Regional Sociology Commons^™

Front Matter, Clifford L. Staples

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter

Transnational Corporations: A Question Of Power, Ronald E. Stover, Melanie Eldridge-Lichty, Mansour Haghighatain

Great Plains Sociologist

pe important social processes that occur in modem societies —whether industrial or in currently industrializing societies —either originate in, or ^e strongly mediated by, formal organizations (Perrow, 198S:vii). Since World War II, a new and logically distinct organizational form — the transnational Corporation (TNC) — has arisen. With the ability to shift operations anywhere within a corporate domain that includes several countries, TNC's represent an extreme powerful organizational form. But in discussions and presentations about TNC s, communication relevant to their power and influence is sometimes inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to present a graphic illustration of the …

The Relationship Between Reservation Economic And Educational Structural Characteristics And Cultural Traditionalism: A Research Note, Terry E. Huffman

Great Plains Sociologist

The economic and educational structural characteristics of Indian reservations generally have been well documented. American Indians are among the poorest and least educated of America's ethnics. The 1884 Presidential Commission on Indian Reservation Economies (PCIEIE) reported that in 1883 the unemployment rate for Indians living on reservations was 22 percent. Furthermore, the Commission cited Census information as indicating that in 1880 around 408,000 Indians (or approximately 27 percent of the total Indian population) were living below the poverty line. Educationally, Indians appear to be faring better than in years past. However, PCIRB reported that in 1880 about one-third of the …

Marxist Feminist Theory: A Review, A Critique, And An Offering, Patricia Ann Wasley Lomire

Great Plains Sociologist

The relationship between gender and stratification is one of the most problematic areas in social science (Crompton and Mann, 1988). A review of stratification theory suggests that, in general, main-stream theories are inadequate since they often ignore the independent positions of females in stratification systems (Acker,. 1973, 1980; Lenski, 1988; Tyree and Hodge, 1978). In particular, Marxist feminist theories are limiting since they are unable to explain the origin and persistence of gender domination (Balbus, 1982; Crompton and Mann, 1986; Goldthrope, 1983; Halby, 1986). Although Marxist feminism is "the most prevalent feminist framework" (Jagger and Rothenberg, 1984), it is becoming …

A Study Of The Relative Contribution Of Selected Sociocultural And Personality Variables To The Exploration Of Prejudice And Discrimination In South Dakota, Dan Peterson

Great Plains Sociologist

An extensive amount of scholarly research has been done on the subjects of prejudice and discrimination. The vast majority of this research in the United States has focused on Blacks and Jews and very little on the American Indian. The general public had very little knowledge of the situation on Indian reservations or the relationship that existed between the Indians and Whites until the early 1970s when American Indian activists began to engage in protests. That emerged from these protests were images of white racism and bigotry, separatist movements and a general climate of hostility in those areas where protests …

Excessive Infant Mortality: An Exploration Of Factors Contributing To South Dakota Indians' Life Chances, Dana Dewitt, Donald Arwood, Linda Baer

Great Plains Sociologist

The consequences of racial inequality are clearly delineated in an analysis of social indicators between racial groups. Among the more direct indicators of social inequality are infant and general mortality rates (Anderson, 1973:286). Indeed, "no cold statistic expresses more eloquently the difference between a society of sufficiency and a society of deprivation than the infant mortality rate" (Newland, 1981:5). Societies of deprivation that produce higher rates of infant mortality are characterized by low levels of education (Bertoli at al., 1984; Heoht and Outright, 1979), poor health care (Gortmaker, 1879), lower socioeconomic status (Fordyce, 1977), and other problematic environmental conditions. South …

To Dehumanize And Slaughter: A Natural History Model Of Massacres, James R. Stewart, Larry J. Zimmerman

Great Plains Sociologist

The phenomenon of massacre appears as a blight on the history of mankind, and history is replete with numerous examples. Despite their apparent barbaric nature, however, massacres have probably been more common in the contemporary world. A concept of massacres is often evaluative based principally on public perception. Newspaper headlines detailing the gore of My Lai and Sabra-Shatilla captivated and titillated readers throughout the world. Reported, but not documented, examples of "mass murder" in Cambodia, Uganda and Afghanistan also attested to its prevalence. What combination of factors - sociological, psychological, political, or economic - produce this extreme form of group …

