Sociology of Culture Commons^™

Cultural Paradigms In Property Institutions, Taisu Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Do “cultural factors” substantively influence the creation and evolution of property institutions? For the past several decades, few legal scholars have answered affirmatively. Those inclined towards a law and economics methodology tend to see property institutions as the outcome of self-interested and utilitarian bargaining, and therefore often question the analytical usefulness of “culture.” The major emerging alternative, a progressive literature that emphasizes the social embeddedness of property institutions and individuals, is theoretically more accommodating of cultural analysis but has done very little of it.

This Article develops a “cultural” theory of how property institutions are created and demonstrates that such …

Film Tourism And Expectation: Using The Hallyu Wave To Model How Governments And Media Exports Influence National Image, Aishat O. Bello

UROP Posters

Film tourism encompasses the interest, investment and influence that exported media products can contribute to cultural globalization, and subsequent visitation of a nation. The Korean Wave or Hallyu wave has been studied and commended for its rapid spread and growing popularity within Asia and more recently, on a more global scale. By comparing and contrasting the methods used by the Korean government to enhance Hallyu, with several trade deals made by the US government to support Hollywood, we can see how the effects of film tourism were directed towards modifying perspectives on Korean culture. A few consequences of making trade …

The Construction Of A Class With A Sense Of Entitlement: A Case Study On Political Rhetoric As Symbolic Violence In Denmark, Klarissa Lueg, Andreas Jakobsen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Taking a Bourdieusian perspective, this paper illustrates how one politically staged TV broadcast on a receiver of benefit payment has triggered political scapegoating in Denmark. The case has challenged the prevailing welfare state discourse and fostered the construction of a low class with a “sense of entitlement” by the media.

We show that the media adopted the notion of a “sense of entitlement” originally used by politicians. Welfare state critical phrases and proverbs experienced a revival.

We claim that this one-sided rhetoric abstracts from political responsibility and that power, agenda-building and rhetoric act as symbolic violence.

Leadership And Decision-Making Styles, Oluremi Alapo

Publications and Research

Generation X: The Role of Culture on the Leadership Styles of Women in Leadership Positions' goal is to assist organizational leaders to view Generation X women in positions of power from a different perspective. Women leaders are capable of leading a 21st century organization because of their scope of knowledge about growing businesses, and their ability to blend and incorporate new technologies and innovations in the business environment. Generation X: The Role of Culture on the Leadership Styles of Women in Leadership Positions is relevant to the fields of business, cultural, human relations, leadership, management, and cross-cultural leadership and women …

More Than Zero: Variation In The Tattooed Population, Zachary Reiter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sociological research treats all individuals with more than zero tattoos as being part of the tattooed population. This type of categorization fails to capture the significant differences between tattooed individuals. For example, a gang member with a criminal insignia tattooed on his or her neck would be part of the same research population as long term tattoo artists with their entire body covered in tattoos or even a middle aged man with a single tattoo on his bicep. By interviewing tattoo artists, this thesis details the unique nature of tattooing as an occupation, the changing nature of the modern tattooing …

Faroosh And Elina, Faroosh, Elina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Faroosh was a cameraman for a private television program in Afghanistan working on a documentary about the Taliban. When he and his crew were discovered, the Taliban attacked them and he and his wife fled to Turkey, walking 12 hours to get there. Upon arrival the police arrested and harassed them. Turkey was not a safe place. After several suicide bombings in the area, they decided to move on to Greece, where they are in a refugee camp without any progress in their situation. They have no money to move forward and no ability to work and the economic situation …

The Future Of Arabic Music: No Sound Without Silence, Nesma Magdy Khodier Vcuq

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Arabic music has been intrinsically linked to Arab culture and by extension bonded to the environmental landscape of the region, reflecting their emotions, moods, and behaviors. Numerous technological advancements in the latter half of the twentieth century, have greatly affected the rich legacy of Arabic music, significantly impacting the natural progression of traditional Arabic musical genres, scales, and instrumentation.

This thesis serves as an introduction to generative methods of music production, specifically music generated through gestures. Through generative music, and its unique ability to map gestures to different musical parameters, music can be produced using computer algorithms.

The …

The Relationship Between Fraternity Recruitment Experiences, Perceptions Of Fraternity Life, And Self-Esteem, Kendall Ladd

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Self-esteem on its own has been studied extensively, including as part of a study examining the effects of sorority recruitment on the self-esteem of the female participants (Chapman, Hirt, and Spruill, 2008). However, there is relatively little research on men’s self-esteem and no studies examining the potential impact of the fraternity recruitment process on students’ self-esteem. The present study examined this through a longitudinal study utilizing two surveys. The initial survey was completed the day before the fraternity recruitment process began to establish a baseline for 155 participants. The follow-up survey received a total of 99 responses from the original …

“Becoming Ioway: Using Auto-Ethnography To Understand The Fourteen Ioways’ Journey Of Colonization, Spirituality And Traditions Through Tribal Dance Exhibitions, Sarita R. Mc Gowan

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the colonization and traditional spiritual practices of the Ioway people to show that their traditions have survived the effects of colonization also known as white settlers. I focus on issues of cultural traditional exhibition dance and that complicates the question of the nation-state’s exclusively trying to dissemble the Native Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska of colonization and the effects on the Ioway people past and present. I use personal experience of being a tribal member to discuss how the tribes’ oral history allows for the preservation of Ioway cultural identity and religious traditions.

