Sociology Commons^™

Seasonal Outlook: An Examination Of How The Foundations Of Attachment To Community Differ Between Seasonal And Year-Round Residents In High Amenity Areas, Brain M. Jennings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah is a popular second-home destination due to its unique landscapes that offer numerous natural amenities. Therefore, this research utilizes a mail survey of residents in six Utah counties to examine if seasonal residents become attached to their local communities in the same way as year-round residents. The objective of this research was two-fold: 1) to determine if the commonly cited dimensions of community attachment are an accurate representation of the concept itself; and 2) to determine if the foundations of community attachment, based on those conceptual dimensions, are different for year-round and seasonal homeowners.

Prior research has shown that …

African American Parental Beliefs About Resiliency: A Delphi Study, Vita L. Jones

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Resiliency is a concept that has been discussed in the fields of anthropology, psychology, sociology, and education for over 30 years. Most authors define resiliency as the ability to triumph over adversity. The term associated with children/youth who rise above negative situations is resilient. A subgroup of students who are disproportionately affected by negative perceptions from society and who often find themselves in negative situations are African American children/youth. It appears that these students encounter less social fit in school, have a higher propensity for at-risk behavior, and experience less favorable academic and social outcomes.

This study involved a Delphi …

The Sociology Of Scenes, The Sacramento Poetry Scene, Dana Nell Maher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For this ethnography, I use my feminist perspective, grounded theory, participant observation, and autoethnographic techniques to explore an urban poetry scene. I suggest that scene studies are a viable alternative to community studies and that we move our articulation of social experience to reflect it as it occurs, on a multitude of continuums. My goal with this project is to develop, use, and discuss the utility of a definition of scene that is intended to be useful to scene studies researchers. To this end, I both evaluate an outdated definition of scene (Irwin 1973 & 1977), and define the three …

Women's Health And Fitness Magazines: An Accurate Portrayal?, Jennifer M. Shymansky

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a content analysis examining the representation of health information, particularly the leading causes of death, in cover story headlines of one year of the top women's health and fitness magazines: Prevention , Shape , Fitness , Self , Health and Women's Health. The study is grounded in social responsibility theory, a normative media theory. The findings show that women's health and fitness magazines' cover story headlines predominately discuss diet and exercise for weight loss, rather than the leading causes of death facing women. This under representation of actual societal health concerns can limit the vast readerships' health …

Gray Zones Of Modern Genocide, Megan Dale Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Italian-Jewish chemist and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi wrote in his work The Drowned and the Saved about the "Gray Zone," or holding place for all things difficult to categorize about his experiences in the Nazi camp Auschwitz. Because human tendency is to divide things in a rigid dichotomy, he argued, anything without a set role is brushed aside. I have extended this Gray Zone to include mutually shared situations from modern genocide including: the relationship of race/land to genocide, the "Forced Victim-Perpetrator" (victim forced to commit atrocities against his or her own people), and the complex international reaction to genocidal …

Depressive Symptoms, Gender, And Growth In Cigarette Smoking Among Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Mansoo Yu, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Devan M. Crawford

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study reports findings from two-level growth curve modeling of cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms based on the first three waves of data from a longitudinal study of Indigenous adolescents and their parents/caretakers in the northern Midwest and Canada. The 743 adolescents were aged 10–13 years at Wave 1 and 12–15 years at Wave 3. Over the three years of the study the overall retention rate was 93%. By Wave 3, 39% of the adolescent girls and 25% of the boys had smoked cigarettes in the past 12 months. The growth curve results indicated that smoking increased for both adolescent …

The University Of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Methods For An Environmental Exposure Study Of Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, And Biphenyls, David H. Garabrant, Alfred Franzblau, James Lepkowski, Brenda W. Gillespie, Peter Adriaens, Avery Demond, Barbara Ward, Kathy Ladronka, Elizabeth Hedgeman, Kristine Knutson, Lynn Zwica, Kristen Olson, Timothy Towey, Qixuan Chen, Biling Hong

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (UMDES) was undertaken in response to concerns that the discharge of dioxin-like compounds from the Dow Chemical Company facilities in Midland, Michigan, resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and areas of the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents’ body burdens of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans.

