Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons^™

Soldiers Of Science--Agents Of Culture: American Archaeologists In The Office Of Strategic Services (Oss), Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

"Scientificity" and appeals to political independence are invaluable tools when institutions such as the American School of Classical Studies at Athens attempt to maintain professional autonomy. Nonetheless, the cooperation of scientists and scholars with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), among them archaeologists affiliated with the American School, suggests a constitutive affinity between political and cultural leadership. This relationship is here mapped in historical terms, while, at the same time, sociological categorizations of knowledge and its employment are used in order to situate archaeologists in their broader social and political context and to evaluate their work not merely as agents …

Culturally Responsive Methodologies At Work In Education Settings, Mere Berryman, Suzanne Soohoo, Ann Nevin, Te Arani Barrett, Therese Ford, Debora Joy Nodelman, Norma Valenzuela, Anna Wilson

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe culturally responsive methodology as a way to develop researchers. The aim is to illuminate the dimensions of culturally responsive methodology such as cultural and epistemological pluralism, deconstruction of Western colonial traditions of research, and primacy of relationships within culturally responsive dialogic encounters. An overarching question is: “How can we maintain the original integrity of both participants and researchers and their respective cultures and co-construct at the same time something new?”

Design/methodology/approach – Five case study narratives are described in order for readers to understand the range and types of studies …

Women's Mobilization In Latin America: A Case Study Of Venezuela, Brianna Russell

Master's Theses

Abstract

I examine the following elements in regards to women’s mobilization in Latin America and Venezuela from the late 1950s to the present: (a) the influence of the state and economy on times when women mobilized (b) class division within the movement (c) women’s demands during different time periods (d) the ways in which women were successful in working towards gender equality. This thesis reviews the literature on women’s mobilization in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century. I find that women mobilized across class lines with the masses to end dictatorships. Women demobilized during transitions to …

On The Social Construction Of Hellenism Cold War Narratives Of Modernity, Development And Democracy For Greece, Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

Hellenism is one of those overarching, ever-changing narratives always subject to historical circumstances, intellectual fashions and political needs. Conversely, it is fraught with meaning and conditioning powers, enabling and constraining imagination and practical life. In this essay I tease out the hold that the idea of Hellas has had on post-war Greece and I explore the ways in which the American anti-communist rhetoric and discussions about political and economic stabilization appropriated and rearticulated Hellenism. Central to this history of transformations are the archaeologists; the archaeologists as intellectuals, as producers of culture who, while stepping in and out of their disciplinary …

Behind The Seams: An Ethnographic Study Of The Performative Nature Of Theatrical Costumes, Emily M. Lindholm

Student Publications

Actors are said to bring a play to life, but what about the garments that they wear? Like set production, light design, and direction, the role of the costume plays an important part in informing and enchanting the audience. However, this is not all that they do. This paper acts as an in-depth examination of the culture of costume creation and destruction at Gettysburg College, researching their roles as garments, as well as how the garments themselves "act" around others. Imbued with their own set of responsibilities, the costumes are expected to behave certain ways, perform specific functions, and put …

A Phenomenological Observation Of The Reductive Printmaking Experience: Implications For Art Therapy, Nicholas Alexander

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the phenomenological experience of four students in higher education relating to the involvement in a single reductive relief printmaking session. The indirect process of reductive relief printmaking is set apart from other methods due to the multiple steps and the use of various tools during the experience. It offers a reflective distance from the process, which allows the participant time to consider the meaning of an experience as it occurs. The production of multiple images during the process likewise lessens a participant’s resistance. The printed images are composed of layers; a metaphor for life’s process. Prior …

The Sociology Of Harriet Martineau In Eastern Life, Present And Past: The Foundations Of The Islamic Sociology Of Religion, Deborah A. Ruigh

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper is a critical analysis of Harriet Martineau’s philosophical stance and epistemological modes, her systematic sociological methodology, her use of this methodology, and her sociology of religion. How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), and other relevant works will be used to examine Martineau’s evolving epistemological modes as well as her sociology of religion. How to Observe, Martineau’s treatise on systematic sociological methodology and cultural relativism, will serve as an exemplar for analysis of Martineau’s methodological practice as evidenced in Eastern Life. The research problem herein is three-fold: (1) to examine …

A Values Comparison Of Liberty University Freshmen, Steve R. Vandegriff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There has been debate over generally accepted values, not only in the context of education, but also within the context of those who are considered people of faith. This study is an investigation to determine if there are any differences between the two contexts, with responses being drawn from students enrolled in a required introductory university course on the campus of a Christian university. The variables of this study will be gender and ethnicity, giving a picture of student values, prior to being influenced by university pedagogy. A survey was made available by Hogan Assessments, self-titled as Motives, Values Preferences …

Chapter 4, My Life, In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

A description of my life living with and learning from the Sikaiana people of the Solomon Islands, 1980-1993. The discussion includes how I established relationships and adjusted to life, and how I conducted ethnographic research.

