Sociology of Culture Commons^™

La Maquiladora De Sueños Is Where The “American Dream” Ends: The Socio-Cultural Impact Of Hai(T)Ijuanenses In The United States-México Borderlands, Pedro Aleman Perfecto

Master's Theses

Historically, Tijuana has been the destination for migrants who have been left out from the United States, Mexico, and the rest of the world. The city is at the epicenter of globalization where many transit, leave, and arrive. Sometimes considered a “third country” due to its binational and bicultural identity with its sister city, San Diego, California. The growing number of Haitian refugees that arrived in Tijuana in the mid 2010s to seek asylum in the United States overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure and left the Haitian community vulnerable, yet it created new opportunities and reshaped new identities in the region. …

Photo Essay: Japan’S Demographic Changes And Opportunities: A Tale Of Two Cities, Ryoko Yamamoto

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Japan is in the midst of a population implosion. Schools struggle to fill classrooms, and vacant houses are a common sight in smaller towns. While the demographic shift makes it difficult to sustain traditional ways of life, it also brings opportunities for new possibilities. This essay highlights the challenges and opportunities of demographic change through the stories of two communities: Tsushima City in Aichi Prefecture and Ikuno Ward in Osaka City. In Tsushima, residents have embraced a more inclusive approach to their autumn festival, inviting women and non-residents to perform roles previously reserved for male residents. In Ikuno, a closed …

Emergence: Social Movements, Law Enforcement, And Defending The Sanctity Of Life, Diana Elizabeth Aroche

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the aftermath of national social movements advocating for police reforms and accountability, with San Francisco emerging as a pivotal city at the forefront of criminal justice and policing transformations. Rebuilding community trust and implementing substantive police reforms aimed at preserving lives has proven to be a formidable challenge. The convergence of interests among all stakeholders, driven by a shared commitment to dismantling institutional racism and implementing reforms that fostered trust with communities of color and law enforcement, played a pivotal role.

A significant aspect of this reform process has been the development of social movement convergence, where …

Placing God: Defining “Post-Christianity” For Contemporary Japanese Christians, Leryan Anthony Burrey

Master's Projects and Capstones

This work suggests that we consider a new, working definition of post-Christianity. This new paradigm is in response to Western Christian thought being too dominant a force that fails to take into enough account other global experiences— like those of Japanese Christians. These reflections are based on scholarly opinions claiming that Christianity is a “global culture,” and ultimately argues for more international inclusivity in Western Christian thought and institutions, especially regarding the Asia-Pacific. Moreover, this paper illuminates how iitoko dori allows Christian thought to peacefully coexist in Japan’s greater society. The research also explores specific Japanese cultural practices that make …

Hollywood Media And The Model Minority Myth: The Representation Of Asian American Masculinity And Its Effects, Khanhlinh Le

Master's Projects and Capstones

Asian Americans are becoming one of the largest growing minority groups in the United States, almost surpassing the Latinx community. Asian Americans, however, are rarely ever represented in Hollywood films and are limited to stereotypical roles. Asian American actors have a difficult time finding roles playing characters that are three-dimensional and complex. While both Asian American men and women face this challenge, it seems that in Hollywood films and television shows, Asian American males are even less represented than females and are typically portrayed as the quiet nerd, sexy doctor, martial arts expert, or the villain. These media stereotypes impact …

Beluu El Diak Le Belumam: Reclaiming And Decolonizing Palauan-American Cultural Heritage, Connie Ngirchemat

Master's Theses

Prior to colonization, Palau practiced their own indigenous ways of knowledge and epistemologies in relation to their spirits, land, and community. Through Palau’s colonial and imperial relationships under Spain, Germany, Japan, and evidently the United States, these impacts throughout Palau’s history have affected the community’s traditional ways of knowing. From colonial influences, to the evident emigration of the Palauan diaspora, this created a new generation of Palauan-Americans, who were raised unfamiliar with their cultural heritage and language. This lack of cultural awareness for the Palauan-American diaspora raises concerns of loss of culture, sense of self and identity, and its impact …

