Other Sociology Commons^™

Do Market Incentives Crowd Out Charitable Giving?, Cary Deck, Erik O. Kimbrough

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Donations and volunteerism can be conceived as market transactions with a zero explicit price. However, evidence suggests people may not view zero as just another price when it comes to pro-social behavior. Thus, while markets might be expected to increase the supply of assets available to those in need, some worry such financial incentives will crowd out altruistic giving. This paper reports laboratory experiments directly investigating the degree to which market incentives crowd out large, discrete charitable donations in a setting related to deceased organ donation. The results suggest markets increase the supply of assets available to those in need. …

Body Esteem, Peer Difficulties, And Perceptions Of Physical Health In Overweight And Obese Urban Children Ages 5 To 7 Years, Natalie A. Williams, Jennifer Fournier, Mace Coday, Phyllis A. Richey, Frances A. Tylavsky, Marion E. Hare

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective—To determine whether there is an association between body mass index (BMI) and body esteem in young overweight and obese urban children, and to test peer relationship difficulties and perceived physical health as mediators of this relationship.

Methods—Child self-reported body esteem, and parent-reported child peer relationship difficulties (being bullied by peers and peer rejection) and physical health perceptions were obtained from 218 overweight and obese children ages 5–7 years (81% racial/ethnic minority, M BMI = 25.3) and their primary caregivers.

Results—Higher BMI was associated with lower body esteem for both girls and boys. This relation was mediated …

Perceptions Of Parental Awareness Of Emotional Responses To Stressful Life Events, Lisa Jobe-Shields, Gilbert R. Parra, Kelly E. Buckholdt

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

There is a need to better understand family processes related to recovery from past stressful life events. The present study aimed to investigate links between perceptions of parental awareness regarding stressful life events, continued event-related rumination, and current symptoms of depression. Students at a diverse, urban university completed a life events checklist and a semistructured interview regarding family processing of stressful life events, as well as self-report measures of event-related rumination and depression. Results indicated that perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’ awareness of sadness regarding stressful life events as well as mothers’ and fathers’ verbal event processing predicted symptoms of …

Risk Factors For Overweight/Obesity In Preschool Children: An Ecological Approach, Dipti A. Dev, Brent A. Mcbride, Barbnara H. Fiese, Blake Jones, Hyunkeun Cho, Strong Kids Research Team

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background—Identification of risk factors is critical to preventing the childhood obesity epidemic. Risk factors that contribute to obesity are multifactorial. However, limited research has focused on identifying obesity risk factors using an ecological approach.

Methods—Baseline self-report survey data from the STRONG Kids program were used. The sample consisted of 329 parent-child dyads recruited from childcare programs in east-central Illinois. Child height and weight were measured and converted to age- and sex-specific z-scores using standard growth charts. An ecological model provided the theoretical framework for the selection of 22 previously reported childhood obesity risk factors. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used …

Risk Factors For Non-Initiation Of The Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccine Among Adolescent Survivors Of Childhood Cancer, James L. Klosky, Kathryn M. Russell, Kristin E. Canavera, Heather L. Gammel, Jason R. Hodges, Rebecca H. Foster, Gilbert R. Parra, Jessica L. Simmons, Daniel M. Green, Melissa M. Hudson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Effective vaccination is now available to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection and cause of cervical cancer. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of HPV vaccination among childhood cancer survivors and identify factors associated with HPV vaccine initiation and completion. Mothers of daughters aged 9–17 years with/without a history of childhood cancer (n = 235, M_age= 13.2 years, SD= 2.69; n = 70, M_age= 13.3 years, SD=2.47, respectively) completed surveys querying HPV vaccination initiation and completion along with socio-demographic, medical, HPV knowledge and communication, and health belief factors, …

Meta-Analysis Of The Book: "Privilege, Power And Difference" -- A Review Of The Dimensions Of Institutional Segregation As Psychological Paradox, Alexej Savreux

Sociology Student Papers and Presentations

This paper analyzes and synthesizes concepts and alternative perspectives of sociologist and author Allan G. Johnson’s book “Privilege, Power and Difference” through the lens of the sociological imagination. The first phase of the review addresses the different chapter dimensions of the concept (or purported abstraction) of ‘inequality’ as social, economic and historical concretion. The model is later elaborated upon and the work extrapolated into a meta-theoretical analysis of the first seven chapters of the textbook. By identifying and reviewing the principal points within the book, we present a multitude of vantage points by which continuation and assimilation of material in …

