Sociology Commons^™

Obesity A Sociological Analysis Of The Body Image Attitudes Among Young Emirati Men, Richard Benson Hoffman

Dissertations

This Dissertation is concerned with the problem of obesity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This UAE has a high prevalence of obesity (Hajat, Harrison & Al siksek 2012 :909) This Dissertation provided recommendation to improve obesity interventions in the UAE by exploring the body image attitudes (how people think and feel about their bodies and the bodies of others) of young ,Emirati men. The sample was 340 Emeriti citizen men between the ages 18-29from all seven emirates. The data was collected through a survey and individual and focus –group interviews. The prevalence of overweight and obesity of the of …

Value-Inspired Service Design In Elderly Home-Monitoring Systems, Na Liu, Sandeep Purao, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The provision of elderly home-monitoring systems to enhance aging-in-place requires the service to meet the needs of both the elderly and their caregivers. The design of such IT services requires interdisciplinary efforts to look beyond the technical requirements. Taking a value-inspired design perspective, the study argues that service design for promoting aging-in-place needs to reconcile the values of both the elderly and caregivers. Drawn from the framework of basic human values and the unique experience of the SHINESeniors project, the study extracts the core values for elderly and caregivers using a multi-method case analysis. We suggest that both system and …

Fearless Friday: Kelsey Deraffele, Kelsey A. Deraffele

SURGE

SURGE is honored to feature Kelsey DeRaffele ’16 for Fearless Friday!

Kelsey is a senior Sociology major. She’s originally from Golden’s Bridge, NY and has spent her time at Gettysburg College getting as involved as she can. Kelsey was the president for the Autism Speaks club for three years. [excerpt]

The Wild Borderlands Of Science And Technology, Kelly Moore

Sociology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A review of recent scholarship in the sociology of fringe and counterculture science.

Review Of Our Children And Other Animals, Corey L. Wrenn

Between the Species

Cole and Stewart’s 2014 release, Our Children and Other Animals: The Cultural Construction of Human-Animal Relations in Childhood, offers an important sociological contribution to liberatory vegan research. The book's primary value is its critical examination of childhood socialization processes that habituate humans to speciesism through the institutions of family, education, and mass media.

The Relationship Between Fraternity Recruitment Experiences, Perceptions Of Fraternity Life, And Self-Esteem, Kendall Ladd

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Self-esteem on its own has been studied extensively, including as part of a study examining the effects of sorority recruitment on the self-esteem of the female participants (Chapman, Hirt, and Spruill, 2008). However, there is relatively little research on men’s self-esteem and no studies examining the potential impact of the fraternity recruitment process on students’ self-esteem. The present study examined this through a longitudinal study utilizing two surveys. The initial survey was completed the day before the fraternity recruitment process began to establish a baseline for 155 participants. The follow-up survey received a total of 99 responses from the original …

The Empty Chair Appointment, Jody Long, Ken Sakauye, Khaja Chisty, John Upton

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The objective was to test an intervention to reduce failed rates for psychiatric appointments. We collected data for this study of the characteristics of patients who missed appointments from March 2011 through September 2012. A phone triage assessment intervention was implemented to address chronic first-time failed attendance appointments (N = 78). The main reason for failed appointments was transportation difficulties. The first-time appointment show rate increased after implementing an assessment intervention. Phone assessment intervention was practical and may improve nonattendance for psychiatric appointments. The discussion reflects speculations about causes and possible measures to make services more accessible.

Public Perceptions Of Birthmothers Of Adopted Children, Bethany I. Wedlund

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A woman who has experienced an unintended pregnancy and chooses to place the child for adoption is known as a birthmother. When faced with an unintended pregnancy, women typically have three courses of action. They may choose to parent the child, terminate the pregnancy, or place the child for adoption. There is limited research on birthmothers themselves or societal perceptions of them.

When it comes to societal perceptions of abortion, religiosity is a significant factor. Contrary to popular belief, many of the women who choose to abort do so in order to preserve the lives of their families. Single mothers …

Inverted Quarantine: Individual Response To Collective Fear, Katherine Parker Moncure

Honors Papers

In his 2007 book Shopping Our Way to Safety, sociologist Andrew Szasz coined the term inverted quarantine to describe a phenomenon in the way that Americans react to the changing natural environment. Inverted quarantine, or the impulse to remove one’s self from perceived environmental dangers, often manifests in consumption behavior such as consuming only organic food, drinking filtered or bottled water, moving from a city to a suburb, or even being enclosed in a gated community. Although inverted quarantine may result in some form of protection, in the long run it is unsustainable in the face of the changing natural …

Community College For All: How Two-Year Criminal Justice Transfer Students Perceive Their Educational Experience, Elizabeth Monk-Turner, John Allen, John Casten, Cathy Cowling, Charles Gray, David Guhr, Kara Hoofnagle, Jessica Huffman, Moises Mina, Brian Moore