A related website in www.sikaianaarchives.com

Chapter 1, Another Perspective, In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This chapter serves as an introduction to cultural anthropology as an enterprise and this ethnography of the Sikaiana people. It discusses why learning about other cultures is important to for understanding human diversity across the globe and also provided another perspective for examining and understanding my own culture.

Chapter 2, Getting There In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This chapter describes how I got to do ethnographic research on Sikaiana, how I decided to go there and the logistics of setting up my research including funding, traveling and my initial meetings of Sikaiana people.

A related website is at www.sikaianaarchives.com

Alternative Interventions Used To Help Mexican-American Students Improve Academic Achievement In Grades 9 - 12, Alberta M. Reyes

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study employing a cross-case analysis on previous case studies is to better understand the engagement of Latino students in a small number of cultural sensitivity programs and the teaching practices that are factors in the development of their academic achievement. In the traditional infrastructure of public schools, assimilation is built on fundamental values aligned with the U.S. political establishment rather than on the value of adaptation to the demands and conflicts of other cultures. Thus, less-empowered groups are at a disadvantage resulting in subgroups abandoning their ideas and reducing their contributions to human capital. …

Atheist Scripts In A Nation Of Religiosity: Identity Politics Within The Atheist Movement, Jacqueline Frost

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the use of identity politics within the atheist movement at both the national and individual levels. I conducted a content analysis of two national atheist groups and three best-selling atheist authors in order to assess the use of atheist identity politics at the national level. I then conducted 15 in-depth interviews with a sample of atheists in Portland, Oregon about their atheist identity and their reactions to and identification with national atheist movement strategies. Findings suggest that national atheist organizations and atheist authors are using a strategy of identity politics that encourage atheists to "come out" as …

Traumatic Family Narratives In A Cosmopolitan World: Identity In American Third Generation Holocaust Survivors, Karen L. Burton

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Examines what role traumatic family narratives play in identity formation of subsequent generations. Considers transmission processes of memory and history. Specifically focuses on identity of adult (age 18-40) grandchildren of Holocaust survivors in America juxtaposed with identity of adult Jewish Americans whose families were not directly impacted by the Holocaust. Original research in the form of oral history is analyzed using sociological frameworks.

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 …

Women In Transition: Experiences Of Asian Women International Students On U.S. College Campuses, Siva Jeyabalasingam

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Often referred to as people in transition, international students usually arrive in the U.S. with a clear sense of their academic goals; however, they often have not considered what their lives will be like or how they may change in non-academic ways. In addition to the typical level of university-related stress, international students face additional problems and difficulties generated in part by the cultural differences between the U.S. and their own countries. This is particularly true for Asian students. Of several studies that have investigated the experiences of international students in the U.S., only a handful have examined Asian students' …

Era[C]Ing Diversity: A Critical Rhetorical Approach To Race And The New Citizen, Theresa Donovan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Era[c]ing Diversity is guided by a broad question of inquiry regarding the formation and reformation of subjectivity through the filling out of "blank" forms such as the application for naturalization. This dissertation examines how the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service uses and distributes race, and how subjects participate in the social reproduction of the dominant ideology to create a society where individuals think: I am White; He/she is Black, or Asian, or Native American etc. Era[c]ing Diversity examines how the N-400 constructs the new citizen and the ways that permanent legal residents of Mexican origin disrupt or reify this construct. …

Segundo Barrio: Rich, Poor, Or Both?, Julie Anne Krill

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This manuscript describes an exploratory study which was undertaken in Segundo Barrio; a historic neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. The purpose of the study was to identify formal and informal sources of social support through the perceptions of female residents in different stages of life. This community, while economically disadvantaged, has unique characteristics and resources and the researcher was interested in seeing how different age groups perceive them.

Guiding Research Questions:

What sources of social support do residents of Segundo Barrio identify as key sources of support within their neighborhood, Greater El Paso, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua?

* Social …

Perceptions Of White Men On Affirmative Action Planning, Linda Lee Hansken

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the perceptions of White men on whether they should or should not be treated with total equality and be included in affirmative action (AA) planning in the workplace. Previous studies explored the topic of discrimination toward white males and AA. Using Festinger's cognitive-dissonance theory and Adams's theory of equity, this study focused on research questions addressing basic knowledge of AA planning, perceived discrimination, dissonance, and, the perceptions of White men about AA planning. Using phenomenological methodology, data were collected from personal interviews, and analyzed by obtaining a sense of the phenomenon, categorizing the interviews into meaningful and …

How Masculinity Works To Oppress Men As Defined By Iris Marion Young's Five Faces Of Oppression, Nathan Svare

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Re-Centering Students’ Attitudes About Writing: A Qualitative Study Of The Effects Of A High School Writing Center, Katherine Palacio

Department of Writing and Communication Theses

While attitudes are difficult to assess, a qualitative research study can produce results to give insight into how a student feels a writing center has improved his or her confidence and attitude towards writing. This study reviews the minimal discussion of students‟ attitudes towards writing in past and current writing center research and builds upon the conversation by following three students‟ journeys in the writing center and discussing whether their experiences with the tutors has improved their attitudes about writing.

