Sociology Commons^™

Family Relational Dialectics: A Systemic Model For Explaining Relational Factors Contributing To Adolescents' Faith Maturity, Life Values, And Commitment To Christ, Jasmine J. Fraser

Dissertations

Problem

Though widespread studies have been conducted on the psycho-socio-cultural effects of family systems functioning on individuals’ developmental outcomes, there is limited discussion on the direct correlations between family relational encounters and adolescents’ development of faith and life values. The effects of dialectical interplay within family systems are often missed, misinterpreted, or minimized. This study presumed that because familial relationships have far-reaching psycho-socio-cultural effects on individuals’ development outcomes, there are also likely effects on certain religious outcomes. Subsequently, certain parent-child relational encounters were examined to determine whether they have significant effects on adolescents’ faith maturity, life values, and commitment to …

Ethnic Identity And Adult Attachment As Correlates Of Relationship Satisfaction Among White, Black, And Interracial Couples, Donalea Mcintyre

Dissertations

Problem

Relationship satisfaction is a broad construct that has been extensively researched. However, there are gaps in the literature pertaining to relationship satisfaction in minority and interracial couples. This present study examines the extent of the relationship between ethnic identity and adult attachment to relationship satisfaction in White, Black, and Interracial couples.

Method

Participants completed surveys that measure a) ethnic identity, b) adult attachment, and c) relationship satisfaction. Several statistical analysis methods were used to answer two research questions. These methods included descriptive statistics, one-way MANOVA, and Path Analysis. Six hundred and seven adults in the United States general population …

Leadership Development Among Youth In Latino Congregations: The Relationship Of Religious Participation To Social Service Involvement And Engagement In Leadership Tasks, Elizabeth Tamez Mendez

Dissertations

Problem

Personal observations and anecdotal accounts attest that some of the young people in U.S. Latino churches are developing as leaders within their congregations. This seems to come as a result of the organic or less-formalized leadership development dynamics and practices present within Latino congregations, where leaders often develop by being actively involved in leadership actions without necessarily first following a curriculum of study, completing a training program, or fulfilling a set of theological education requirements. In this way, many are acquiring roles and responsibilities by which they actively contribute towards local congregational and community life, and by which they …

Can You Feel The Spirit? Towards A Sensory Sociology Of Relgion, Beth Laurel Dougherty

Dissertations

How do the embodied senses play into ritual efficacy? In this dissertation, I argue that the relationship between ritual and This mixed-methods dissertation focuses on the ways individuals, local ritual coordinators, and larger organizations use and understand the senses and embodiment as tools for shaping and experiential results of ritual encounters. Establishing an understanding of the role of the sensory in sociological literature and the historical shifts in the sociology of religion, I build an analysis that models ways that the sensory can be used to understand and analyze religious rituals. Using ethnographic and content analysis of rituals in Pagan, …

The Impact Of Family Satisfaction, Racial Identity And Perceived Ethnic Discrimination On African-American College Students' Vulnerability To Stereotype Threat, Erica Lynn Featherson

Dissertations

Problem

Stereotype threat is something that has plagued the African-American community for decades. However, there is no direct research on the protective factors that could mitigate or exacerbate the effects of stereotype threat on African-Americans. The present study is intended to focus on the relationship between family satisfaction, racial identity, perceived ethnic discrimination and African-American college students’ vulnerability to stereotype threat.