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

[Introduction] President Obama and others have called for free community college-- "America's College Promise." Yet controversy surrounds the community college system, with proponents emphasizing the educational opportunities provided while critics bemoan the high dropout rate and lack of equality of educational outcomes. Little research explores how students perceive their educational experiences at two-year colleges. This article explores community college strengths and weaknesses as perceived by a sample of successful criminal justice transfer students. During qualitative interviewing, students reported that they had a positive experience at community college and that it allowed them to prepare to be successful at university. Expense, …

Visionary Sociology In Action, Luke Castle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this dissertation are to provide research that will further facilitate an understanding of two matters of sociological interest: public sociology and video ethnography. In order to achieve this overall objective, a video ethnographic case study was conducted with eight undergraduates at an elite southern university. The students in the study self-filmed week-to week thoughts, feelings, and experiences to provide a methodical comparison of past and current literature of the lifestyles students construct while on campus. A qualitative approach, such as the video diary protocol established for this dissertation, is unlike most research protocols because informants (in this …

Fearless Friday: Chentese Stewart-Gartner, Christina L. Bassler

SURGE

This week, SURGE is proud to showcase the wonderful work of Chentese Stewart-Garner!

Chentese is a sociology major with a minor in education. She’s a sophomore and originally hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Currently, Chentese is the program coordinator for the Black Student Union, serves as the public relations liaison for the African Student Association, is a Diversity Peer Educator on campus, and works hard as a Career Outreach Assistant for the Center for Career Development. [excerpt]

Making Sense Of The Distrust Of The Chinese Government In Light Of China’S Successes In Economic Modernization, Rachel L. Neuhauser

Honors College Theses

This paper explores the contrast of China’s spectacular economic development and the low scores of trust for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) legitimacy among the Chinese people. The sharp contrast may reflect flaws in the shaping of de facto authority of the Chinese government. The de facto authority is examined in connection to the notion of the Mandate of Heaven from the Confucian tradition. The severe imbalance of economic growth and lack of political reform is discussed against the backgrounds of the domestic and international political circumstances. This paper argues that, in spite of the phenomenal economic development of the …

Back To The Future: Student Time Period Analyses, Jordan Barge, Sarah Ebert, Anna Gaskin, Renay Gladish, Quinn Hamilton, Morgan Hanson, Hannah Markham, Mark Mclean, Callie Smith, Bertha Vega, Shelby Watkins, Jamie Weihe, Jillian Whitney

Student Publications

This newsletter began with the Fall 2015 Honors English class. These students were challenged to initiate research over a topic they thought was interesting and show how it related to our campus, Stephen F. Austin State University. It is our hope that this cumulative research will help readers look at SFA a little differently.

Presidential Speech And The Framing Of Poverty: From The War On Poverty To The War On The Poor, Jamaica Kennedy

Sociology & Anthropology Theses - Archive

Presidential narratives are influential components of the national conversation about social issues. In order to gain a better understanding of how the Presidents framed and discussed poverty and the poor State of the Union addresses between the years 1964 and 2014 were analyzed. The focus of this research was to identify the narratives the Presidents crafted about the war on poverty. Narrative analysis was utilized to unpack and these narratives and identify the different narrative forms they took while the Presidents presented and discussed the war on poverty. Initially the war on poverty was presented as a romantic quest to …

Introduction To Sociology (Dalton State College), Hassan El-Najjar, Natalie Johnson

Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Introduction to Sociology was created under a Round Three ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Elizabeth Borges: A Birth Mother’S Story Of Loss And Gain, Janice G. Schuster

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Veterinary Practices, Reactions And Laws: Analyzing The Difference In Rural And Urban Practices, Daniel Jude

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Daniel Jude on June, 23rd 2015

Leap Of Faith: Adopting Our Sons Through The State Of Massachusetts, Janice G. Schuster

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Expanding Hope In Payatas, Rhea Cristine S. Bautista

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Informal settlements, also known as slums or squatter settlements, are a way of life for millions around the world, especially within urban centers. The challenge is to provide a better quality of life, both physically and socially. This thesis provides a critical look into the conditions, limitations, strengths, and hopes of the community of Payatas in Metro Manila, Philippines, with recommendations of measures to support and strengthen the community, by building upon the community’s positive elements to develop social impact.

