Sociology Commons^™

Socially Disorganized Rural Communities, Kenneth D. Tunnell

Justice Studies Faculty and Staff Research

The article talks about the social disorganization of rural communities in the U.S. It is stated that family farming has been on the decline for decades, with the numbers of farmers dropping by 16 million since 1950 and farms decreasing by over 4 million during the past century. It is inferred that a part of a community's history and way of life are being forfeited when local business are closing. According to the author, the theory of social disorganization emphasizes social integration and stability as necessary conditions for community. It offers some of the disadvantages of disorganized communities, such as …

Notorious Murders, Black Lanterns, And Moveable Goods: Transformation Of Edinburgh's Underworld In The Early Nineteeth Century, Deborah A. Symonds

University of Akron Press Publications

The year 1828, when William Burke, William Hare, and their wives murdered nearly a score of Edinburgh’s poor and sold their bodies, is a time when entrepreneurial criminals in Edinburgh’s Old Town flourished. Young thieves ransacked a warehouse for tea, women pretending to be prostitutes lifted gentlemen’s watches, and fine linens disappeared from washerwomen’s houses. What Symonds reveals is a shadow economy where the most numerous of all criminals and thieves practice their trade not out of poverty and misery, but because it is their means of earning a living. Laborers and immigrants struggled to make a few pennies, and …

Credit Card Debt: A New Class Or A New Culture?, Rebecca Olympia Millan

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis project examines the current situation of credit card debt on college students in two colleges in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas and seeks to understand whether the use of credit cards is the result of an emerging class or an emerging culture. In order to explain this distinction, students' credit card debt will be viewed as being created through three main areas: the result of the current living wage, the presence of a "buy now, save for later" philosophy, and the desire to obtain the means of the cultural capital to bridge from one social class …

Attachment Theory And Wellbeing For The Young Person In Residential Care: The Provision Of A Second Chance Secure Base For The Child In Crisis, Gay Graham

Articles

Aristotle argued that happiness for humans is not possible in the absence of reciprocal, affective relationships or friendships (Sherman 1991). Such relationships for children are only possible in the context of satisfactory attachments which provide for them a secure base from which to explore their environment (Bowlby 1988). Young people placed in the child welfare system, particularly those in residential care, often experience a system that is problem focused, intent on physical protection and control, where warm reciprocal relationships are not prioritised. This paper states that young people in residential care, whose primary attachments, whatever their quality, have been disrupted; …

The Great Middle Class Revolution: Our Long March Toward A Professionalized Society, Melvyn L. Fein

KSU Press Legacy Project

Nowadays, liberalism is in crisis. Whereas conservatism suffered a profound meltdown during the Great Depression, today it is liberals who must confront the disconfirmation of many of their cherished beliefs. Sometimes, it seems as if a few are behaving like teenaged rebels, trying to prove that they will not buckle under adult hypocrisies. Yet, despite refusing to conform, they reflexively align themselves with the symbols of their sedition. Festooned with tattoos, body piercings, and spiky green hairdos, they insist they have arrived at these fashions independently. Liberals similarly take positions without acknowledging that these derive from groupthink. Like the journalists …

10x The Talent = 1/3 Of The Credit: How Female Musicians Are Treated Differently In Music, Meggan Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an exploratory, qualitative study of female musicians and their experiences with discrimination in the music industry. Using semi-structured interviews, I analyze the experiences of nine women, ages 21 to 56, who are working as professional musicians, or who have worked professionally in the past. I ask them how they are treated differently based on their gender. Three forms of subtle discrimination are inferred from their narrative histories. First, female musicians are mistaken for non-musicians. They are encapsulated into inferior roles, like "the gimmick," "good for a girl," and "invisible accessory." Second, band mates and band managers control women's …

Learning Disability Assessment And Student Retention Rate At Humboldt State University, Elizabeth K. Archibald