The Privatization Of Hazard Mitigation: A Case Study Of The Creation And Implementation Of A Federal Program, Alessandra Jerolleman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role of the private and public sectors in hazard mitigation, an important part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) performance requirements from the Stafford Act. Hazard mitigation is the effort to reduce societal impacts from natural disasters by reducing their risk to people, property and infrastructure; before hazards occur. The goal of the work is to contribute to the literature examining the national trend towards privatization and reliance on the free market economy for the provision of government social services, through such public management movements as the “New Public Management” (NPM) of the 1980s and …

The Effects Of Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Religion On Formal End-Of-Life Planning, Tina Dawn Lillian Burdsall

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals who are facing death today are doing so in an environment that is significantly different than it was in the past. Medical technology is increasingly able to keep people alive even with multiple complex chronic conditions. While these advances in medicine are beneficial to many, it can also unnecessarily prolong inevitable deaths. Concerns over the ability to have a death that is in alignment with personal values has increased the interest in the use of formal end-of-life planning including writing an advance instructional directive and assigning a durable power of attorney for health care. Although research has indicated that …

Personal And Professional Expectations Of Students At California Polytechnic State University Based On Socialization Of Gender Norms In Education, Marisa Wishart

Social Sciences

Two hundred and one students from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo completed a one page survey regarding their role models and expectations for life after graduation in order to gain insight on the gender differences that are present within the student community. The results were analyzed using cross tabulations in IBM SPSS and supported the hypotheses (1) traditional gender roles, such as men as the provider and women as the domestic caretaker, will be reflected by survey respondents, and (2) due to a lack of female role models for women in professional fields, women are less likely than …

American Ball Sports: Origins And Evolutions, Kevin Rask

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Fragility Of Consensus: Public Reason, Diversity And Stability, John Thrasher, Kevin Vallier

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

John Rawls's transition from A Theory of Justice to Political Liberalism was driven by his rejection of Theory's account of stability. The key to his later account of stability is the idea of public reason. We see Rawls's account of stability as an attempt to solve a mutual assurance problem. We maintain that Rawls's solution fails because his primary assurance mechanism, in the form of public reason, is fragile. His conception of public reason relies on a condition of consensus that we argue is unrealistic in modern, pluralistic democracies. After rejecting Rawls's conception of public reason, we offer an ‘indirect …

Contemporary Perceptions Of The Solidarity Movement Held By Polish Nationals, Nathan P. Buhr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Widespread participation in the 1980s Solidarity movement by Polish nationals of both genders, varying ideologies, and differing political backgrounds has led to diverse views of the history and narrative of the movement that today is interpreted in differing ways by groups and individuals. To gain a better understanding of how Poles view this unique time period of their history a survey featuring 54 questions was dispatched to and completed by over 121 Polish nationals. All questions relate to the Solidarity movement in categories covering: Prominent People, Media, Economics, Religion, and Education and concluding with a free-write section for additional comments …

The Characteristics Of Women Seeking Funding From The Dc Abortion Fund, Karin Elizabeth Bleeg

GW Research Days 2013

Objectives: To determine whether the population DCAF serves, based on current research, are those most in need of its financial services. Describe the population that DCAF is supports by age, race and ethnicity, poverty, educational attainment, union status, contraceptive method used, referral source, and number of prior pregnancies.

Methods: An adapted version of The Guttmacher Institute's National Patient Survey will be used to collect data from women who contact DCAF for financial assistance for their abortion (n=150). The data will be collected for one month and then analyzed in SPSS.

Results: Between January and March 2013 approximately 400 women contacted …

Uniqueness And Symmetry In Bargaining Theories Of Justice, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

For contractarians, justice is the result of a rational bargain. The goal is to show that the rules of justice are consistent with rationality. The two most important bargaining theories of justice are David Gauthier’s and those that use the Nash’s bargaining solution. I argue that both of these approaches are fatally undermined by their reliance on a symmetry condition. Symmetry is a substantive constraint, not an implication of rationality. I argue that using symmetry to generate uniqueness undermines the goal of bargaining theories of justice.