The Struggle Itself Toward The Heights Is Enough To Fill A Man's Heart: Calling, Moral Duty, Meaningfulness And Existential Self Of Zookeepers, Luisa G. Allen

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Applying Existential Sociology (Douglas & Johnson 1977, Manning 1973, Lyman and Scott 1989, Kotarba and Fontana 1984) as a theoretical foundation, this thesis endeavors to formulate first-order experiential understanding of zookeepers. Utilized is a mixed method approach comprising the survey and interview methods to explore zookeeper sense of calling as a moral duty, meaningfulness of work, and the possible connections formed with animals under their care (Bunderson & Thompson 2009, Spreitzer 1995, Wrzesnesweki et al 1997, and Pratt and Ashforth 2003, Hosey & Melfi 2010). Thirty zookeepers completed questionnaires containing measures of sense of calling, moral duty, work meaningfulness and …

A Model For Understanding Structure Versus Agency In The Participation Of Minors In The Commercial Sex Market, Courtney Thrash

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act defined any sex worker under the age of eighteen as a victim of sex trafficking and exploitation, while requiring evidence of coercion for those eighteen and over for the same charge. This definition makes explicit a common conception concerning CSEC, namely, that their status as participants in the sex economy rests upon a lack of personal and legal agency. Research on female sex workers often focuses on their victimization, such as childhood sexual abuse and neglect. Conversely, research on male sex workers often ignores their possible victimization and instead emphasizes their drug use, …

Completing The Puzzle Of My Early Life, Kirk Schuster-Southern

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Philomena: A Film Review, Emily S. Adler

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Global Flows And The Globalization Of Nothing: Synthesizing The Incongruous, Elliott H. Valentine

Black & Gold

Increasingly pertinent in contemporary society, globalization is a force that promises to change the way people interact with others in almost all aspects of life. As scholars attempt to theorize about such situations, disparate perspectives about the dynamics and possibilities of globalization arise. In order to develop a more comprehensive theory of globalization, this piece engages the theory of global flows and the five “-scapes” as presented in Arjun Appadurai’s Modernity at Large (1996), as well as George Ritzer’s conception of the globalization of nothing as presented in The Globalization of Nothing 2 (2007). A rich synthesis of these two …

Interfacing Catholic Social Meanings, Sociology, Self, And Pedagogical Practices, Daniel J. Myers, Andrew J. Weigert

Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE)

What connects Catholic Social Tradition with Sociology? How do each inform the other and how do they, together, flow through and animate the sociologist? Within a student-driven learning community pedagogy, this course builds on the humanistic aspects of Sociology as a scientific perspective a la Peter Berger’s Invitation to Sociology. This foundation is then filtered through a social psychological understanding of self with a sense of vocation through which persons’ deepest passions meets humans’ greatest needs. Biographical vignettes of sociologists’ careers of study that address issues of racial and gender inequalities and psycho-social shifts in values over the life course …

The Effect Of Refugees On Jordanian Identity, Max Yenkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jordan has become known as the home for refugees from the crises that have occurred along its borders. Several waves of large groups of refugees have come to Jordan: 1948, 1967, 1991, 2003, and 2011-present, with copious amounts of refugees coming from different surrounding countries to Jordan. The Hashemite Kingdom is ruled through keeping relations between the Bedouin tribes that have lived in the area from the founding of the country. This has led to the denial of equality for former refugees who obtained citizenship as well as the other refugee populations in areas such as work and education. As …

From Laws To Last Names: Examining Popular Opinions Of Adoption In Morocco, Margaret Liston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As international adoption is becoming a much more common reality for many orphans and abandoned children worldwide, it is an important time to consider the implications of attitudes regarding adoption in Morocco—an Islamic state which defines adoption in a very specific but different way from the Western world. Despite the abundance of literature analyzing the historical and legal aspects of adoption in Morocco, there is a notable absence of research that examines the opinions of Moroccans removed from the adoption process on the institution itself. This study seeks to highlight potential trends in attitudes regarding adoption by examining the views …

Placeness: Mongolia A Call For The Creation Of A Human Impact Assessment, C. Winston Kies

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sense of place, place-­‐based identities, and “placeness” are fundamental ways through which human beings understand their physical place in the world. The means by which most Mongolians—and indeed most human beings—strive for placeness is fairly simple. First, one decides what location will become their place. Their place may be predetermined (i.e. a birthplace) or chosen (based on the wildlife, the scenery, the neighborhood, etc.). Once one has a place, sense of place necessarily follows. One’s place becomes the standard by which locations are understood, and by which one understands oneself. The latter process constitutes the formation of place-­‐based identities, which …

Getting "Bi" In The Family: Bisexual People's Disclosure Experiences, Kristin S. Scherrer, Emily Kazyak, Rachel M. Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

There are many similarities in gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals’ coming out experiences, but bisexual people face unique challenges. Despite this, an explicit focus on bisexual people is missing from family research. Using family systems and cultural sociological perspectives, the authors analyzed how social and cultural factors shape disclosure processes for bisexuals as they come out to multiple family members. After analyzing qualitative data from a diverse group of 45 individuals, they found that bisexual people navigate monosexist and heterosexist expectations in their family relationships. Cultural constructions of bisexuality shape the ways that bisexual people disclose their identities, including how …