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The focus of this study was to determine how testing students for a learning disability at Humboldt State University impacts a student’s academic performance when they are diagnosed with a learning disability and use accommodations. The purpose of this study is to provide insight to administrators at Humboldt State University regarding the learning disability assessment program and how it relates to retention rates. Academic data of all students tested for learning disabilities from summer, 1999 through spring, 2002 (61 students total) were analyzed before testing and then at least one year later to determine the impact testing and accommodations had …

Your Voice ~ Your Choice Coalition Transportation Committee Project, Dorothea Lynne Bott

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project was approached from a participant observer’s standpoint. It includes my experience and analysis of the group process involved in making changes in local transportation services. The project focused on transportation for senior citizens and younger people with disabilities. We were able to form a cohesive group of service providers and consumers of services, and we were able to influence public policy on the local level to some extent. We were also able to increase public awareness of the complexity of obtaining transportation in Humboldt County if a person happens to have a disability and a limited income. The …

Pathways To Power: The Role Of Political Parties In Women’S National Political Representation, Sheri L. Kunovich, Pamela Paxton

Sociology Research

The authors extend previous research on women’s participation in politics by examining the role of female elites in political parties in selecting and supporting women as political candidates. They hypothesize that political parties, in their role as gatekeepers, mediate the relationship between country-level factors, such as women’s participation in the labor force, and political outcomes for women. The article focuses on three outcomes for women: the percentage of female political party leaders, the percentage of female candidates in a country, and the percentage of women elected. New cross-national measures of women’s inclusion in political parties are developed and analyzed in …

Getting Grounded In The Post Hometown World, Hedley Burrell, David E. Drew

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Remember when Americans had hometowns? "Where are you from?" we'd ask one another.

And the answer would come back: New York City. St. Joseph, Mo. Atlanta. Santa Barbara, Calif. Chattanooga, Tenn.

But odds are that now we'd get a more complicated response. It'd go something like this: "Well, I was born in Atlanta but we moved to Baltimore when I was 11 and in my junior year of high school, we went out to L.A. I've been in Chicago for a year."

And even this might not be quite accurate. The speaker may have been born in an Atlanta exurb …

Mis Startup For The Sociology Departmental Assessment Plan, Susan L. Caulfield

Assessment Grants

No abstract provided.

Military Communities: Families At Risk, Marlena Sue Mccormic, Kristine Diane Brown

Theses Digitization Project

This project examined whether there is a change in the rates of child abuse reported in communities with active military installations, specifically Fort Irwin in Barstow and Marine Corp Air Ground Command Center in the Morongo Valley, in comparison to a comparable non-military communities, during times of military conflict from October 2000 through October 2004.

Consent, Informal Organization, And Job Rewards: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Marty Laubach

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Research

This study uses a mixed methods approach to workplace dynamics. Ethnographic observations show that the consent deal underlies an informal stratification that divides the workplace into an “informal periphery,” a “conventional core,” and an “administrative clan.” The “consent deal” is defined as an exchange of autonomy, voice, and schedule flexibility for intensified commitment, and is modeled as a single factor underlying these elements. When constructed as an additive scale, consent allows informal organization to be included in workplace models. Despite its derivation from subjective and informal processes, informal structure exerts an independent effect on objective job rewards such as wages.

Discovering Democracy: Grassroots Organizations And Strategies Of Mobilization, Adrian Chevraux-Fitzhugh

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In order to create change, it is imperative that grassroots movements and organizations adopt effective mobilization strategies. This thesis will provide a model for how Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (DUHC) mobilizes citizens to action in a rural community. It will be argued that many of the mobilization strategies employed by DUHC can be applied by other grassroots organization across a variety of issues. Although DUHC is focused on undermining corporate power and the legitimacy of corporate personhood, their mobilization strategies can be a useful tool for very different types of organizations. Part of the DUHC mobilization model will include …