Hinduism As A Political Weapon: Gender Socialization And Disempowerment Of Women In India, Aindrila Haldar

Master's Theses

There is a growing use of religion as a political tool to control Hindu women in India, contributing to a rise in gender inequality. Immediate authoritative patriarchal domains such as household and politics, continuously speak of “protecting” Hindu women by disregarding their voices and needs. Consequently, potentially creating a loss of agency among women. This research will use inductive reasoning to understand the position of Hindu women in modern Indian society. Particularly, through the understanding of the involvement of religion in the political and household sphere. Hindu women are highly influenced by the expectations of what being an ”ideal” woman …

"The Chinese Animation Industry: From The Mao Era To The Digital Age", Stephanie Jones

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since the 1950’s the Chinese Animation industry has been trying to create a unique national style for China. The national style of the 1950’s and early 1960’s was one of freedom, fantasy, and creativity. With the success of “Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland”/草原英雄小姐妹(1965), the government administration, namely Jiang Qing of the “Gang of Four”, demanded that all animation should follow specific guidelines based on Social Realism guidelines. This in turn, ushered in a new national style of animation during the Cultural Revolution(1966-1976). During this ten-year period government policies imposed strict restrictions on animators and cause a drain of creative …

The Fine Line Of Determination: Supporting The Agency Of Filipina Sex Trafficking Survivors, Jessica Taylor

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper examines the economic, geographic and cultural factors that perpetuate sex trafficking in the Philippines along with the impact of the dominant victim narrative on affected Philippine women. Along with analyzing this complex problem, the research evaluates and critiques current trends of policy support and law in the Philippines, and their level of efficacy in resolving the issue of sex trafficking and promoting agency and survivorship for the women involved. Current solutions and support from both legal and non-governmental organizations’ (NGO)are, to a large extent, rendered ineffective due to a simplified narrative of loss and victimization that is perpetuated …

Now Hiring: Exploring Deportee Transnational Identities And Socio-Economic Reintegration In Baja California, Mexico’S Call Center Industry, Brenda Vargas

Master's Theses

The anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. intensified deportation, including that of Mexican and Salvadorian migrants with some having served in the U.S. military. Despite weak social connections and explicit/structural barriers in Mexico, many deportees make the decision to stay in Mexico. The focus of this thesis is male deportees belonging to the “1.5 generation,” aged late 20’s-early 60’s, who, after spending their childhood and adulthood in the U.S., have undergone deportation and are faced with social and economic reintegration in the northern border area of Baja California, Mexico. Through 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews, I explore transnational identity negotiations that impact …

An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar

Master's Theses

This study explores the shared challenges during the acculturation process of graduate student immigrants pursuing higher education in the United States. 13 graduate student immigrants at the University of San Francisco discuss their experiences of cultural adjustment into U.S. culture. Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study seeks to understand the acculturation experiences of graduate student immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. This analysis is based on the individual-level experience examining attitudes and acculturation strategies in the dominant society. Analysis, possibly policy implication for institutions of higher education, and possible directions for future research …

Life Being An International Student In The United States: Acculturation, Culture Shock, And Identity Transformation, Lai Yan Vivyan Lam

Master's Theses

The population of international students at community colleges in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. International students play a big role in building the cultural diversity on campus by bringing over different cultures and sharing their global perspective to the local community. However, they often face challenges adapting into American culture due to cultural differences in education system, language, lifestyle, etc. By looking into the acculturation process of international students to analyze the culture shock and cultural identity changes they experienced, this paper intends to seek ways to help this group of students to ease their …

The Intersection Of Culture And Activism In The Filipino Community In Soma, Ericka J. Martynovych

Master's Theses

My research analyzes the intersection between culture and activism, through oral histories with participants and organizers of SoMa Pilipinas, the Filipino cultural heritage district in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. I analyzed the impact of the establishment of the Filipino cultural heritage district on the Filipino community in the South of Market neighborhood. I examined what motivates members of this community to be politically active by organizing and attending protests and rallies, speaking at Planning Commission hearings at City Hall, attending planning meetings for SoMa Pilipinas, building relationships across organizations and fields, and providing resources for community …