Front Matter, Harlowe Hatle

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter

Why Do Females Remain In Violent Dating Relationships?, David Olday, Jennifer Legg, Beverly Wesley

Great Plains Sociologist

Recent interest in the study of physical aggression/coercion in dating violence follows more than a decade of research on marital violence and violence against children. In the 1980's, studies have shown the frequency of violence in dating relationships to be approximately as high as in marriage (Makepeace, 1981, 1983; Laner and Thompson, 1982; Gate, et. al. 1982 and others). These studies revealed 20% or more of those sampled reported at least one incident of dating violence. Consistent with studies of marital violence, incidents are usually perceived as being relatively mild, involving slapping, pushing, and shoving (Henton, et. al., 1983; Makepeace …

Research Note: An Assessment Of Documentary / Bibliographic Resources Available For The Study Of Corporate Control, Jack Niemonen

Great Plains Sociologist

The study of the structure of power in advanced capitalist society has a controversial history, particularly in relation to the question "Who controls the largest industrial corporations in the United States?" Any attempt to answer this question requires that the concept of "control" be operationalized and that the appropriate data be gathered. Given the problem of corporate secrecy, and perhaps an inherent distrust of sociologists, such an investigation does not lend itself well-to traditional data gathering techniques. Documentary/bibliographic research shows promise for such investigations, but few systematic statements have appeared in the literature showing where to find data and outlining …

The Role Of Voluntary Association Membership On Rural Community Residents' Awareness Of Community Issues, Gary A. Goreham, Richard W. Rathge, Larry Leistritz

Great Plains Sociologist

Over the past several decades, communities in rural America have undergone dramatic changes, such as declining-populations, aging populations, loss of businesses, churches, and schools, and sagging economies. In agriculturally dependent rural counties, many of these changes have been related to shifts in the structure of agriculture, and more currently, to the economic crisis facing the agricultural industry. Awareness of and support for those farmers experiencing financial strain has been noted by both researchers and the public media. However, the degree to which residents of rural communities are aware of how farm financial strain affects their rural communities has not been …

Economic Hardship And Stress Among Farm Operators In North Dakota: The Suffering Effect Of Social Support, Kevin A. Kettner, Jack M. Geller, Richard Ludtke, Janet Kelly

Great Plains Sociologist

The changing economic character of American agriculture is producing more than just surplus crops, it is also producing measurable increases in stress. This stress is a consequence of the faltering economic conditions in rural America (Cogner et. al,, 1986; Farmer, 1986), which has significant implications for the well-being of our rural population. Long term depression, increased suicide rates, family strain and violence are all results of this economic change (Farmer, 1986). Faraer (1986), characterized the rural sector as financially, emotionally, and socially troubled. These troubles are directly linked to the economic crisis rural America is experiencing. Social scientists and mental …

Retirement Patterns Of Elderly Farm Operators, David Kavanagh, James R. Stewart

Great Plains Sociologist

Gerontological literature abounds with studies of retirement and has successfully refuted many of the prevailing myths and misconceptions about the negative effects that retirement was purported to have upon health, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Atchley (1971) concluded that a large majority of retirees generally expressed satisfaction with retirement. Heidbreder (1972) and Streib and Schneider (1971) also found mostly positive attitudes expressed by professional, white-collar and blue-collar workers and a majority in each occupational group reported that they were pleasantly surprised with their ease of adjustment to retirement. These and other studies, however, relied almost exclusively upon surveys of urban populations. …

The Agricultural Crisis In The Upper Midwest: Responses To Financial Distress On The Family Farm, Thomas C. Langham

