Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons^™

Archives Of The Future, Ka Oskar Ly

Masters Theses

Archives Of The Future is a practice-based thesis that invokes the archive and the future as simultaneous.

This research insists on the recentering of HMong Indigeneity and its own rooted traditions of HMong Queerness and HMong Feminism as ancestral knowledge systems.

They are the medicine. To recover their cosmological capacity is to traverse centuries of systematic eradication by empires and patriarchy.

I treat artistic making, community encounter, memory, and materials as equally valid ways of knowing and as collaborators. Field research from 2020 to 2026 moves through kinship and artisan teachings. It spans Southeast Asia, France, the United States, and …

Linking Women’S Empowerment And Community Contexts To Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence From Ten West African Countries, Winfred A. Avogo

Faculty Publications – Sociology and Anthropology

Abstract Purpose Intimate partner violence (IPV) is experienced by over one-third of women in sub-Saharan Africa, yet evidence on the associations between women’s empowerment, community contexts, and IPV risk remains limited and inconsistent. This study examines the association between individual empowerment and community socioeconomic conditions and different forms of IPV across West Africa, using the Survey-based Women’s Empowerment Index. Method Demographic and Health Survey data (2018–2022) from ten West African countries were pooled, yielding a sample of 38,434 ever-married or cohabiting women who completed the domestic violence module. Multilevel binary logistic regression models estimated associations between empowerment dimensions, community characteristics, …

Casar Public Lecture: The Fierce Battle For The 2024 Us Presidency: Race, Gender, And The Power Of Identity Politics, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

In light of the upcoming 2024 US Elections, we hosted this lecture on SUNDAY OCTOBER 27TH - 1-2 pm titled: "The Fierce Battle for the 2024 US Presidency: Race, Gender, and the Power of Identity Politics." Speakers: CASAR guest speaker Dr. Sherri McFarland - moderated by CASAR Assistant to Director and Adjunct Faculty Yasmeen El-Ghazaly. Dr. Sherri Lynn McFarland's academic and professional careers demonstrate her passionate desire to contribute to the economic, social, and political progress of African and Middle Eastern North African (MENA) countries and their diasporic communities. Her keen interest in the people of these regions led her …

Sex Ratios By Nevada County, 2023, Mia Tschan, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet presents data on age-based sex ratios – or the number of men to women in a population – in 17 Nevada counties: Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, and White Pine. The data are derived from the 2025 American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM) report, “Patterns and trends in county-level sex ratios,” which includes data on sex ratios in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Introduction To Sociology: Deviance And Crime, Dr. Marcia Morrison Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This paper explores the multifaceted concepts of deviance and crime by synthesizing major theoretical perspectives and contemporary research findings. Beginning with the fluid and culturally contingent nature of deviance, the discussion highlights how social norms, historical context, and power structures define what is considered deviant behavior. It examines the influence of economic elites on moral and legal standards, drawing on Marxist analyses, and considers the impact of societal labeling on personal identity through Lemert’s labeling theory.

The paper then delves into biological foundations of criminality, reviewing Lombroso’s atavism theory and modern research on genetic predispositions, including twin, adoption, and …

Introduction To Sociology: Socialization, Dr. Marcia Morrison Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This paper offers a comprehensive examination of socialization and identity development through a comparative lens, focusing on American, Chinese, and Japanese cultures. It explores how distinct cultural values—individualism, loyalty, and cooperation—shape personal and collective identities from childhood through old age. Utilizing the life course perspective, the analysis considers how factors such as generation, socioeconomic status, race, and gender influence the trajectory of human development. The evolution of childhood is traced across historical and cultural contexts, highlighting shifting perceptions, the impact of industrialization on children's roles, and the persistent influence of class and ethnicity on access to education and well-being. …