Social Change In The Emperor System, Keiko Mori

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Emperors in Japan were considered as gods for the Japanese people until World War II ended. The Japanese worshiped the Emperors and obeyed whatever the orders were given in the Emperor’s name. However, under the Occupation of the Allied Powers led by General Douglas MacArthur, Emperor Hirohito’s role changed from ‘divine ruler’ to the ‘state symbol’ of Japan, He was not supposed to have any political power over the Japanese people, but his influence was still huge after the defeat. General MacArthur supported the Emperor system in Japan because the General believed, without Hirohito, Japan could not survive the …

A Critique Of The Urban Mission Of The Church In The Light Of An Emerging Postmodern Condition, Kleber De Oliveira Goncalves

Dissertations

The world is becoming an urban society. The urban expansion witnessed during the twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century is unprecedented in the history of the human civilization. Simultaneously, the Western world faces the paradigm shift from the modern era to a postmodern condition. Both movements have remarkable implications for the mission of the church in urbanized, postmodernizing societies. Shaped by the modern worldview, the church is now further ostracized by the postmodern condition.

While the literature of urban mission has grown in the past few years, very little consideration has been given to the particular issues and …

Zapatismo And Autonomous Social Movements: Reading The Communiqés Politically, Jordan Camp

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study examines the Ejército Zapatista Liberación Nacional (EZLN) and Zapatista base communities contributions to an autonomous “revolutionary” theory and practice. The focus of this thesis is the evolution of Zapatismo as elaborated in the Zapatistas’ communiqués following the EZLN’s deceleration of war against the Mexican government on January 1, 1994, the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico went into effect. This thesis investigates the Zapatistas’ communiqués as part of an effort to more fully engage their strategies of self-representation and articulation of a collective subject in which any number …

The Nation-State And The Transnational Capitalist Class In The Era Of Global Accumulation, Jeffery Robert Gunn

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis represents a critical comparative and historical study of the challenges posed to the autonomy and sovereignty of the nation-state by the emerging transnational class structure in the current era of global accumulation. I examine key elements of modern state theory, contrasting them with class-based state theory. National models may be extended to help illustrate transnational relationships. Transnational institutions, components of the transnational state apparatus, serve as examples of the means by which this transnational capitalist class formulates and implements policy. But this transnational structure is not stable; it suffers from the very contradictions immanent to capitalism itself. I …

The Equip Model And The New Horizons Program, Yi-Lang Chao

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The New Horizon Program mainly offers services to juveniles to correct their deviant behaviors and cognitive distortions, including substance abuse assessment and counseling, anger management, medication support, individual and group counseling, mental health counseling, and social skill development training. The EQUIP model is the main element in the in-custody service of the New Horizons Program. We already know that the EQUIP program (1996 in Ohio State) was effective; however, after being implemented in Humboldt County, does the EQUIP model still can provide the New Horizons Program positive functions and assistance? CAFAS and YSR were adopted as indicators to measure intermediate …

Learning For Life: The Social And Academic Outcomes Of A Waldorf Education, Adriane S. Mozzini

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Waldorf schools are nationally and internationally federated institutions that provide kindergarten through twelfth grade educations. Created in Germany in 1919 during the Progressive Education Movement and existing in the United States since 1928, Waldorf schools use a true unit study approach integrating the arts into all areas of academic study, yet eschewing some of the standard facets of American education, such as standardized testing, most subject matter testing (in grades K-8), competition for grades, ability grouping and academic tracking, and the use of electronic technology (in grades K-8). Currently, 149 private Waldorf and 44 Waldorf-methods public charter schools serve over …

Utilizing Principles Of Transformative Mediation In The Development Of The Redwood Regional Watershed Center, Paula Fitzgerald Yoon

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In the twenty first century, mediation and watershed management are each paradigm-shifting tools for our globalized society. Mediation is the process that creates a structure allowing parties in conflict to resolve their own differences. Transformative mediation is a form of mediation that has the capacity to transform the character of both individual disputants and society as a whole. This project applies transformative mediation as a process to promote the growth of watershed management and restoration. Transformative mediation was used by a non-profit organization, the Redwood Regional Watershed Center (RRWC), to bring all parties together to work on education, interpretation and …