Public Housing: An Introspective Study On Public Housing And Its Effects On Health And Well-Being, Janna Traeger, Victoria Phillips

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Using The Scientific Method To Guide Learning: An Integrated Approach To Early Childhood Curriculum, Hope K. Gerde, Rachel E. Schachter, Barbara A. Wasik

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how early childhood programs prepare young children for science. Due to a number of factors, including educators’ low self-efficacy for teaching science and lack of educational resources, many early childhood classrooms do not offer high-quality science experiences for young children. However, high-quality science education has the potential to lay an important foundation for children’s knowledge and interest in science as well as reinforcing and integrating critical language, literacy, and math readiness skills. This paper examines the current research on science in preschool classrooms and provides suggestions on how to teach science that …

“I’Ve Devoted My Entire Life To My Daughter—And She Knows It”: Exploration Of Identity Development Among Now-Adult Navajo Native American Adolescent Mothers, Rochelle L. Dalla, Kathryne Bailey, Ashley Cunningham, Nicolette Green, Jenna L. Vyhlidal

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

n 1992 (n = 21) and 1995 (n = 8), the principal investigator collected data from 29 reservation-residing Navajo Native American teenage mothers. A primary goal of the 1992 and 1995 investigations (Time 1) was to examine the identity status of the young women in relation to commitment to the maternal role using Marcia’s (1980) framework. Results revealed that an approximately equal number of participants could be classified as achieved, moratorium, foreclosed, and diffused (see Dalla, 2000). In 2007 (Time 2), the principal investigator returned to collect follow-up data at the Navajo Reservation, where she interviewed 21 (72%) of the …

Let’S Discuss: Teaching Students About Discussions, Eve Brank, Lindsey Wylie

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Research consistently demonstrates the benefits of employing classroom discussions; however, there has been less attention given to teaching students about discussions. The current research compared 2 advanced social psychology courses: 1 without (control) and 1 with (experimental) a week devoted to learning about and discussing discussions. Several different indicators showed marked improvements for the experimental group as compared to the control group. The differences between the two classes were particularly noticeable at the beginning of the semester. Even though the control group was able to eventually obtain similar scores, the differences at the beginning of the semester suggest that students …

Social Networks, Individual Orientations, And Employee Innovation Outcomes: A Multi-Theoretical Perspective, Travis J. Grosser

Theses and Dissertations--Management

I examine individual innovation in organizations from a social network perspective. I employ two theoretical lenses to examine innovation outcomes in three separate empirical studies. First, I use a sociopolitical framework to examine how political skill and social network structure interact to predict successful innovation initiation and, ultimately, career success. I find that innovation initiation mediates the relationship between political skill and career success. Moreover, structural holes in employees’ social networks moderate the mediated relationship between political skill and career success such that the relationship is stronger for employees with many structural holes in their social network. Second, I use …

2013 Conference Report: The Social Practice Of Human Rights, Mark Ensalaco

Human Rights Program Documents

Universities have new importance in the global human rights movement.

This was the resounding message the University of Dayton heard at its global conference on human rights advocacy in October 2013. The human rights movement is experiencing dramatic changes. Dynamic new NGOs in the global South are resetting the human rights agenda. Popular movements inspired by human rights ideals are arising around the world to demand justice. New information technologies are creating the possibility of real global solidarity. The movement must adapt. Human rights organizations must imagine new strategies to address poverty and other root causes of human rights violations. …

2013 Conference Brochure: Be A Part Of The Human Rights Movement's New Frontier, University Of Dayton Human Rights Center

Human Rights Program Documents

Why must we explore the social practice of human rights?

In the 65 years since the U.N.’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the human rights community has become a standard-bearer of normative behavior, influencing development and humanitarian organizations, multinational corporations and philanthropists. Though the movement is viewed as honorable and admirable, the certainty of its mission can inhibit introspection; a natural tendency is to prioritize rather than challenge prevailing assumptions.