Assessing The Applicability Of Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions For Global 500 Corporations' Facebook Profiles And Content, Kevin D. Lo, Richard D. Waters, N. Christensen

Organization, Leadership, and Communication

This research examines how Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions are reflected on the official corporate Facebook pages from 259 organizations on Fortune magazine’s Global 500 list. This research is grounded in original indices to measure the six dimensions across Facebook’s “About Us” section, the textual updates provided by the companies, as well as the media that they share (photographs and videos). This is the first attempt to create a conceptualization of Hofstede’s dimensions for organizational social media use. The results paint a mixed picture indicating that the global nature of these corporations is echoed in a somewhat similar overall presence on …

Understanding How Intentionally Unplugging From Cell Phones Shapes Interpersonal Relationships And The Undergraduate College Experience, Jadelin P. Felipe

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what motivated college students—the Unplugged Students—to intentionally use their cell phones less and how they understood the impact that unplugging had on their interpersonal relationships and college experience. Nine undergraduate college students from four private schools were interviewed in one-on-one semi- structured interviews. These students, considered non-users, provided a particularly useful perspective as these students made a conscious choice to counteract social norms and experienced both being plugged in and unplugged. Cell phones and the act of unplugging proved to make up a complex and more nuanced topic than …

Decolonize Your Diet, Jasmine A. Deras

Master's Projects and Capstones

With the industrialization of the food system in past decades, convenience foods have become the cornerstone of the standard American diet. This spike in obesity rates has been more impactful for some populations than for others. In low-income communities of color, fast and processed foods are often the most accessible and affordable source of sustenance. Critical indicators of status and well-being, health disparities are one example of the social barriers faced by predominately low-income people of color.

The Decolonize Your Diet project channels principles of resistance into its mission to improve the health of people of color in Oakland, California. …

Improv To Improve Interprofessional Communication, Team Building, Patient Safety, And Patient Satisfaction, Candace A. Campbell

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

The purpose of this process improvement project was to implement a test of change within a healthcare team utilizing applied improvisational exercises (AIEs), and to lay the groundwork for more effective inter- and intra-professional communication.

Literature review: AIEs have been shown to facilitate individual participant communication strengths through a process of un-learning certain common behavioral habits, and learning new habits that assist in creating and expanding closed-loop communication. Such un-learning and learning enriches the participant’s awareness of the environment and encourages participant adaptability through positive group interactions.

Method: An all-day AIE seminar/workshop was conducted with members of two healthcare teams …

The Plight Of Kenyan Domestic Workers In Gulf Countries, Caroline Muthoni Gikuru

Master's Theses

Kenya’s economy remains the regional leader within the East African Community (EAC) and among East African countries at large. However, political instability such as the 2007 post-election violence and the region’s social and political instability trickling into Kenya, have negatively affected the country’s economic growth. To bridge the economic gap, Kenyan women are seeking employment in the domestic service sector in the Gulf Countries, with Saudi Arabia being the most popular destination. At their destination countries, some domestic workers are subjected to various forms of abuse by their employers, leaving the worker without recourse due to the lack of legal …

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

The Globalization Of Cosmetic Surgery: Examining Bric And Beyond, Lauren E. Riggs

Master's Theses

What is driving the globalization of cosmetic surgery? Using BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries as a model, this master's thesis systematically identifies and analyzes (1) the origins of cosmetic surgery in historical, regional, and country-specific terms, and (2) examples of how cosmetic surgery has become normalized. As a result, clear patterns emerge in regards to: embedded power structures related to racism and war; the results of Western interests rapidly opening countries’ markets to high media and corporate influence—especially in the wake of political oppression and austerity; the exacerbation of pre-existing class, color, race, and gender prejudice by hyper-consumerism; the …