Introduction To Sociology: Sex And Gender, Dr. Marcia Morrison Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This paper explores the complex interplay between sex and gender, focusing on how societal structures, historical contexts, and cultural norms shape gender roles and expectations. Drawing on the works of influential theorists such as Margaret Mead and researchers like Maccoby and Jacklin, the discussion distinguishes between biological sex differences and socially constructed gender distinctions. The analysis highlights the pervasive influence of gender socialization through agents such as family, peers, educational institutions, and media, which collectively reinforce stereotypes and stratify opportunities for individuals. The evolution of gender stratification is traced from the post-World War II era to the present, documenting …

Deep-Fake Revenge Porn: The Intersection Of Artificial Intelligence And Revenge Porn For A Modern Attack On Women, Eva C. Hunt

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This study aims to provide a legal analysis grounded in gender legal theory to critique current legislation enacted in the United States. It focuses on the societal and gendered impacts of revenge porn, particularly examining how victimization differs across genders. The legal analysis explores state-by-state legislation addressing revenge porn, assessing the severity of criminal penalties and the timeline of enactment. For current contextual reasons, the study evaluates how emerging Deepfake artificial intelligence technologies intersect with and complicate existing revenge porn laws. Finally, it analyzes the extent to which each state has incorporated Deepfake AI considerations into its legal framework.

Developmentalism, Christianity, And Population Decline In East Asia, Elizabeth Lacouture

Asia Pacific Perspectives

In 2024, Taiwan and South Korea had the lowest fertility rates in the world. Instead of solving this demographic conundrum, this paper examines the ways in which women, family and fertility have been described, measured, and discussed across time and space in East Asia and introduces the role of US Christian ideology in propagating population control. US Christian missionaries and networks forged in China and Korea in the nineteenth century built a foundation for the social sciences of the family in early twentieth century China that developed into US modernization theory-led demography in the Republic of China on Taiwan and …

The Effect Of China’S Universal Two-Child Policy On Female Employment: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Labor Market Outcomes, Sijia Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the effects of China's Universal Two-Child Policy, enacted in 2016, on women's employment outcomes. The implementation of this policy has highlighted the challenges women face in the labor market, revealing a significant disparity between the policy's effects and expectations, as evidenced by the simultaneous occurrence of low fertility intentions and employment difficulties. This research employs a mixed methodology to systematically evaluate the policy's effects on the quality and stability of women's employment while also investigating the underlying mechanisms of this impact. The research indicates that the Universal Two-Child Policy adversely affects women's employment performance in multiple dimensions. …

Social Institutions And Low Birth Rates, Christine Ho, Yutao Wang

Research Collection School Of Economics

We document three cross-sectional stylized facts on labor supply and family formation. First, female labor force participation (FLFP) and total fertility rates (TFRs) are much lower in Eastern societies compared to Western economies. Second, labor hours and the gender pay gap are much higher in the East than in the West. Third, parents invest more in schooling in Eastern societies compared to Western economies. To account for these features, we develop and estimate a rich heterogeneous-agent model with endogenous marriage, fertility, labor supply, and time and money investment in children. Estimates using data from South Korea and the United States …

A Trauma-Informed Socially Just Approach To Working With Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy, Ciara Carr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have a history of trauma and oppression resulting from their positionality and circumstances. Most juvenile justice-involved youth are boys, youth of color, low-income, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and traumatized. This literature review explores the history of the juvenile justice system, issues with the present-day model, and trauma-informed and transformative justice approaches to practice. The implementation of socially just, trauma-informed expressive arts therapy programs is proposed as a more equitable practice to replace commonly used punitive practices across the United States. More research is needed to understand the impact of such programs on this population …

Knowledge Production And The Unthinkable: Weaving Stories Of Art, Gender, And Land, Christin Huntsman

