Sociology Commons^™

Community Strength And Economic Challenge: Civic Attitudes And Community Involvement In Rural America, Michele Dillon, Justin R. Young

Carsey Publications

Residents in rural areas that are rich in amenities report a positive outlook about their community strength and civic engagement, with nine out of ten saying they would work together to solve a community problem. However, residents in chronically poor rural communities are less likely to trust, get along with, and help their neighbors.

The Impact Of Depression And Health On Sexual Satisfaction For Older Couples, Victoria Celeste Scott

Theses and Dissertations

This study of 535 older married couples examined the relationship between depression and health and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by communication. The sample included 535 older couples who completed a survey questionnaire known as Project Couple Retire. Among the items in the questionnaire were measures of depression, health, perception of sexual intimacy, communication and other demographic information. Results from Structural Equation Modeling indicated that for women, health was a significant predictor of sexual satisfaction. For both genders, the results suggest that depression, when mediated by communication, is a predictor of sexual satisfaction among older couples.

Language In The Name Of National Security: The Transformation Of Arabic Language Instruction In U.S. Institutions Of Higher Education, Evelyn Daugherty

Sociology Honors Projects

Government designation of Arabic as a “strategic language” following WWII transformed Arabic language instruction in U.S. institutions of higher education. Funding from the government created a shift away from teaching students to read and translate classical Arabic for academic purposes and toward teaching modern varieties of the language for communication.  I employ a three-pronged institutional analysis that takes into account the role of government, the role of professional associations, and the role of individual instructors in the redefinition of norms governing Arabic language instruction during the past seventy years. I find that coercive pressure stemming from government interest affected Arabic …

Buying Racial Capital: Skin-Bleaching And Cosmetic Surgery In A Globalized World, Margaret Hunter

Sociology

The merging of new technologies with old colonial ideologies has created a context where consumers can purchase "racial capital" through skin-bleaching creams or cosmetic surgeries. The use of skin-bleaching creams is on the rise throughout Africa and the African Diaspora and cosmetic surgery has increased dramatically among people of color in wealthy countries. Public discourse, however, is fraught with tension over these manipulations of the body. This paper examines three competing discourses: 1) the beauty discourse, based on the mass-marketing of cosmetic whitening products, 2) the public health discourse, designed to dissuade potential skin-bleachers by exposing health risks and 3) …

Earnings Volatility In America: Evidence From Matched Cps, James P. Ziliak, Bradley Hardy, Christopher Bollinger

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

We offer new evidence on earnings volatility of men and women in the United States over the past four decades by using matched data from the March Current Population Survey. We construct a measure of total volatility that encompasses both permanent and transitory instability, and that admits employment transitions and losses from self employment. We also present a detailed decomposition of earnings volatility to account for changing shares in employment probabilities, conditional variances of continuous workers, and conditional mean variances from labor-force entry and exit. Our results show that earnings volatility among men increased by 15 percent from the early …

Primetimes Newsletter, Summer 2011, Office Of Lifespan Studies

PrimeTimes Newsletter

PrimeTimes is the newsletter of the Office of Lifespan Studies in the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

A Tale Of Two Cities? The Heterogeneous Impact Of Medicaid Managed Care In Kentucky, James Marton, Aaron Yelowitz, Jeffery C. Talbert

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Does managed care produce lower health care utilization and costs through better aligned financial incentives and alternative delivery methods (the “pure” HMO effect) or by attracting more healthy enrollees (enrollee selection)? The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on this fundamental question using a quasi-experimental approach that exploits the timing and county specific implementation of Medicaid managed care plans in two distinct sub-sets of Kentucky counties in the late 1990s. We find large differences in the relative success of each region in reducing utilization that are likely driven by important differences in plan design. Asthmatic children enrolled …

Man, The State, And Revolution, Nicholas Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the progress that has been made in revolutionary theorising over the past few years, most theorists of social change continue to neglect the influence of opposition leaders upon the revolutionary process. One of the few exceptions in this regard is Max Weber. In his analysis of legitimate authority, Weber asserts that the charismatic form of authority rests on popular devotion to the normative order ordained by a specific person at a time of crisis.

Though his work offers some important insights into the revolutionary process, Weber fails to take into account the conditions that give rise to such forms …

Torch (June 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

From Where I Am Standing: Indigenous Narrative And Photo Documentary, Nestor R. Veloz Passalacqua

Ethnic Studies

Latin American Indigenous Peoples (LAIP) are a marginalized segment in Latin America. They inhabit a sub-America and are forced to migrate due to socio-political struggle and cultural coercion. LAIP experience a transnational and transborder migration that reflects the quality of cultural hybridity and of regional, ethnic, and cultural crossings. The purpose of this study is to research LAIP ways of reclaiming and reproducing cultural practices that elicit Indigenous awareness, knowledge, and ethnic identification in a transnational setting. The study examines through interviews and photographs transborder experiences and the lives of the participants. As a result, the project reveals that LAIP …

Ua23 Progression Through Partnerships, Aurelia Spaulding, Alive Center, Western Kentucky University

ALIVE Center Publications

No abstract provided.