Objectives: The UMDES is a hypothesis-driven study designed to answer important questions about human exposure to dioxins in the environment of Midland, where the Dow Chemical Company has operated for > 100 years, and in neighboring Saginaw, Michigan. In addition, …

"Big, Smelly, Salty Lake That I Call Home": Sense Of Place With A Mixed Amenity Setting, Carla Koons Trentelman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Drawing from literature on place, this dissertation studies place dynamics in relationships between people and a mixed amenity place. Using Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, as a case study, I use a social constructionist approach to examine the sense of place held by those who live nearest to the lake. I analyze qualitative interview and focus group data as well as quantitative survey data to discern the meanings the lake holds for these nearest neighbors and to examine distinctions between people who see the lake differently.

This study is relatively unique in its examination of relationships with a mixed amenity …

Empirically Examining Prostitution Through A Feminist Perspective, Shyann Child

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis is to empirically explore prostitution through a feminist perspective. Several background factors are explored on a small sample of women in the northeastern United States. Some of these women have been involved in an act of prostitution in their lifetime; some have not. This research will add to the body of knowledge on prostitution, as well as highlight the unique experiences of women. The goal is to understand whether or not these life experiences have had a hand in women's choices to engage in prostitution.

Disparities In Birth Weight Between Non-Hispanic Blacks And Non-Hispanic Whites: The Effect Of Rural Residency, Theresa Marie Fedor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of low birth weight among non-Hispanic Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites along the rural/urban continuum, as well as the combined effect of being both non-Hispanic Black and residing in a completely rural county. Degree of social isolation and lack of support are proposed mechanisms for explaining disparities in low birth weight for Blacks in rural counties.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child (NLSY79-C) datasets, logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds of low birth weight. …

Attitudes, Behavioral Intentions, And Migration: Resident Response To Amenity Growth-Related Change In The Rural Rocky Mountain West, Susan Reid Wilmot

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper explores the demographic, economic, political, and environmental characteristics that have helped define the “New West,” reviews studies on individual attitudes and participation in response to these changes, and presents findings and conclusions from an analysis of two study areas: Bear Lake and Star Valley. Results suggest that residency status is generally not a significant predictor of resident attitudes towards aspects of community change. Non-residency status factors, such as high levels of place attachment, knowledge about community affairs, values for property ownership, and community satisfaction, were generally more influential upon residents’ attitudes. Significant predictors of resident involvement in community …

Status And Slaughter: The Psycho-Social Factors That Influence Public Mass Murder, Stephen G. Van Geem

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Even though public mass shootings are relatively rare, they represent an atypical form of violence that is both sudden and yields an unprecedented amount of carnage; for these reasons, an inordinate amount of scholarship has been produced in order to isolate both the causes and effects of these rampages. As there is no clear cut and universal cause, over the past forty years numerous factors have been offered to account for these types of shootings, including bullying, peer relations, family problems, cultural conflict, demographic change, mental illness, gun culture, copycatting, and the media. While there appears to be an element …

The Chakra Energy System And Art Therapy: A Heuristic Study, Linda Scalise

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

The chakra system, an Eastern philosophy relating to an individual’s health, energy, and consciousness, has been integrated into the healing practices of psychology, meditation, yoga, and alternative medicine. Dale (2005), Judith (1996), and Myss (1996) described the chakra energy system as focal points embedded within the human energy system that regulate all components of the self. Researchers in complementary therapies and energy medicine have long been interested in how the integration of this system affects the progression of disease, human behavior, and emotional disturbances. However, although rich in symbolism and metaphor, no literature has been found demonstrating the use of …

The Role Of Abortion In Explaining Ethnic Fertility Differentials In Vietnam, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Sajeda Amin

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Until recently, Vietnam had the highest abortion rate in Asia. Abortion–mostly provided by the government—is believed to have contributed significantly to the country’s remarkable fertility decline over the last three decades. Despite the overall fertility decline, fertility rates vary across Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. The majority Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese, who together account for 85% of Vietnam’s total population, have total fertility rates below the replacement level. Meanwhile, other ethnic minority groups such as Dao and Hmong, who are disproportionately poor and live in remote, isolated areas, have the total fertility of 3.6 and 7.1 respectively. Analyzing the 1999 Census …

Using Art Therapy To Increase Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Homeless Mothers Living In A Shelter, Mandi Elizabeth Wines

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Literature reveals that homelessness is inherently a situation where desired outcomes are less likely than unfavorable outcomes, and, as such, the concepts of learned hopelessness, disempowerment, and low self-efficacy are especially relevant. Self-efficacy has been found to affect one’s motivation, performance, coping, self-esteem, emotional arousal, and behavior. Homeless women who possess a stronger sense of self-efficacy are more likely to actively engage in employment and housing searches and spend less time in temporary shelters than those with low self-efficacy.

