Antecedents And Personal Consequences For African-American Students, Brenda Taylor King

Dissertations

The present research consists of two studies designed to (a) identify those institutional characteristics that African-American students, themselves, consider to evaluate the campus environment of predominately White colleges and universities (PW'CUs). and (b) examine the relationship between African-American students' perceptions o f the campus environment at a PWCU (based on institutional characteristics) and their expectations of quality of life and academic achievement In Study One. African-American and White students at Western Michigan University and high school seniors at two public high schools completed the Campus Climate Survey, designed to identify the institutional characteristics to which African- American students spontaneously attend …

The Cultural Script Of Special Needs Adoption, George Grant, Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine special needs adoption from the perspective of the adoptive parents. Using the general guidelines of grounded theory, the study analyzed secondary data from a post-adoption program providing services to families who adopted special needs children. The data revealed that adoptive parents function under a cultural script of special needs adoption. The cultural script influences how families view themselves, the environment around them and how they decide to function as adoptive families. The study explains the cultural script, ways that professionals working in adoption can use that cultural script to support adoptive families …

Teaching My Son To Be A Father: The Plight Of Unmarried Adolescent African American Fathers, Michael George Till

Dissertations

A quantitative research design was utilized to examine and understand the perceptions of fatherhood and manhood held by unmarried African American adolescent fathers. In face-to-face 60-90 minute interviews using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researcher, participants were asked open-ended questions to provide these young men with a voice and an opportunity to express their needs, support, neglect, understanding, and perception of how society views them and its impact on the functioning of the family unit. Using purposeful sampling, 10 unmarried African American adolescent fathers, located in the southwestern area of Michigan, were interviewed for data collection.

Interviews were …

Examining The Experiences Of Nontraditional Undergraduate Women: Pedagogy Versus Andragogy, Beverly Ann Hair

Dissertations

Increasing numbers of nontraditional students, of whom many are women, are enrolling in two-year and four-year colleges and universities. The purpose ofthis study is to critically examine the experiences of nontraditional undergraduate women and their preferred learning environment--pedagogy vs. andragogy. Students were asked to respond to a variety of questions in order to reflect upon their preferred learning environment. The researcher looked for differences inthe experiences of 20 (ten Black and ten White) nontraditional female undergraduate college students within their respective institutions based on their race, socioeconomic background, age, and religious background. Also, the researcher focused on why these nontraditional …