Master's Theses

Colonialism is deeply and violently embedded in Western knowledge formation—dominant power structures produce epistemes that uphold and perpetuate colonial narratives. This kind of knowledge production forecloses other possibilities. Western discourse of truth becomes universalized to the point that other worldviews, other knowledges that do not conform to hegemonic norms, are suppressed or silenced. This thesis examines three areas of hegemony and erasure: art, gender, and land. First, the history of art clearly marks a delineation between Western elitist artistic masterpieces and non-Western ethnographic artifacts. Eurocentrism of art in the academy determines what counts as art and how art is categorized. …

Analysis Of The Relationship Between Religion, Abortion, And Assisted Reproductive Technology: Insights Into Cross-National Public Opinion, Amy L. Adamczyk, Brittany Suh, Lindsay Lerner

Publications and Research

With advancement in reproductive technologies, public opinion regarding these procedures varies considerably across the world. While prominent public debates have focused on abortion, we know less about the factors shaping feelings regarding Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Both procedures challenge the idea that human life starts with conception – with the fertilization of an embryo. Using European Values Survey data and multilevel modeling, we compare how religion and other personal and country-level factors shape disapproval toward abortion and ART. Conservative Protestants and people who are more engaged with their religion and live in a more religious country are more likely to …

“Think Leader, Think Alpha Male” And The Evolution Of Leader Stereotypes., Christopher Von Rueden

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Over the past few decades, the representation of women in top leadership positions has steadily increased around the world, yet remains well below gender parity. Do leader stereotypes and preferences still favor men? Based on a series of studies with U.S. participants, Wiezel, Barlev, Martos, and Kenrick (2024) argue that leaders remain stereotyped as male, which is consistent with a “think leader, think alpha-male” model. Inconsistent with the model, the authors also find that women are slightly preferred as leaders, due in part to greater association of men with dominance-based leadership. In general, Wiezel et al. (2024) provide a valuable …

Women’S Communities And Landscapes In Deadwood, South Dakota In The 1870s–1880s, Jessica Kaye Long

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research focuses on the lives, experiences, and contributions of Deadwood women from 1875 to 1889. This range represents a defining period in Deadwood’s history stretching from its inception to the arrival of the railroad. Through this research, I seek to better understand the women living in a relatively isolated city during the gold rush. While previous research has focused on the city’s most famous women and sex workers of the Badlands, the lives of average citizens have been neglected. This research does not want to ignore the impacts of famous women or sex workers. Instead, this thesis attempts to …

De Aquí, Y De Allá: Education, Culture, And Identity Development Of Transnational Latinas, Elizabeth Harris-Medina

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

De Aquí, y De Allá: Education, Culture, and Identity Development of Transnational Latinas This ethnographic case study examines the experiences of three transnational Latina women, descendants of families from Degollado, Jalisco, Mexico, exploring how their migration history and educational backgrounds influence their life trajectories. Focusing on these three women, the study aims to better understand their challenges and inform the development of resources to support their success in the U.S. education system. Using ethnographic interviews and Ecological Systems Theory, the research highlights how places and social systems shape views and life paths, offering insights into how best to support these …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Female Offending In The U.S. And Mexico, Dana Villasenor

CMC Senior Theses

Hollywood has painted a picture of the criminal woman as a sexy, sneaky, and often psychotic female fatale. This is because men run Hollywood. Much like movies, research on why women offend had historically focused on men as their stellar. However, towards the turn of the century and with the disproportionate rise in female incarceration, literature caught up to the fact that women and men do not experience the same socialization, standards, or reality and, therefore, have different reasons for and ways of offending. This research explores those reasons for women in the U.S. and Mexico and paints the picture …

Intersectionality Of Race And Sex On Collaborative Work Process, Wynter Buckner

CMC Senior Theses

While many researchers have explored the benefits of diversity on innovation and output quality, there is a lack of research that has been done on impact of diversity in teams on outcomes on the personal level. This paper investigates the relationship between social identity and the ease of collaborative work processes. I use an experiment to test hypotheses on the preference of partners and best performing pairing. With the use of a website designed my Jeffery Flory, Brent Hickman, John A. List, Amamnda Pallais, and Jessie Sun, 30 participants were randomly paired in teams of two to virtually collaborate is …