Women's Professional Sports: A Case Study On Practices That Could Increase Their Profitability, Danielle H. Mcardle

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women’s professional sports leagues have often been considered a risky business endeavor. Critics cite low attendance, lack of sponsorships, lack of media rights deals, and numerous other reasons for why women’s professional sports leagues are not profitable. In analyzing the current landscape of women’s professional sport leagues, this paper uses a case study approach to develop a strategy that will highlight lessons learned from past women’s professional sports leagues, current professional sports leagues, sponsorship agreements, fans, social, digital, and mobile marketing strategies, and management practices to show how the business of women’s sports could be made into a more profitable …

Inside And Out: The Interaction Of The U.S. Immigration System And Indian Immigrant Families In Columbus, Ohio, Madeline English

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

The purpose of this study is to consider how Indian immigrant families, who come from cultures that are shaped around culturally distinct forms of family, navigate and adapt to U.S. culture and institutions that are structured based on the idealized American family form. The main research questions being considered are: How is family defined by immigration policies? How are Indian immigrant families affected by these policies? An ethnographic methodological approach, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews, is used to gather data in the Columbus metro area in order to address the above questions. Observations and semi-structured interviews were completed with …

Do We Choose What We Desire? – Persuading Citizens To Make Consistent And Sustainable Mobility Decisions, Christopher Lisson, Margeret A. Hall

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

A dilemma in urban mobility with tremendous effects on citizens’ wellbeing is the unconscious antipode between their short- and long-term goals. People do not anticipate all consequences of their modal choices and thus make decisions that might be incoherent with their desires, e.g. taking their own car due to convenience but causing a congested city. Omnipresent Information Systems on smartphones provide the necessary information and coordination capabilities to support people for sustainable and individually coherent mobility decisions on a mass scale. Building upon extant work in travel behavior and social psychology, a framework is proposed to coordinate research efforts in …

Crime In The Nfl: Does An Arrest History Lead To Better Performance?, Austin D. Crist

CMC Senior Theses

Teams in the National Football League will do whatever it takes to win football games, even if that means having players with a criminal arrest history on their roster. However, does being arrested result in improved performance? Do NFL players with an arrest history perform better than those without one? I examine the effect a criminal arrest record has on player performance in the NFL from 2000-2014, using the top 30 ranked players within each position group. The position I chose to analyze were: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers, Defensive Linemen, Linebackers, and Defensive Backs. My findings show that having …

2016 Diversity Climate Survey, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Resources

A survey about diversity and school climate, based off of the National Climate Survey used by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), was distributed to students electronically in 2015. In all, 536 students took the survey. Those who did not finish the survey (29 students), or who marked all possible choices for sexual orientation or gender (implying inauthentic responses, 7 students) were removed from the sample. This report covers some of the major results from the study.

Ending The Medicalization Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Egypt, Sarah Ghattass, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Salma Abou Hussein

Reproductive Health

This policy brief examines the extent of medicalization of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Egypt, the characteristics of girls who were cut by medical personnel, factors that may have contributed to increased medicalization, and potential interventions that could influence both physicians and the public to completely abandon the practice. The data show that younger cohorts of women, those from higher wealth quintiles, higher levels of education, and living in urban regions are more likely to have been cut by medical personnel. More importantly, the analysis shows that despite medicalization being more common among young women with the above-mentioned characteristics, it …

Ending The Medicalization Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Egypt [Arabic], Sarah Ghattass, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Salma Abou Hussein

Reproductive Health

[In Arabic] This policy brief examines the extent of medicalization of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Egypt, the characteristics of girls who were cut by medical personnel, factors that may have contributed to increased medicalization, and potential interventions that could influence both physicians and the public to completely abandon the practice. The data show that younger cohorts of women, those from higher wealth quintiles, higher levels of education, and living in urban regions are more likely to have been cut by medical personnel. More importantly, the analysis shows that despite medicalization being more common among young women with the above-mentioned …

Evidence To End Fgm/C: Research To Help Girls And Women Thrive [Arabic], Population Council

Reproductive Health

[In Arabic] This factsheet describes a new Population Council–led research program, funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, which will join the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C: Accelerating Change and the Girl Generation in the Campaign to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) within One Generation. The program will generate high-quality evidence to influence strategic investment, policy, and programming to end FGM/C. This five-year program will work in 6–9 sub-Saharan African countries to dramatically expand the body of evidence on the most effective approaches to ending FGM/C. The research program will be organized around four themes: building the picture …

