Sociology of Culture Commons^™

Television Transnationale, Mondialisation Et La Formation De L'Identite Culturelle: L'Exemple De La Republique Dominicaine, Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

La societe globale qui se profile au debut du XXIe siecle presente des caracteristiques tant economiques et politiques que culturelles. En sociologie, le phenomene de mondialisation se definit comme la proliferation de flux economiques et culturels internationaux et transnationaux au niveau de la planete et comprend egalement la creation d'institutions supranationales. De fait, les echanges financiers et commerciaux, le developpement de moyens de communication plus efficaces et rapides (mass media, transports, telephone, telecopie, Internet, etc.) et l'intensification des flux migratoires ont connecte et rapproche des nations differentes, produisant une interaction accrue entre les peuples. Appadurai (1990) explique le processus de …

Experiences Of Japanese War Brides And Assimilation Into Appalachia: Understanding The Intersection Of Ethnicity And Gender, Kyoko Kondo

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This qualitative study analyzes the acculturation and assimilation of Japanese war brides into Appalachia. Although the Japanese female immigrants have lived in Appalachia for many years, their life experiences have been ignored by academia in Appalachian studies. A purpose of this study is to advance the understanding what social mechanisms impact the assimilation of the Japanese war brides and what it means for them to live in this society. By using oral history with open-ended questions, data is gathered from in-depth interviews with four Japanese war brides. The study finds retention of ethnic identity, recovery of cultural heritage, and social …

The Racialization Of Sexuality: The Queer Case Of Jeffrey Dahmer, Ian Barnard

English Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In this article I read media and subcultural representations of Jeffrey Dahmer, the white male U.S. serial killer who gained notoriety in the late 1980s for having sex with and then murdering and dismembering men of color in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My aim is to show the extent to which the degree of Dahmer's homosexualization in a particular representation determines Dahmer' s thinking and actions in the sphere of race, and to suggest how spiraling efforts to separate race from sexuality in the Dahmer case only further intricate the two analytic axes."

Wildlife And World Views: Australian Attitudes Toward Wildlife, Heather J. Aslin, David H. Bennett

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Research in a number of western and non-western cultures suggests there are only a limited number of basic orientations toward other species. In the broadest sense, these can be related to fundamental cultural assumptions about what the world is like - world views, world metaphors or cosmologies —and how other species are represented as a result of these assumptions.

In this paper we explore our topic in relation to two cultural traditions - those of Aboriginal Australians and Anglo-Australians. We discuss how the differing world views represented in these cultures relate to wildlife attitudes. Aboriginal society before British setdement of …

The Perceptions Of Male And Female Western Australian Adolescents In Relation To Body Image And Smoking, Mary Edwards

Theses : Honours

Although the numbers of adult smokers has declined, numbers of adolescent smokers have not, with females outnumbering males. Research has indicated that adolescent females have higher levels of body image dissatisfaction than males. This dissatisfaction is mostly with regard to weight, which suggests a possible association between female adolescents smoking and weight control. A study of American adolescents (Camp, Klesges & Relyea, 1993) found that adolescent females were more likely to perceive that smoking is a method of weight control and to use smoking to control their weight than adolescent males. This present study investigated the perceptions of625 Western Australian …

Representing Culture: Reflexivity And Mormon Folklore Scholarship, David A. Allred

Theses and Dissertations

When writing about a culture, ethnographers can convey important insights about society. However, ethnography can also misrepresent culture. To address this fact, reflexive ethnography attempts to influence both the methodology and the rhetoric of writing about culture. Reflexivity seeks to acknowledge the bias of the researcher. To include the voice of the cultural insiders, and to more closely represent the dynamics of cultures that always have an element of hybridity. However, reflexive ethnographies can also be unwieldy and impractical. Therefore, one must find a pragmatic application of reflexivity.

Reflexivity can have application to Mormon folklore studies. The most important Mormon …

Confucianist's Perception Of Woman : Its Influence On Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior : Memoirs Of A Girlhood Among Ghosts And Amy Tan's The Joyluck Club, Yoke Lin Yap

Student Works (2000-2009)

This thesis proposes to examine critically how the fundamental ideals contained within the philosophy of Confucius have evolved into social rites and rituals contained within the Five Classics and Four Classics for women. This is important for it is the social conventions that form the essential patriarchal structure in addition to the moral as well as behavioral norms of Chinese society. The study and analysis of Confucius' principal doctrines will help us understand the roles and responsibilities held by Chinese women within the structural hierarchy of Chinese family and society in general. The above will provide for a unique comparison …

Tingkah Laku Pengguna Terhadap Muzik : Kajian Di Kalangan Belia Terhadap Lagu Melayu Nusantara, Noorihal Muhammad

Student Works (2000-2009)

The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics that are outstanding in the youth of today towards the special kind of music and songs that are generally referred lagu Melayu Nusantara'. The factors that influence the attraction of the youth of today towards this kind of music is given prominence. These factors are as follows, ( i ) the existence of forces that attract these youth to this particular kind of music, ( ii ) the singer presenting the song and finally, ( iii ) the lyrics of the song that captivates the youth. In my study, I …

Falsafah Etika Masyarakat Melayu Tradisional : Satu Kajian Berdasarkan Pantun Melayu, Zaleha Ahmat

Student Works (2000-2009)

The idea of this study is to put forward an analysis on the system of ethics of the traditional Malays. Nevertheless, it does not provide a listing of characters, attitudes and behaviour of the people. This writing is giving attention on a research of the existence and conscience of ethics from a philosophical view. This study is about attempts on seeking originality and authenticity in the significance of "budi" which is synonymous to the Malay people and its civilization. "Budi' defined as a soul process of purifying self consciousness in gaining truth to the result of choices and actions made …

Review Of Comparative Perspectives On Social Movements: Political Opportunities. Mobilizing Structure, And Cultural Framings (Book), Robert Kleidman

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Reviews the book "Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structure, and Cultural Framings," edited by Doug McAdam, John D. McCarthy, and Mayer N. Zald.