Method

This study used the Family Satisfaction Scale (FSS), The Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale (BRIAS), The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire (PEDQ) and the Stereotype Confirmation Concern Scale (SCCS) to explore the relationships between the four variables. A structural …

Beyond Body Mixing: Race, Space, And The Meaning Of School Integration In A Chicago Suburb, Megan Rigsby Klein

Dissertations

Integration is often characterized as an effective means of fixing the problems associated with segregation. Whether with respect to residential segregation, education, or to public spaces in general, integration is seen as a way to undo the perils of racial segregation. Yet often times, integration takes a certain reified form with a large white majority and non-white minority. How do lived experiences of Black residents in integrated spaces affect their perceptions of integration? Drawing on data collected from arcHIVal research, participant observation, and in-depth interviews with long-term African American residents, this dissertation examines the ways in which race, space, and …

Between A Rock And A Hard Place: The Black Middle Class And Mass Incarceration, Bill Byrnes

Dissertations

The United States is the world leader in incarceration. Mass incarceration does not affect all racial groups equally; research literature shows that people of color, but especially Black people in the working and lower classes, face the brunt of policing and incarceration in this country. In Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Black Middle Class and Mass Incarceration, I examine how mass incarceration affects those who are not poor by comparing and contrasting the experiences of middle-class White and Black respondents using data collected from focus groups and one-on-one interviews. Although Black and White respondents sometimes shared similar …

The Relationship Between Neighborhood Characteristics And College Academic Outcomes Among An Ncaa Division I Student-Athlete Population: A Multilevel Approach, Ann Kearns Davoren

Dissertations

Over 170,000 students participate annually in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports. Approximately one-third of these student-athletes fail to graduate from their initial school of enrollment within six years. While some will go on to graduate from a transfer institution, roughly 15% will fail to earn a degree while competing for an NCAA Division I school. Using U.S. census block group data, this study adds the neighborhood characteristics of education, employment, income, and racial composition to prediction models of first-year GPA and six-year baccalaureate degree attainment among an NCAA Division I student-athlete sample. The use of multilevel modeling …

Homicide And The World Religions, Allen Shamow

Dissertations

Cross-national studies seeking to explain the variation in rates of homicide have examined a multitude of factors including religion, but fewer studies have examined how religion may influence homicide through a society’s institutional structure. Social institutions include entities such as the economy, the family, the political structure, and educational system; and these institutions serve as guides for human action and behavior. Through its emphasis on values, religion may influence the interests and legitimize the functioning within societal institutions. In the present study, I examine how the major world religions of Protestantism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism may …

From War To Home: The Systematic Issues Operation Enduring And Iraqi Freedom Veterans Face Transitioning With Ptsd, Tiffany D. Ware

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the perceptions of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans with PTSD, who are transitioning from active duty to civilian life, regarding their participation in the Disabled Transition Assistance Program.

Methodology: The methodology for this research study will be qualitative from a phenomenological perspective. When thinking of research as it pertains to qualitative methods, it is appropriate to use when a researcher is trying to study the lived experiences of individuals (Flipp, 2014; Patton, 2015). This method will describe perceptions of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans with PTSD, who are …

Self-Perceptions Of Black Entrepreneurship In A Black Majority Rural Context - The Mississippi Delta, Timla G Washington

Dissertations

This studyexplored questions regarding the perceived influences (agency and structural) to successful Black entrepreneurship according to Black entrepreneurs living in the counties in the Mississippi Delta where Black people are the majority of the population. The examination questioned Black entrepreneurs in 13 counties in the Mississippi Delta on the perceived impact of agency and structural factors (i.e., human capital, social capital, industry type, financial capital, intergenerational link, discrimination, state government, Black elected officials, access to resources, opportunity, location) in relation to their success. One finding was that agency factors are the leading perceived influence on the success of Black entrepreneurs …

How Friendships Between Heterosexual And Sexual Minority Counseling Psychology Doctoral Students Affect Anti-Heterosexist Identity Development, Amber L. Sylvan

Dissertations

As the field of counseling psychology strives to embrace diversity and social justice issues, sexual minority issues have flourished into an active area of study among scholars and an area of focus for LGBT-affirming practitioners. One area of emphasis has been on how heterosexual people develop Anti-Heterosexist Identities. Some studies have noted the importance of friendship as it relates to Anti-Heterosexist Identity Development (Asta & Vacha- Haase, 2012; Duhigg, Rostosky, & Gray, 2010; DiStefano et al., 2000; Gelberg & Chojnacki, 1995; Larson, 2012), however, no known studies have more deeply explored the role of crosssexuality friendships. The purpose of this …

Race And Sexual Orientation Lssues In Graduate Classrooms: How Faculty In Psychology Experience Them Emerging Alongside One Another, Raymond L. Sheets Jr.