The Working And Living Conditions Of Migrant Farm Workers, Hilario Molina Ii

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the world of migrant workers, through first hand account, through the description of the living and working conditions of migrant farms by focusing on each camp (A, B, and C), by observing and describing the line of work, by discussing the social and cultural dynamics of migrant farm working—the role and culture of the migrant women, children, and alpha males—and by documenting the exploitation of migrant farm workers. This is a qualitative research, based on ground theory, which consisted of participant observation of these factors. There was no hypothesis due to the …

This Land Is Our Land: Immigrants And Power In Miami, Jimy M. Sanders

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Communities, Place, And Conservation On Mount Kilimanjaro, Marie Bradshaw Durrant

Theses and Dissertations

The Chagga people have lived and worked on Mount Kilimanjaro for more than 250 years. Through traditions and social practices within their communities and families, strong bonds are established between the Chagga and their home on the mountain. Kilimanjaro National Park and Forest Reserve (KINAPA) was established in the 1970s to protect and conserve the mountain, based on a long history of colonialism and western ideals. As KINAPA has attempted to preserve the flora and fauna on the uppermost portion of Mount Kilimanjaro, they have alienated local residents from the land through a conservation approach that relies on "fences and …

Critical Integration: Christianity And Sociology, Scott A. Monsma

Faculty Tenure Papers

No abstract provided.

What Does Research Tell Us About Classroom Discussion?, Jay R. Howard

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Howard explains why sociologists should be concerned with discussion in the college classroom.

A Sociological Theory Of Depression: An Integrated Approach To Optimism And Pessimism, Toward Effective Resolution Of A Societal Problem, Jenny R. Shayani

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In using symbolic interactionist theory to explore depression as an epidemic in our society, this study uses the concept of "reality construction" to show that cultivating an optimistic explanatory style may reduce susceptibility to depression. It is my intention to use a symbolic interactionist approach of the concept of the "mind" to aid in identification of the reality construction of the depressed individual. The Psychological Social Psychology concepts of attribution style and explanatory style are useful in understanding optimistic and pessimistic perspectives of reality construction. This thesis provides a micro-level link to the idea that an optimistic explanatory style reduces …

Social Perception Of Working Women In Benin: Gender Analysis, Hermine G. Amoussou

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In the workplace, women workers generally face problems such as inequality, discrimination and sexual harassment. This research allows me to identify, explore, and analyze the socio-professional factors that prevent women’s full involvement and their promotion in the workplace in Benin. The research presents an analysis of perceptions of working women and the effects of these attitudes on the professional life of women. It also considers the effectiveness and pertinence of gender awareness in the workforce in Benin. What people of Benin think and say about working women, their comprehension of women’s professions and the behaviors that these perceptions induce, on …

Globalization, Biodiversity, And Resistance In México: Deconstructing Plan Puebla-Panamá, Michael Stantón Levy

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis examines the relationships between market liberalization and social inequality, poverty and biodiversity in México. A narrative history of political, socioeconomic and ecological conditions in southeastern México uses both statistical analysis and in-depth interviews to explain economic liberalization policies in México’s northern Border States, central interior and southern regions. The southern region bordering Guatemala paradoxically is most impoverished; however, vast natural resources make it one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Plan Puebla-Panamá, México’s proposal to integrate markets with infrastructure from the southern state of Puebla to Panamá in Central America, is broken down into its key …

Prostitution As Legitimate Work: An Analysis Of Sex Work In America, Nicholas J. Osborne

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis investigates the proposition that prostitution should be viewed as legitimate work in order to minimize the abuse and exploitation directed at sex workers by clients, pimps, and those engaged in trafficking. This thesis argues that paid sex work should be viewed as a public health and social welfare problem, not a criminal act that is socially constructed along rigid moral boundaries. Evaluation of the effectiveness of legal sex work in promoting safer sex practices is included in the thesis. Additionally, a legal analysis of various policies and legislation proposed and developed in relation to prostitution and the different …