African Catholicism And The Diaspora Phenomenon: A Socio-Political Analysis Of African Priests In The Diaspora, Iheanyi Maurice Enwerem

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Religious agents, including Catholic priests, are no exception with regards to involvement in the diaspora phenomenon. Among them, especially in the most recent time, are those who, for the purposes of this paper, are identified as "African Catholic priest-diasporas" (African priest diasporas, for short); that is, those Catholic priests from Africa who, for a variety of reasons, relocated from the continent to reside in a foreign country where they exercise their priestly ministry. This new and growing group of diasporas obviously forms part of the "African Diasporas"-a group African Union (AU) considers as Africa's "sixth region" (Auma, 2009). The paper …

Race, Substance Abuse, And Mental Health Disorders As Predictors Of Juvenile Court Outcomes: Do They Vary By Gender?, Chiquitia Welch-Brewer, Patricia A. Stoddard Dare, Christopher A. Mallett

Social Work Faculty Publications

Predicting juvenile court outcomes based on youthful offenders’ delinquency risk factors is important for the adolescent social work field as well as the juvenile justice system. Using a random sample of 341 delinquent youth from one Midwestern urban county, this study extends previous research by examining if race, substance abuse, and mental health disorders influence important delinquency outcomes (number of court offenses, felony conviction(s), probation supervision length, detention length, and number of probation services) differently for male and female juvenile offenders. Multivariate analysis findings revealed that race was significant only for males, and having a substance use disorder was a …

Aboriginal Youth, Hip Hop And The Politics Of Identification, George Morgan, Andrew Warren

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This paper explores the identity work taking place around contemporary subcultural hip hop amongst Australian indigenous youth in two disadvantaged urban locations. Previous work on Aboriginal hip hop has been attentive to the interface between tradition and modernity. However, existing scholarship has lacked a deeper ethnographic understanding of the dynamics between youth and parent cultures, and the tensions between the two generations. This article is based on research with young hip hop enthusiasts, community activists and educators. It deals with the cultural politics of identification and sees hip hop practice as associated with a process in which Aboriginality is crystallized …

Fair Trade And Development: A Changing Paradigm, Daniel Jaffee

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Book chapter.

By the time the fair trade movement celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding in 2008, it had been transformed virtually beyond recognition. From a marginal European movement characterized by small ethical companies, non-profit charities, solidarity groups and alternative trading organizations (ATOs) selling coffee and handicrafts to a small group of politicized consumers through alternative world shops, fair trade has become an international market system with annual sales of nearly US $5,000m. (€3,500m.) (FLO 2010), reaching mass audiences of mainstream shoppers across the global North with a wide range of food and non-food products originating from both small …

Development Of A National Survey To Assess Student Learning Outcomes Of Community-Based Research, Gary Lichtenstein, Trisha Thorme, Nicholas J. Cutforth, Martin L. Tombari

Research Methods and Statistics: Faculty Scholarship

With the goal of codifying student learning outcomes of commu- nity-based research (CBR), the authors created a conceptually valid and statistically reliable CBR Student Learning Outcomes Survey. The project began with individual interviews and focus groups with 70 undergraduates and faculty at six colleges and universities nationwide discussing perceived benefits of CBR. Based on analyses of these interviews, five CBR outcome con- structs were derived: academic skills, educational experience, civic engagement, professional skills, and personal growth. The survey was piloted online in spring 2009 to students who had experienced CBR from 15 colleges and universities (N = 166). Factor analyses …

Accessibility Report Card For Missoula, Montana: Missoula's Gpa Is 3.32 – Earning A "B", University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

Community infrastructure – both public and private – influences the quality of life and the health of citizens. For people with disabilities, physical accessibility is a critical aspect of infrastructure. Nonetheless, community planners often lack reliable information for assessing accessibility. Therefore, we are developing standard assessments of access1 that city planners can use to identify areas in need of improvement. To determine a town’s accessibility, we rate parking location and signage; safety and accessibility of route to the business’ entry; parking accessibility; and the accessibility of a business’ entry, door and doorway, and interior. We previously assessed the accessibility of …

Young Men's Christian Association - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Mss 371), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 371.  Constitution and by-laws, histories, subscriber list, news clippings, photos, and sundry printed promotional pieces used in the campaign to erect a Y.M.C.A. building in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  This material was found in a tin box in the cornerstone of the building when it was razed in 1985.

Chd Knowledge And Risk Factors Among Filipino-Americans Connected To Primary Care Services, Alona Dalusung-Angosta

Nursing Faculty Presentations

Problem:

Despite growing numbers of FAs in the U.S. and high CHD prevalence, only limited studies are available in the the literature.

Contributing factors?

• Lack of knowledge
• Sociodemographic (SD)/Socioeconomic (SE) variables

La Máscara Afro-Puertorriqueña: Una Auto-Re-Presentación A Través De La Búsqueda De La Identidad Racial, Étnica Y Nacional En Down These Mean Streets, Forrest Blackbourn

The Coastal Review

This article analyzes the textual elements of Piri Thomas’s Down These Mean Streets that demonstrate, in addition to the continual problematization of closed racial categories, the problems that are associated with static categorizations of ethnicity and nationality. This article calls into question traditional definitions of race, yet it also challenges definitions of Puerto Rican and Nuyorican identities. Race, nationality, and ethnicity are all vital elements to the human experience, and we will discover who is/are responsible for the protagonist Piri’s lack of racial recognition in the United States.