ผู้หญิงในโลกดิจิทัลกับสื่อไม่ปลอดภัย: มุมมองทางประชากรและสังคม, Pychaniphat Wichaino, Phanarin Namphet

Journal of Demography

In a wide range of networked societies, going digital is a dynamic social phenomenon that brings risks exposure to unsafe media. This article studied the knowledge of issues related to unsafe media through demographic and social perspectives. It aims to understand the digital lifestyle and ways to mitigate the risk of unsafe media for women in the digital world. This quantitative research-based study collected data from 541 questionnaires completed by female digital denizens, and the data were analyzed using statistical methods.

In the context of unsafe media, the research found that population of women in the digital world can divided …

Assessment Of Personal Care Product Use And Perceptions Of Use In A Sample Of Us Adults Affiliated With A University In The Northeast, Adana A. M. Llanos, Amber Rockson, Kylie Getz, Patricia Greenberg, Eva Portillo, James A. Mcdonald, Dede K. Teteh, Justin Villasenor, Carolina Lozada, Jamirra Franklin, Vaishnavi More, Zorimar Rivera-Núñez, Carolyn W. Kinkade, Emily S. Barrett

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Evidence supports unequal burdens of chemical exposures from personal care products (PCPs) among some groups, namely femme-identifying and racial and ethnic minorities. In this study, we implemented an online questionnaire to assess PCP purchasing and usage behaviors and perceptions of use among a sample of US adults recruited at a Northeastern university. We collected PCP use across seven product categories (hair, beauty, skincare, perfumes/colognes, feminine hygiene, oral care, other), and behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions of use and safety across sociodemographic factors to evaluate relationships between sociodemographic factors and the total number of products used within the prior 24–48 h using …

“Nails Done, Hair Done, Everything Did!”: Consumption And The Creation Of Black Feminine Selves, Simone Reid

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how race and gender shape the meaning that Black women associate with their beauty consumption practices and spending. Much of the existing feminist scholarship on beauty has been postfeminist, privileging the concept of agency and empowerment over structural realities. However, the materialist feminist frame has more utility to address how beauty operates within the lives of Black women as a form of distinct gendered racial oppression. The concept of aesthetic capital emerges from the materialist feminist perspective and suggests that beauty demands the investment of considerable economic resources and can deliver economic returns. Despite this, aesthetic capital …

A Mixed-Method Analysis Of The News Media Framing Of Gender Non-Conforming Victims Of Homicide In The U.S. From 2012 To 2022, Susana Avalos, Hayley Jackey, Iyan Wickel

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Recent analyses of transgender homicide victims find that the news media often uses improper terminology, delegitimizes, and victim blames them. These analyses, while insightful, are limited as they have largely analyzed cases involving trans women and trans feminine individuals. The present study employs a mixed-method approach to analyze news media articles (N = 88) published in U.S. online news media outlets about 17 gender non-conforming victims killed between 2012 and 2022. We found that most articles did not delegitimize or victim blame. However, we find (1) victim blaming occurred when reporting on cases of officer-involved shootings, (2) certain victims …

From A Boy To A Leader, Alejandro Zayas

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The following autoethnographic dissertation examines my personal experiences of trauma, abuse, and violence. Drawing on journals, memories, and artifacts from my life, I use self-reflection to illustrate the impacts of trauma on my childhood and adulthood. My traumatic experiences of sexual abuse, childhood violence, and emotional abuse are situated within broader sociocultural contexts of masculinity, Hispanic culture, and social norms. This study illuminates possibilities for healing and transformation for myself and others with shared traumatic backgrounds. It calls for trauma-informed education, masculinity, and resiliency. Evocatively sharing my traumatic life events provides an accessible window into often silenced experiences, bearing witness …

A Portrait Of Partnership Statuses In The United States Between 1990 And 2017, Daeshin Hayden Ju

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report examines partnership rates among the US population by race and ethnicity from 1990 to 2017.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2017.