Great Plains Sociologist

The farm crisis in the Upper Midwest in the mid-1980s created financial distress that has deeply affected farm families. This paper examines the experiences of these families attempting to survive their financial troubles. It provides a portrait of their personal characteristics and gives a sense of the conditions that they confront in their daily lives. Out of the insights gleaned, this study furnishes ideas for future research. Twenty-two husbands and nineteen wives from twenty-five farm families participated in this study. The data collected from these financially troubled families was gathered between February and November 1986. It was obtained through use …

Psychological Centrality And Self-Concept Change, Clifford L. Staples

Great Plains Sociologist

Any theory of the self-concept must address itself to the "thorny problem of self-concept change (Rosenberg, 1979: 76)." That is, what are the conditions under which individuals will be willing or unwilling to change the way they think and feel about themselves? Here we explore the possibility that the psychological centrality (Rosenberg, 1979: 73-77) or relative phenomenological importance, of a self-conception is one factor that influences a person's willingness to consider changing that self-conception. Rosenberg (1979: 75-76) develops the problem of psychological centrality and self-concept change in terms of the apparently contradictory evidence generated by attempts to get people to …

Status Inconsistent Entrepreneurs And Robert Merton's Innovation, Paul E. Krueger

Great Plains Sociologist

From where springs forth entrepreneurs? The United States is experiencing an unprecedented increase of entrepreneurs. They have emerged in growing numbers during the past ten to fifteen years (Drucker, 1985), reaching a crescendo in what American Demographics has called the "Entrepreneurial Eighties" (Russell, 1985). Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley recently recognized this occurrence by declaring an "Entrepreneur Day" for his city at the annual meeting of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization (Givens and Goldberg, 1986). What is an entrepreneur? There have been many definitions since the term was coined by French economist J. B. Say in about 1800 (Drucker, 1985). According …

Disability And Health In African Americans: Population Research And Implications For Occupational Therapy Community-Based Practice, Emily Schulz, Debarchana Ghosh, Eddie M. Clark, Beverly R. Williams, Randi Williams, Lijing Ma, Crystal L. Park, Cheryl L. Knott

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Population-based research and community-based interventions are integral to occupational therapy’s scope of practice, yet they are underdeveloped in actual implementation. Therefore, this paper focuses on some health challenges facing the African American population, guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance Model.

Method: Using data from an observational cross-sectional nationwide telephone survey of African American adults, we examined differences between African Americans who are receiving disability payments (RDP) and those who are employed full time (FTE) on several physical health behaviors and psychosocial health indicators. We further compared the differences between African Americans RDP versus those FTE on those physical health …

Review Of African American Workers And The Appalachian Coal Industry, By Joe William Trotter, Jr., Cicero Fain

History Faculty Research

Joe William Trotter, Jr., ranks among the pantheon of America's most influential historians. For more than forty years, beginning with his 1985 work Black Milwaukee: The Making of an Industrial Proletariat, 1915–1945, he has chronicled the African American experience, most profoundly on the centrality of the Black working class to America's economic, industrial, cultural, and political development. His pioneering and provocative work examining the intersections of race, class, labor, urbanization, and gender within diverse urban- and rural-industrial settings has challenged prevailing historiography and expanded our understanding of Black migration, labor relations, and community formation. It has also added important …

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2022 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Youth Tobacco Survey 2022, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Student Health and Risk Prevention Surveillance System (SHARP)

No abstract provided.

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #5: Experiences And Attitudes Towards The Police And Reactions To Crime, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2022 - Experiences and Attitudes Towards the Police and Reactions to Crime

For the past few years, the Life in Hampton Roads survey has included two items measuring negative experiences with the police:

1. In the past year, have you or someone close to you had a negative experience with police (e.g., the officer shouted at you, cursed at you, pushed or grabbed you)?

2. In the past year, have you heard of someone in your local community who had a negative experience with police (e.g., the officer shouted at them, cursed at them, pushed or …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #4: Health, Education & Welfare Of Hampton Roads, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2022 - Health, Education & Welfare of Hampton Roads

More than 81% of respondents rated the quality of their health as excellent (26.2%) or good (55.5%). This is about 9% higher than last year (72%), with most of the increase being in the excellent category (increasing from 17.9%). Thus, we are seeing an increase in self-reported good/excellent health close to levels reported pre-pandemic (e.g., from 82% in 2017).