Dissertations

The inclusion of sexual orientation and race-related issues into mainstream psychology has gained much needed momentum in recent years. The field of counseling psychology, in particular, has helped fuel this momentum with its appreciation for, and commitment to, developing academic and applied psychologists who attend to an evolving multicultural society. Within the academic environment, faculty members have the responsibility of facilitating student learning in their respective classrooms; this facilitation becomes challenging in the face of emotionally charged topics such as race and sexual orientation. How then do graduate faculty who teach these courses experience race and sexual orientation comingling within …

Speaking Our Truth: Gender Minority People's Experiences With Discrimination, Codie L. Stone

Dissertations

This research builds on the growing literature on gender minority identities and issues, and aims to bring to light the voices, experiences, and ideas of this marginalized population contributing to our knowledge of the ways that discrimination is experienced by gender minorities. Participants' in this study are adults who identify within a marginalized gender category, mostly transgender and gender non-binary. The purpose of this research is to provide a glimpse into the lives of these participants and showcase the extreme vulnerability and vigilance, as well as resilience, participants navigate and embody. Using an intersectional framework, this research explores the influences …

Predictors Of Cognitive Function Among Cognitively Impaired Older African Americans Living In Congregate Residential Settings, Zyra Daffodil Apugan

Dissertations

The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to identify potential psychosocial predictors of cognition, including social support, depression, and functional activity, among older African Americans, ≥ 65 years, with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and living in congregate residential settings. Guided by the main effect model of social support, this study used existing data from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set, an NIH-funded multicenter study. Results showed that on average, the participants (n=56) were 81.7 years of age with 13.8 years of education. All, but six, were married. Bivariate Pearson correlations indicate a moderately strong negative relationship …

The Perception Of Chinese Higher Educators Toward Leadership Effectiveness In Regard To Gender, Kanglei Meng

Dissertations

This study examines Chinese educators’ perceptions of effective leadership behaviors in order to determine how teachers in Chinese higher education define effectiveness and whether there is a correlation between this perception and leaders’ gender. Factors considered included conscious and unconscious gender bias, Chinese culture, historical background, and identity. As a male-dominated country, China has been deeply influenced by Confucianism; hence, limited attention has been drawn to female leadership. The author identified and reviewed three women’s revolutions and their positive and negative effects in the past century in order to predict the status of female leadership. The researcher modified the Chinese …

A Narrative Policy Analysis Of The Responses To Tennessee Promise And Plans For Transfer Receptivity By Six Tennessee Public Universities' Presidents And Provosts, Lori Elliott Buchanan

Dissertations

The Tennessee Promise scholarship and mentoring program broadened access and affordability to postsecondary education in Tennessee. This policy innovation increased the number of students seeking to engage in postsecondary education. It also shifted some of the state’s students to the more affordable community colleges and colleges of applied technology for their first two years of college. Equally important, Tennessee Promise incentivized the presidents and provosts of the six public universities under review to expand existing transfer receptivity efforts as their universities prepared to receive and support Tennessee Promise community college student transfers.

The purpose of this narrative policy analysis based …

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Temporal Stability Of Crime Hot Spots And The Criminology Of Place, Michael J. Deckard

Dissertations

It is widely recognized that the distribution of crime in urban areas is not randomly distributed, but is highly concentrated in small pockets of space known as crime “hot spots”. While the empirical evidence supporting the law of crime concentration is strong, most studies that have examined the stability of crime hot spots over time have aggregated crime across years. This dissertation seeks to expand our understanding of the temporal stability of micro-geographic crime hot spots by addressing three research questions: (1) How are high-crime micro-places distributed at the monthly level? How much variation exists in the distribution of crime …

Pltw Female High-School Students' Supports And Barriers In Choosing A College Degree, Lisa Lubin Rubin

Dissertations

Purpose:The purpose of this mixed-methods research study is to identify and describe the barriers and supports that PLTW female students encounter when pursuing a non-traditional female STEM degree upon graduation from high school.