Evidence To End Fgm/C: Research To Help Girls And Women Thrive, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This factsheet describes a new Population Council–led research program, funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, which will join the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C: Accelerating Change and the Girl Generation in the Campaign to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) within One Generation. The program will generate high-quality evidence to influence strategic investment, policy, and programming to end FGM/C. This five-year program will work in 6–9 sub-Saharan African countries to dramatically expand the body of evidence on the most effective approaches to ending FGM/C. The research program will be organized around four themes: building the picture of where, …

Root Causes And Persistent Challenges In Accelerating The Abandonment Of Fgm/C, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

The Fgm/C Research Programme, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

A State-Of-The-Art Synthesis On Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: What Do We Know Now?, Bettina Shell-Duncan, Reshma Naik, Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs

Reproductive Health

Efforts to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) are a rising priority on many national and global agendas. Thus it is imperative to have a clear understanding of the scale and scope of the practice, and where it occurs, as well as the dynamics of change and the broader context surrounding it. This state-of-the-art synthesis offers a snapshot of the most recent data available as of July 2016 and the most relevant contextual information on key FGM/C issues in clear, nontechnical language that can help inform policymakers, donors, program planners, and other key stakeholders. The data point to “hot spot” geographic …

Considerations On The Use And Interpretation Of Survey Data On Fgm/C, Bettina Shell-Duncan

Reproductive Health

This technical brief was written as an addendum to the trends presented in the “State of-Art-Synthesis of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: What Do We Know Now?” published in October 2016. This brief describes important sources of reliable data that have been generated in recent years, to provide accurate information on FGM/C practices and attitudes. The majority of these data are derived from cross-sectional survey research, and the brief notes the strengths and limitations of this research approach which should be borne in mind when using and interpreting these data. Table 1 summarizes nationally representative data on FGM/C available from a number …

Programme De Recherche Pour Mettre Fin Aux Mgf/E, Population Council

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Health Impacts Of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Synthesis Of The Evidence, Samuel Kimani, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, Carolyne Njue

Reproductive Health

The Africa Coordinating Centre for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, with support from the Population Council, sought to synthesize the evidence on the health impacts of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), identify recommended interventions, and compile and analyze the existing reference materials. The goal of this review is to inform the development of a comprehensive set of training guidelines and materials for frontline healthcare providers so they can manage the care of women and girls who have undergone FGM/C, prevent the practice at the community level, and accelerate abandonment of FGM/C practices. This analysis underscores the health impacts associated with …

Monitoring And Evaluating Fgm/C Abandonment Programs, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan, Carolyne Njue

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Evidence To End Fgm/C Research Programme: Presentation At The Sixtieth Session Of The Un Commission On The Status Of Women, Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan

Reproductive Health

No abstract provided.

Disengagement From Ideologically-Based And Violent Organizations: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Steven Windisch, Peter Simi, Gina Sott Ligon, Hillary Mcneel

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Research on disengagement from violent extremism is an emerging field of inquiry. As compared to the related field of radicalization, there have been fewer studies of disengagement. Further, little effort has been made to conduct a large scale, systematic review of what is currently known about disengagement from violent extremism. This type of meta-literature assessment can play an important role in terms of informing strategies and programs designed to facilitate exit. To help fill this gap, our project systematically examines the disengagement literature to determine the range and frequency of various exit factors identified in previous studies. We also rely …

“Are There Any Girls There?” Empowering Excursions And Gender Role Subversion In Dungeons And Dragons, Rachel M. Just

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

In this article, the author examines the gendered experiences of twelve women who play Dungeons and Dragons, a popular roleplaying tabletop game. The author utilizes Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s concept of the excursion to analyze how participants use roleplay in Dungeons and Dragons to achieve empowerment. Many of the women interviewed described being subjected to gendered behavioral expectations both in their everyday life and during gameplay. With an empowering gaming group, however, roleplay allowed the participants to challenge, and subvert, those gendered expectations. The author concludes that roleplay provides an empowering excursion from everyday life that allows women participants …

A Culture Of Religious Liberty, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

It is a commonplace to say - as Pope Benedict XVI did in his 2005 Christmas Address to the Roman Curia - that the Second Vatican Council gave "a new definition to the relationship between the Church and the modern State." This is true enough. But the Council's initiatives were more daring than that. It is closer to the truth to say - as many have, including in so many words Pope Benedict - that the Fathers at Vatican II took up a complex set of questions about important human activities, both personal and social and with a long tradition …

Volunteering And Democratization In Southern Africa: A Structural And Cultural Analysis, Sara Compion

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation examines the practices and social constructions of volunteering in Southern Africa. Grounded in structural and cultural theory, I focus on volunteering as the product, rather than the raw material, of political processes. My approach stresses the volunteers’ perspectives, yet centers on critiques of dominance. In doing so, I destabilize the view of volunteering as inherently pro-social behavior, or as intrinsically characteristic of deepening democratic systems.

Combining evidence from Afrobarometer surveys and twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in South Africa and Zambia I show how meanings and practices, not just resources and capital, shape the socially constructed nature of …