Although aspects of this problem have been studied no specific intervention models have proven effective in increasing homeless women’s self-efficacy. Literature …

Sharing Water Internationally, Past, Present And Future—Mexico And The United States, John M. Donahue, Irene J. Klaver

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Conflicts over the sharing of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo and Colorado Rivers between the United States and Mexico are usually understood in spatial terms. In this paper we argue for the need to add a temporal horizon. A larger historical context will reveal that water management, including water allocation and river politics, has always been influenced by larger social-political and cultural frameworks. These temporal shifts are sequential, but overlapping so that current policies as cultural constructs operate within the framework of previous treaty obligations though the historical contexts have changed. The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is still defined as a border …

One Decade Of Drought And Two Of Neoliberal Reforms In The Sierra Sonorense: Responses By The Rural Poor, Marcela Vásquez-León

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Since the mid-1990s, Northwest Mexico has been experiencing drought conditions. As Mexico’s number one irrigator, the state of Sonora’s agricultural sector is particularly concerned about the availability and distribution of surface and ground water. Drought has contributed to a sharp decline in cultivated area, the abandonment of land, and permanent out migration of a large sector of the rural population. This paper examines the vulnerability to drought of small farmers in the Santa Cruz and Magadalena basins, south of the Sonora-Arizona international border. Farmers’ ability to respond to drought is considered within the larger context of neoliberal reform policies, social …

Local Leaders’ Perceptions Of Energy Development In The Barnett Shale, Brooklynn J. Anderson, Gene L. Theodori

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

In recent decades, the production of natural gas from unconventional reservoirs (i.e., tight gas sands, coalbed methane resources, and gas shales) has become commonplace within the U.S. energy industry. The Newark East Fort Worth Basin field–called in the vernacular, the Barnett Shale–in north-central Texas is one of the largest unconventional natural gas fields (by production volume) in the United States. Unlike many conventional energy development projects, which typically occurred in small rural areas, much of the Barnett Shale production is occurring in and around a highly urbanized geographical setting. In spite of recent efforts to assess the economic effects of …

Quantile Regression: An Education Policy Research Tool, Edward B. Reeves, Jesse Lowe

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Ordinary least squares regression is often used in education policy research. Unfortunately, OLS regression coefficients may mislead. In OLS models, the coefficients express the conditional mean relations among the variables. Still, what if this estimate of central tendency in the conditional distribution fails to convey important information about the distribution? Quantile regression is a statistical technique that allows variation in the conditional distribution to be examined. Therefore, it can be used to check the validity and applicable range of OLS coefficients. Following the method of Koenker and Hallock (2001), we compare OLS and quantile regression results, examining variables related to …

Occupational Aspirations, Rural To Urban Migration, And Intersectionality: A Comparison Of White, Black, And Hispanic Male And Female Group Chances For Leaving Rural Counties, W. Trevor Brooks, Meredith Redlin

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

It has been documented that not all rural residents are leaving rural counties equally. Social positions may prevent some groups from migrating, while pushing other groups away from rural counties. This paper uses an intersectionality theoretical approach to explain how race/ethnicity, gender, and class shape occupational aspirations and the migration decision. Using the NLSY79, race/ethnicity, gender, and mothers’ educational attainment were each combined with the respondent’s occupational aspiration to predict migration rates for selected intersectional groups. Results show that females with high occupational aspirations, whites with high occupational aspirations, and individuals with high occupational aspirations whose mothers had high educational …

Cafos, Culture, And Conflict On Sand Mountain: Framing Rights And Responsibilities In Appalachian Alabama, Zachary Henson, Conner Bailey

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper presents a case study of controversy associated with large confined animal feed operations (CAFOs) on Sand Mountain in the northeast corner of Alabama, the tail-end of the Appalachian Mountains. We examine competing cultural frames developed by supporters and opponents of CAFOs that produce hogs. Both sides of the CAFO controversy utilize locally-specific cultural understandings of private property. Those opposed have framed their concerns both in terms of formal environmental standards of regulatory agencies and the responsibility of landowners not to engage in activities that adversely affect neighboring land owners. CAFO operators have framed the issue by drawing upon …

Environmental Issues On The Mexico-U.S. Border: An Introduction, Rogelio Sáenz, Karen Manges Douglas