Discussion:

Over the past thirty years, the general proportion of married …

The Isolated As The Revolutionary: How “Leftover” Men In China Challenge Heteronormativity, Ruwen Chang

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

In contemporary China, demographers estimate that 30 million men are single because there are simply not enough women in the Chinese population, and the 2020 Chinese census shows that there are 34.9 million more men than women. These men are called guanggun, which can be directly translated to “bare sticks/branches,” a slur that indicates a lack of marriage and sex. In this project, I demonstrate that guanggun’s singlehood marks them as the marginalized at the intersection of heteronormativity, patriarchy, globalizing capitalism, and pronatalist governmentality. In a highly heteronormative and patrilineal culture, guanggun are branded as abnormal/incomplete. However, because …

Religion As A Micro And Macro Property: Investigating The Multilevel Relationship Between Religion And Abortion Attitudes Across The Globe, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

In many countries abortion is the most contested issue being publicly discussed, in part, because it has implications for gender equality, health, family formation, and politics. Personal religious beliefs are often seen as having an important role in shaping disapproving attitudes. However, little attention has been given to the country religious context for understanding public opinion about abortion. Drawing on ideas from cultural sociology, the anti-ascetic hypothesis, and moral communities hypothesis, this study investigates the individual and country religious associations with abortion attitudes. Using hierarchical modeling techniques and survey data from over 70 nations, representing the majority of the world’s …

Examining Perceived Effects Of Same-Sex Marriage Legalization Among Sexual Minority Women: Identifying Demographic Differences And Factors Related To Alcohol Use Disorder, Depression, And Self-Perceived Health, Laurie A. Drabble, Amy A. Mericle, Cat Munroe, Angie R. Wootton, Karen F. Trocki, Tonda L. Hughes

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction

Reductions in structural stigmas, such as gaining access to legalized same-sex marriage, are associated with positive psychological and physical health outcomes among sexual minorities. However, these positive outcomes may be less robust among sexual minority women (SMW).

Methods

This study examined how perceptions of the impact of legalized same-sex marriage among SMW may (1) differ by demographic characteristics and (2) predict alcohol use disorder, depression, and self-perceived health. A diverse sample of SMW (N=446) completed an online survey in 2020 assessing the perceived impact of legalized same-sex marriage across six social-ecological domains: (1) personal impact, (2) stigma-related …

Neighborhoods Matter; But For Whom? Heterogeneity Of Neighborhood Disadvantage On Child Obesity By Sex, Ashley W. Kranjac, Catherine Boyd, Rachel T. Kimbro, Brady S. Moffett, Keila N. Lopez

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Although evidence suggests that neighborhood context, particularly socioeconomic context, influences child obesity, little is known about how these neighborhood factors may be heterogeneous rather than monolithic. Using a novel dataset comprised of the electronic medical records for over 250,000 children aged 2–17 nested within 992 neighborhoods in the greater Houston area, we assessed whether neighborhoods influenced the obesity of children differently based on sex. Results indicated that neighborhood disadvantage, assessed using a comprehensive, multidimensional, latent profile analysis-generated measure, had a strong, positive association with the odds of obesity for both boys and girls. Interactions revealed that the relationship between disadvantage …

Health Disparities By Sexual Orientation Components In The United States, Julia Kay Wolf

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fundamental cause theory encourages researchers to consider broad social conditions that put people at risk of individual-level health-related risks that can lead to health disparities between social groups. Stigma has recently been proposed as a fundamental cause of health disparities as it influences multiple disease outcomes, affects access to resources, and is consistently related to health inequities across historical and geographical contexts. Minority stress theory describes how sexual minorities endure excess stressors in the form of prejudice and discrimination due to their stigmatized status. Considering both frameworks, I explore how stigmatized sexual orientation minority respondents compare to their sexual majority …