Methodology:A mixed-method (qualitative-quantitative) research design was chosen for this study to explore barriers and supports of female high-school seniors in PLTW. The qualitative portion of the study was phenomenology. This study explored the supports and barriers of female high-school seniors in PLTW courses when choosing a college degree. The quantitative portion of the study was conducted via a hard-copy survey containing closed-ended five-point Likert scale …

Dangerous Deals: A Case Study Of Nafta As A Criminogenic Policy, Daniel J. Patten

Dissertations

This study examines the creation of a criminogenic policy, NAFTA, and its subsequent social harms that primarily impacted poor rural farmers and indigenous people in Mexico. Previous research into state-corporate crime has focused on crimes committed by one state and one corporation, while little research has investigated the commission of crimes by more than one state operating in collusion. Previous research on human rights violations has emphasized genocide and physical integrity rights, while this study raises attention to “lesser” human rights violations such as abusive working conditions, lack of political participation in policy formation, and limited access to clean air …

The Undergraduate In The “New Urban University”: Recognizing The Role Of Agency And Its Correlates In The Student’S Academic Life Story, Karen Galea

Dissertations

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2016), only 36% of first time college students enrolled at broad-access institutions graduate within six years, compared to 60% at all universities. The vital role of academic agency is universally accepted; however, debate remains over a shared definition. The purpose of this study is to determine which combination of non-academic attributes generate, grow, and support academic agency for undergraduate students at a broad-access, minority-serving “New Urban University.” Three questions are examined:

1. Which attributes define academic agency, and how do they relate to conceptually similar variables?
2. Assuming academic agency exists along a continuum over …

A Mixed-Methods Study: Self-Efficacy And Barriers To Participation In Workplace Wellness Programs, Massiel Perez-Calhoon

Dissertations

America needs a healthy workforce to sustain the country. The scourge of obesity continues to plague Americans despite government initiatives such as the Affordable Care Act and wellness programs in the workplace to combat this epidemic. However, despite initiatives to make America healthy, barriers continued to impede the nation’s health. Lack of awareness and sensitivity to what motivates individual participants versus group participants built formidable barriers to accessing all workplace employees equitably. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the intent of this study was to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the impact on participation and engagement when …

Leaky Pipeline And Sacrificial Lambs: Gender, Political Parties, And Descriptive And Substantive Representation Of Women In South Korea, 1988 – 2016, Young-Im Lee

Dissertations

This study examines women’s political representation in pre-election (candidate nomination), election, and post-election (legislative activities) stages in South Korea. First, I examined factors contributing to electing women to the National Assembly in the eight national legislative elections since democratization in 1987. I conducted statistical analysis to examine how a candidate’s political experience, major party nomination, incumbency, and districts’ party loyalty affect the candidate’s electoral victory and how each influences women and men differently. I also interviewed candidates, candidate aspirants, elected legislators, legislative staffers, scholars and activists on their personal experiences with major party nomination and election campaigns.

Second, I analyzed …

What’S In It For Me? The Impact To Social Exchange Dynamics Of Hispanic Males Serving As Mentors In Formal Youth Programs, Annica Meza Dawe

Dissertations

Purpose: The U.S. Hispanic population is on the rise and will continue to be an important thread in the fabric of American society as a whole. However, in the midst of this burgeoning group lies its male subpopulation which faces its own unique challenges. One outlet that has demonstrated success for minorities is mentoring. Mentoring can provide Hispanic males with numerous benefits in a social exchange paradigm. Unfortunately the majority of mentoring research has focused solely on the perspective of the protégé, thus leaving mentor perceptions, particularly those of Hispanic males, unexplored. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study sought …

The Untold Stories Of Former Teen Mothers Who Have Achieved A Master’S Degree Or Higher, Tanya M. Benitez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to shed light on former teen mothers who have “beaten the odds” by achieving a master’s degree or higher. It sought to reveal and understand what the external and internal factors are which lead to these women pursing higher education.