Institutionalizing Ireland’S Industrial Development Authority, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Actor-network theory is considered to have great potential for broadening and deepening our grasp of institutional work (Lawrence and Suddaby, 2006). Given its focus on process, ANT offers a means to breathe life into the practices associated with institutionalization. With Callon’s (1986) four moments of translation as analytical lens, and with Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority as empirical example, I seek to address the concerns in the call for papers to reconsider ‘the role of agency, power, persistence and change in the process of institutionalization.’

A Tri-Disciplinary Analysis Of Religion, Alicia Wallace

Social Sciences

This paper analyzes religion using a multi-disciplinary approach. Studying the Social Sciences exposes one to an opportunity not just to learn a single discipline, but three, and this unique learning experience can teach one to look at the world’s phenomena with a multi-perspective view. Using a tri-disciplinary approach when exploring topics can broaden ones outlook on how there are many ways to explore and investigate a topic in greater detail. By using Anthropological, Sociological and Geographical theoretical perspectives one can understand a topic more fully by using a multi-perspective approach when exploring this diverse world culturally, socially and physically.

Quantum Of Solitude: Lonelines As Experienced By Pastors' Wives, Jama Davis, Frederick Milacci

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This phenomenological study investigated the individual experiences of eight pastors’ wives with the phenomenon, loneliness. Data was collected using informal, conversational, taped and transcribed interviews. Descriptions of the experiences of loneliness and the general factors contributing to loneliness were identified by the participants. The experiences and general contributing factors were compared and contrasted. The findings of this study suggest three factors which most significantly impact pastors’ wives and loneliness. Suggestions for future research involving pastors’ wives and pastors are provided.

Re(Dis)Covering Organizational Forming: The Case Of Ireland’S Industrial Development Authority, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Organizational form, as an issue, has been the focus of attention since Weber’s formulation of the ideal-type bureaucracy. For organizational scholars, the very concept of form is at the heart of organization studies, such that “[w]here new organizational forms come from is one of the central questions of organizational theory” (Rao, 1998: 912). The Weberian “ideal type,” with its focus on the ontological possibility of identifying form, represents the inaugural moment in organization theory. Since that moment, and based on the need to say what is “organization” as the condition for having “organization theory,” it is a requirement of organization …

“The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” An African Centered Historical Study Of The Selfethnic Liberatory Education Nature And Goals Of The Poetry Of Langston Hughes: The Impact On Adult Education, Sarah E. Howard

Dissertations

The purposes of this historical study were to 1) document the Selfethnic Liberatory adult education nature and goals of the poetry of Langston Hughes (from 1921 to 1933); and 2) to document the impact this poetry had on members of the African Diaspora. In addition, the goal of this research was to expand the historical knowledge base of the adult education field, so that it is more inclusive of the contributions of African Americans.

This study addressed the problem that the historical and philosophical literature of the field does not to any significant degree include the intellectual and adult education …

Using Documents: A Figurational Approach, Paddy Dolan

Books/Book chapters

Notwithstanding significant changes in the research cultures of many social science disciplines, there remains a certain orthodoxy in the selection of qualitative methods for consumer research in particular. In this field, focus groups and depth (or qualitative) interviews reign supreme, while the use of documentary evidence is sparse. The obvious exception is the growing number of studies written by historians of consumer culture (see for example, Cohen, 2003; De Grazia, 2005; Donohue, 2006). Historians have traditionally used documents as evidence of particular events, values, ideas and practices at specific times and places. These events can then be organised into a …

Soldados De Salamina (2001): Cercas En Busca De Un Héroe Con El Instinto De La Virtud, Marie Guiribitey

The Coastal Review

The work analyzes the role of literature in reconstructing historical memory and in serving to attest against the collective amnesia which takes place during the transition to democracy in Spain. The recreating of a historic episode during the Civil War allows the narrator of Soldados de Salamina to remake the past and call for the recovery of historical memory. Also examined is Maurice Halbwachs’ premise-the need to maintain “an affective community” in order to arrive at a reconstruction of memories.

Juanitas Family: Catherine Hufana (Youth), Lori Iwamasa

Filipino American Stories

Catherine Hufana grew up in Stockton, California. Her Filipino culture runs deep in her family and she has always felt “Filipino.” However, after visiting the Phillipines in 1992, Catherine realized that she identified much more strongly with Americans than native Filipinos. As an American, Catherine’s upbringing was much different than her parents. She was raised in a household that spoke mostly English, although her parents are bilingual. As Catherine struggled to fit in with her American peers, her parents continued to introduce her to their own Filipino culture…

Sosa Family: Evangelina Sosa (Elder), Tammy Hunt

Mexican American Stories

Evangelina Sosa begins her story of love and family in Sonora, Mexico. She was born in a small town called Agua Prieta, but raised in Sonora. Life in Mexico revolved around her large family of eleven brothers and sisters. Her father worked as a carpenter and her mother was a homemaker and seamstress. Although Evangelina was only able to attend school through the sixth grade, her mother taught her important domestic skills. Evangelina learned to sew and cook at a very young age, which enabled her to help her mother care for the large family and assist with the sewing…