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The Mexico-U.S. border is one of the most dynamic regions in the world and represents one of the greatest economic contrasts between the developed and developing world. The construction of policies and programs such as the Border Industrialization Program (BIP) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been primarily responsible for massive population growth and industrialization along the Mexico-U.S. border region. Such changes have also placed tremendous pressures on the environment and natural resources spanning the international boundary. This article provides an introduction and a description of the context for the articles featured in this special issue related …

Southerner And Irish? Regional And Ethnic Consciousness In Savannah, Georgia, William L. Smith

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper attempts to answer the following question regarding regional and ethnic consciousness: Does southern identity vary by the level of ethnic identity one professes? Less than one-third of those who identified themselves as southerners, indicate that their identity as a southerner is much more important than their other identities including their ethnic identity. Some of these respondents practice a symbolic regionalism. Ethnic identity for most of the respondents is more important than their regional identity, although for them southerner and Irish are not mutually exclusive identities. The strength of ethnic identity is not significantly related to the importance of …

"To Come Of Age In A Dry Place": Infrastructures Of Irrigated Agriculture In The Mexico-U.S. Borderlands, Casey Walsh

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

In the Mexico-U.S. borderlands the social uses of water are changing as the focus of the economy shifts slowly from agriculture to industry and services. This article discusses the changes to the physical and social infrastructures erected during the first half of the twentieth century to support a regime of accumulation based in irrigated cotton. Infrastructure is proposed as a particularly useful concept for drawing connections between these social, economic, and cultural changes, and emphasizing their materiality. The article draws upon the Social Structures of Accumulation and Regulation School literatures to explain the dynamics revealed through historical and ethnographic research …

Durkheim Did Not Say "Normlessness": The Concept Of Anomic Suicide For Introductory Sociology Courses, Phyllis Puffer

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The definitions of anomic suicide presented in introductory sociology textbooks from 1996 to 2007 were compared with the definition given by Durkheim in his own writings both in the original French and the English translation. It was found that only one textbook correctly gave Durkheim’s own definition while the other definitions showed little or no relationship to the original concept. The original concept was based on an analysis of the economy, more particularly the business cycle, and refers only to the structure of society and not to the mental state of the individual. An attempt is made to discover the …

A Social Currency Approach To Improving Health-Related Quality Of Life For Migrant Workers, Alfonso Morales

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This ten-week pilot study promoted health-related quality of life among migrant workers in rural New Mexico. In cooperation with local organizations, migrant workers formed the organization Nuevos Amigos. Members provided various types of social support to each other, hours were enumerated and exchanged for cash to pay health-related quality-of-life expenses. The program was funded by grant funds from HRSA and administered in cooperation with a clinic and a nearby university. Intake and other interviews, observations of members in action, and spending practices provided data to evaluate the program. The pilot program showed that migrant workers could manage their own organization, …

Clark Memorandum: Spring 2009, J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law School

The Clark Memorandum

• Lawyers and the Rule of Law (James D. Gordon III)
• The Truth About Media Subpoenas (RonNell Anderson Jones)
• A Mother's Pace (Gwyn Goodson McNeal)
• Liberty, Civility, and Professionalism (Ming W. Chin)
• Leaders and Learning (Kim B. Clark)

The Political Ecology Of The Colonias On The U.S.-Mexico Border: Human-Environmental Challenges And Community Responses In Southern New Mexico, Guillermina G. Núñez-Mchiri

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Economic development and population growth along the U.S.-Mexico border have been determined by the natural resources available for the physical and social transformations in this region. A critical political ecology of the U.S.-Mexico border links environmental hazards with the socioeconomic and political aspects that have generated colonia population settlements as locales within the border region’s spatialized hierarchies. The political ecological approach to community development processes also brings in the larger border issues associated with Mexico and the United States. By exploring human-environmental challenges facing colonia residents, we can gain valuable insights into ecological vulnerabilities also faced by similar population settlements …

The Rattler (Volume 96, Issue 11, Edition 1), St. Mary's University

The Rattler (Previous issues)

Founded in 1919, The Rattler is the student voice of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. The newspaper documents campus life, academic and social issues, student opinion, and local and national events as they relate to the University community. Content typically includes news articles, editorial commentary, arts and culture coverage, sports reporting, and advertisements.

A Stranger Determined To Remain One, William Gamson

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This interview with William Gamson, Professor of Sociology at Boston College, was recorded over the phone on January 8, 2009. Dmitri Shalin transcribed the interview, after which Dr. Gamson edited the transcript.Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information and additional materials inserted during the editing process appear in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”.