Methodology: The methodology of this study is a case study which explored these factors through the personal stories of former teen mothers. The study revealed the commonalities among these women.

Findings: The findings of the study determined Data collection and analysis resulted in four findings in the lived story of the 13 selected …

Experiences Of Former Participants In Teen Advocates For Sexual Health (Tash), Celeste Nicholas

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the experiences of former participants in a Planned Parenthood youth development and sex education program, Teen Advocates for Sexual Health (TASH). Phenomenologically-based interviews centered the question, “What did it mean to participate in TASH?” Chapter 1 introduces the study context and synthesizes foundational literature from the fields of sex education, public health, critical pedagogy, civic engagement, youth development, and youth organizing. Chapters 2-4 each contain complete manuscripts, representing three complementary analytic approaches to a common data set and inviting multiple audiences. Chapter 2 addresses sex educators in describing TASH’s “rights-based” sex education model. Research questions included: …

The Evolution Of Women Pastors In Mainline Protestant Denominations, Rita G. Burnett

Dissertations

Subsequent to receiving official approval from denominational authorities more than 40 years ago, an increasing number of women appear to be expressing a ministerial call upon their lives and entering pastoral leadership. Many women pastors find acceptance in mainline protestant denominations (MPD). Yet, despite improvements, women still face unique challenges in ministry compared with men. Nevertheless, they continue to pursue opportunities in ministry. Mentoring helps offset impediments and provides a professional development outlet for enhancing skill sets and empowering women to overcome these hurdles. Thus, the purpose behind this study remains to identify challenges faced by women pastors related to …

Interpersonal Dependency And Self-Efficacy On Intention To Return To A Domestically Violent Relationship Among Low-Income Women, Erin N. Jenkins

Dissertations

An interesting and often puzzling aspect of violent relationships is its cyclical nature. Despite the high probability of future victimization, many victims of domestic violence often leave and return multiple times. A considerable amount of research reports that although a woman might leave her abusive partner with the intention of not returning, after some time, she returns (Aizer, & Dal Bo, 2009; Anderson, 2003; Choice & Lamke, 1999; Drigotas & Rusbult, 1992; Gordon et al., 2004; Lerner, & Kennedy, 2000; Pape & Arias, 2000; Rhatigan, Street, & Axsom, 2006; Rusbult, & Martz, 1995; Strube, 1988; Strube & Barbour, 1983, 1984; …

Networked: An Investigation Into The Economic Contribution Of Manuel Castells, Darrick Brake

Dissertations

The central focus of this dissertation is contemporary network theory as discussed by Manuel Castells with an emphasis on his theoretical discussion on economic theory. This research centers on critically evaluating the works of Manuel Castells and discuss how his ideas on the theory of networks and the “network society” in relation to changes in the economic structure and information capitalism have made significant contributions to not only information society theory but also economic and sociological theory. This research was done as a two-part process in which there is a comparative analysis of the unique and underlying contributions contained within …

Understanding The Decline In Child Victimization: A National-And-State-Level Analysis Of Child Abuse And Neglect Trends, Maribeth L. Rezey

Dissertations

Figures from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) suggest that national rates of child maltreatment declined during the last decade of the 20^th century and into the 21^st century. These data, which are derived from official state child protective service agency record systems, have frequently been used to measure changes in child abuse and neglect in the U.S. and in individual U.S. states. However, because the NCANDS has yet to be assessed for methodological issues surrounding the validity of the data to measure temporal change, it is unknown if the decline revealed in the NCANDS …