Navigating Multiple Roles: Physicians Married To Non-Physician Professionals, Carlene Olivia Fider

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A qualitative study of the lived experiences of dual career couples in which one partner is a physician is being proposed to fulfill the requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Family Studies. The study will look specifically at how these couples manage the role expectations and demands from the home front as well as from the work front. The study will also investigate how these couples create time for the dyad considering the demands of both careers. While dual career couples have their distinct features, physician families that have dual career attachments have been under studied in regard …

Relationship Of Vitamin D Levels To Blood Pressure In A Biethnic Cohort, Rosario O. Sakamoto

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Serum hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] has been well-accepted as not an ordinary vitamin but a pro-hormone that has many benefits beyond its well-known effects on bone. Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension remain a huge health burden and Blacks have been recognized to have higher prevalence of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Despite increasing evidence of the benefits of vitamin D on blood pressure control, there is much more to be learned about the relationship of serum 25(OH)D to blood pressure among different ethnicities.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine whether vitamin D serum 25(OH)D levels were …

Predicting Mammography Screening And Breast Self-Examination Among Hispanic And Non-Hispanic White Women In Orange County, California, Sanam Kazemi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background and Purpose. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Hispanic/Latina women who are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. Although Hispanic women have a lower incidence of breast cancer when compared to non-Hispanic White women, they are more likely to develop breast cancer at an advanced stage. In California, Hispanic women have the lowest rate of insurance coverage compared to other ethnic groups.

Method. The study was a cross-sectional observational study among Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic White women, ages 30-64 years. I examined intention to obtain a mammogram or breast self-exam …

Family Environment Externalizing And Internalizing Behaviors Among Adolescents In St. Lucia, St. Clair P. Alexander

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The family is uniquely positioned either to positively or negatively influence the well-being, development, and adjustment of adolescents. There is a considerable body of research in the general literature associating the family environment with adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors of adolescents. St. Lucia, and the rest of the Caribbean, have distinctive cultural and familial habits and patterns that may influence adolescents' behavior. However, little or no attention has been given to assessing empirically the role that family dynamics may play in adolescents' behavior on the island of St. Lucia. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between …

Minority Female Physicians' Family And Career Experiences: A Qualitive Inquiry, Nishana Clarke

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of married minority female physicians as they navigate their professional and family life. The study examined the impact of multiple roles, gender, and ethnicity on the familial and professional life of married minority female physicians. The study consisted of 21 married minority female physicians and covered issues related to marital life, family life, stressors, ethnicity, and gender. Analysis reveals the core categories of: work demands, multiple role demands, role expectations, motherhood guilt, couple nurture, and accommodation. The study found that the category work demands impact the family life of the participants'; however, when the …

The Effects Of Causal Attribution, Religiosity And Shared Beliefs On The Management Of Type 2 Diabetes, Lucretia Smith

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This dissertation was a secondary analysis of data gathered from 114 couples who had one spouse with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes management was the outcome variable. The predictor variables in this analysis included the couples' causal attribution, religiosity, and congruence regarding the aforementioned. The major theories framing this study were the Family Systems theory and the family stress models. Support was found also in the middle ranged Family Resilience Framework. From a systems approach, families affect, and are affected by, the management of a chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes. The Family Resilience Framework suggests that the family's belief …

The Classroom Environment: The Silent Curriculum, Brittany Allen, Katie Hessick

Psychology and Child Development

This senior project focused on the physical environment of elementary school classrooms, with a particular emphasis on how environmental factors influence behavior and academic achievement. Such environmental factors included lighting, color, acoustics, temperature, seating arrangements, space and crowding, and living kinds such as plants and animals. Previous research has demonstrated a connection between student behavior and the classroom environment. Taylor and Vlastos (2009) developed a theory regarding the relationship between environment and design within the classroom. They referred to the physical environment of the classroom as the “silent curriculum” and hold strongly to the belief that understanding the physical environment …

'Mai Pen Rai': A Cultural Ecology Of Thailand, Darcie Plocher

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Intergenerational Crime From A Sociological Standpoint, Anna Robosson

Social Sciences

The focus of this project will be the patterns and causes of intergenerational crime within the United States.  Ultimately, the goal of the project is to explain the phenomenon, as it is becoming a rising problem in the country.

Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs: Relevance For Persons With Dementia, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison S. Gottlieb

Gerontology Institute Publications

The context for this study is the work of the Healthy Brain Initiative. The CDC has established a cooperative agreement with the Alzheimer’s Association to develop and implement a multifaceted approach to look at cognitive health as a public health issue. Late in 2010, the Association commissioned a review of the major chronic disease prevention programs from a systems approach to begin to understand the source of findings that Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s and related disorders are much higher cost than those simply with a single chronic disease and no AD. This led to the conclusion that Chronic Disease Self‐Management …