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #2: Politics And Political Opinions, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2022 - Politics and Political Opinions

The Life in Hampton Roads survey always includes a few questions about political attitudes. In 2022 the questions included party affiliation, political ideology, job approval of President Biden, Gov. Youngkin and local mayors.

Life In Hampton Roads Report: The 13th Annual Life In Hampton Roads Survey, Steve Parker, Randy R. Gainey, Jesse T. Richman, Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Wensi Wilson-John, Cassandra Jagroop, Nana Boateng

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

[From the Executive Summary]

The Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Old Dominion University is pleased to present the results from the 13th annual Life in Hampton Roads (LIHR) survey. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into residents’ perceptions of the quality of life in Hampton Roads. This year, all survey data was collected via telephone interviews as was the case prior to the pandemic. More than two-thirds of respondents rated the quality of life in the region as excellent or good (69.3%). About 25% rated Hampton Roads’ quality of life as fair (24.7%) and 4.5% rated …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #1: Quality Of Life, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2022 - Quality of Life

More than two-thirds of respondents rated the quality of life in the region as excellent or good (69.3%). This is slightly higher than last year (65.4%) during the pandemic and more closely reflects previous, non-COVID years (ranging from 68% to 71% between 2017-2019). About one-fourth rated Hampton Roads’ quality of life as fair (24.7%), and 4.5% rated it as poor.

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #3: Economy & Employment, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2022 - Economy & Employment

Hampton Roads residents had mixed perceptions of the economy but showed some optimism about their own financial situation. Less than half (42.4%) of those surveyed rated the economic conditions in Hampton Roads as excellent (3.1%) or good (39.3%). A similar percentage (42%) rated economic conditions as fair and 14.6% rated them as poor. Interestingly, despite the impacts of COVID-19, these ratings are not much different than in past years of the survey, during or prior to the pandemic. For example, in 2021, 47.5% rated economic conditions as excellent or good and …

Nasis 2022: Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey Questionnaire, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

A Nation Of Priests: Authority, Expertise, And The Religious Nones, Riley Ct Brown

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Much of recent scholarship on the nones and the spiritual but not religious attempts to understand them through the concept of authority. Often scholars argue that authority has left traditional American religious institutions and that the nones are self-authorized in terms of religion. Scholars often make these claims without considering what self-authorization means. This thesis shows that attributing authority to the self is problematic and aims to provide another lens through which to view the nones. The better approach is to view the nones as experts rather than authorities. Thus, this thesis argues that the nones are religious experts. Furthermore, …

Ambiguous Appalachianness: A Linguistic And Perceptual Investigation Into Arc-Labeled Pennsylvania Counties, Crissandra J. George

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

The Appalachian Regional Commission (2022) designates 52 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties as Appalachia, excluding only the southeast portion of the state. Matthew Ferrence, in Appalachia North, states that his "home is sometimes called Appalachia, sometimes Rust Belt, other times Midwest, even though very few who live there would accept any of those labels as correct" (xi). This ambiguous and fluid identity is due to the shaping, forming, and changing of Pennsylvania’s role within society from a founding colony to a thriving state with industry, unselfishly spoiling others, to the grounds of converging identities (Ferrence xi). This ambiguous identity makes …

Smoke Filled Back Hollars: The Impact Of Traditional Barbecue On Modern Political Campaigns Within Western Virginia, Monica Thomas Fury

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The first political barbecue took place in Virginia during the Colonial period. Since then, barbecue has remained an essential part of American civic life. Western Virginia, defined for the purposes of this thesis as the political borders of the sixth and ninth Congressional Districts in Virginia as drawn in 2021, is largely a rural area, considered by most political consultants to be heavily Republican and not winnable seats for Democratic candidates. The state Democratic Party of Virginia has rarely earmarked funds or support for candidates within those districts for the past two decades. Ironically, the Democratic party controlled this same …