Are the good intentions of human rights advocates enough? No. Research and dialogue can help propel the human rights community forward by facilitating introspection to improve both advocacy and action: …

Social Work, Yoga, And Gratitude: Partnership In A Homeless Shelter, Jennifer Davis-Berman, Jean Farkas

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

This narrative explores the personal lessons learned about life and practice from YogaHome, a yoga program for homeless adults. The yoga program, taught in partnership by a social worker/professor of social work (Jenny) and a yoga teacher (Jean) with 17 years of experience, exemplifies the merging of social work and yogic practices , but also illustrates the evolution of these two professionals in their chosen fields as many of their traditional views, values, intentions, and expectations unraveled and led to a re-revaluation of their professional practices, transforming their personal perspectives on life. This reflection is based on the YogaHome program, …

The Beauty Standard Trade-Off: How Ebony, Essence, And Jet Magazine Represent African American/Black Female Beauty In Advertising In 1968, 1988, And 2008, Jerrika M. Anderson Edwards

Scripps Senior Theses

How do magazines that target the Black community represent Black/African American female beauty within a society that pushes a Eurocentric beauty ideal? Are these publications affected by the dominant ideal, do they resist the ideal with their own Afrocentric beauty standards, or do they find some type of compromise between the two? In this thesis, I propose that these publications present a compromise between Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideals but to the detriment of Black/African American women. To investigate my research questions, I conducted a content analysis of the advertisements in three periods of time, 1968, 1988, and 2008, in three …

Assessing Connections Between Young Children’S Affinity For Nature And Their Experiences In Natural Outdoor Settings In Preschools, Camilla S. Rice, Julia C. Torquati

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The purposes of this research were to: develop a reliable measure of children’s affinity for nature or “biophilia”; determine whether young children’s biophilia was related to the “green-ness” of the outdoor play area of the preschool they attend; examine whether demographic variables are associated with children’s biophilia; and determine whether demographic variables predict children’s enrollment in nature-oriented programs. We recruited children from ten early childhood education programs—six that had outdoor play spaces with many natural elements and four that had few or none of these elements. One hundred fourteen preschool-aged children completed an 11-item measure of biophilia that included preferences …

Beyond The Walls: Conceptualizing Natural Environments As “Third Educators”, Julia C. Torquati, Julie A. Ernst

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This research examined preservice early childhood educators’ perceptions of outdoor settings and their intentions to use outdoor settings in their teaching practice. Students enrolled in an early childhood education program (n = 110) at a university in the Great Lakes region completed surveys that assessed perceptions of natural settings, intentions to use natural settings in future teaching, knowledge of the benefits of nature for children, and personal nature relatedness. Participants reported relatively high intentions to use natural settings in future teaching, as well as knowledge of the benefits of nature for children, but moderate levels of personal nature relatedness. Participants …

Spiritual Well-Being And Its Relationship To Resilience In Young People: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Lindsay Smith, Ruth Webber, Erica Defrain

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Questions have arisen recently about the role of spiritual well-being in strengthening resilience of youth. To explore this association, this case study focused on the relationships and connectedness of young people who attend one religious organization as a means of enhancing their spiritual well-being. In line with the purposes of an instrumental case study, different sources of data (quantitative and qualitative) were collected on the phenomenon of interest—spiritual well-being. A theoretical purposive sample of 65 people participated in the study. A mixed methods research approach guided this case study, which incorporated both single- and multicase study techniques. Through an abductive …

A Heroic Journey Within Videogames And The Effects Of Player Experience, Jeremiah Moffitt

Honors Program Theses

The popularity of videogames globally is increasing dramatically. The gamer explores first hand fantastic worlds. The story structure of many games follows the hero's journey-a rite of passage that social scientists view as a transformative experience. Although the content of the journey may be culturally specific, the similar structural components of the journey enable the hero to ultimately complete his/her journey as a changed person. I hypothesize that during the playing process, the gamer incorporates the experiences of his/her character and shares in some of these transformative processes. My research is based on participant observation and open-ended interviews with individuals …

Yogahome: Emotional, Physical And Social Impacts Of A Yoga Program On Community Homeless Shelter Residents, Jennifer Davis-Berman, Jean Farkas

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

This article reports on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 12 women and 2 men who participated in a community-based yoga program, run by a certified yoga teacher and a social worker, at a homeless shelter in a medium-sized city in the Midwestern United States. This restorative yoga program was developed in the shelter in response to the severe stress of being homeless and the chaotic nature of shelter life. Based on an analysis of transcribed interviews, the following themes were generated and discussed: Yoga as Relaxation, Stress Relief, Pain Relief, and Future Practice. The challenges and …