Without Closets, Without Shame: Conference Commemorates Latino/A Autobiography And Testimony, Oscar Montero, Elena Martínez, Ramón Rivera-Servera

Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS)

Crossing Borders '99, the second CLAGS conference focusing on Latino/a queers, opened Thursday evening, March 11, with a Cabaret Night hosted by the "Songbird of Cuba," Carmelita Tropicana. The evening, subtitled "Sin closet/sin verguenza" ("Without Closets/Without Shame") featured, among others, Deyanira Bautista's Afro-Caribbean Drums, dancer Arthur Aviles with his nude flying body, and the sultry, seductive, Mexican drag chanteuse, Tito Vasconcelos.

“All Things Considered”: A Comparative Case Study Examining The Commercial Presence Within Public Radio, Peter P. Nieckarz Iii

Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the commercial presence within public radio. A case study of three NPR affiliate stations was conducted to determine to what extent public radio is being influenced or compromised by increased commercial rationality. It also addresses how they have been able to resist commercialism and remain true to the original ideals of public radio. The research included active interviews, observations, and document analyses of data collected from field research at each o f the three stations in the sample. Analysis of the data indicates that public radio stations have grown more commercial due to declining tax-based subsidies, and …

The Effects Of Ethnicity, Ethnic Salience And Ethnic Identification On Consumers' Sources Of Information And Purchase Behavior, Patricia Wooten Humphrey

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any significant differences in the search and purchase behavior between white and black consumers due to ethnicity, ethnic identification, ethnic salience and ethnic situation.

The sample was chosen from two universities, one predominately white, the other predominately black. Of the 360 questionnaires administered, 345 were usable. The sample was representative of the student population of each university with respect to age, gender, and ethnicity. Statistical techniques used were ANOVAs, t-tests and paired comparisons.

The findings indicate that ethnicity plays an important role in an individual's sources of information used …

Cemetaries And Columbaria, Memorials And Mausoleums: Narrative And Interpretation In The Study Of Deathscapes In Geography, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper reviews research on deathscapes, particularly by geographers in the last decade, and argues that many of the issues addressed reflect the concerns that have engaged cultural geographers during the same period. In particular, necrogeographical research reveals the relevance of deathscapes to theoretical arguments about the social constructedness of race, class, gender, nation and nature; the ideological underpinnings of landscapes, the contestation of space, the centrality of place and the multiplicity of meanings. This paper therefore highlights how the focus on one particular form of landscape reveals macro-cultural geographical research interests and trends.

An Aboriginal Moomba: Remaking History, Sylvia Kleinert

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Expanding Men's Participation In Reproductive Health In Kenya, Bolaji M. Fapohunda, Naomi Rutenberg

Reproductive Health

To increase men’s participation in family planning (FP) and reproductive health (RH) both for their own well-being and as gatekeepers to women’s health, the African Population Policy Research Center and the Population Council’s OR/TA Project II launched a study designed to explore best practices for delivering services to men. The study examined men’s knowledge, perceptions, and concerns about RH issues, including FP, and the social context of their knowledge. In sub-Saharan Africa, FP and reproductive health-care research and interventions place a disproportionate emphasis on women and largely ignore the role of men. As a result, male participation in FP and …

Impact Of Gender And Culture: Contributing Factors To Satisfactory Long-Term Marriages, Maria Yip Ling Cheung

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The constructs of gender and culture have been neglected in our understanding of marital relationships. With the recent upsurge of postmodernism, the two constructs have come into focus as essential to furthering our understanding of these relationships. My doctoral dissertation research is a cross-cultural comparative study of five Hong Kong Chinese immigrant couples in Canada and five Euro Canadian couples who were born in Canada I used a social construction perspective to examine the gender and cultural processes that evolve in the long-term satisfactorily married couples. Couples who have been married for thirty to thirty-six years were under study.

I …

Quilts As Social Text, Helen Kathryn Ball

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The acts of writing and reading are exquisitely intertwined at a level that is deeper than the mere writing of a report. These acts are social. Given that our intent is to study social phenomena and re-present them in a text, how can we accomplish this task in a way that does not perpetuate the social scientific discursive tradition that privileges the positionless, invisible, disengaged account? Using a feminist-postmodernist approach to qualitative research, this paper explores the crisis of representation in social science writing. The discursive practices of social scientific knowledge production are explored through the creation of quilts as …

Culture As Commodity: The Home As Spectacle In Popular Culture, Jillian E. Benn

Theses : Honours

This study proposes to examine representations of the home in the media. The media play a significant role in the culture of Australians, who are obsessed with the suburban home and its cultural and social meanings. The place of the home within popular thought and culture and the subsequent ideologies and meanings associated with the home are questioned in this dissertation. The major theme to emerge is that the contemporary suburban home is a spectacle. This project interprets, evaluates and contributes to current theories and debates surrounding the concept of suburbia. It is an original contribution to the perception of …

A Sociological Perspective Of The Mobile Home In Appalachian Eastern Kentucky, Travis Lance George

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology by Travis Lance George on December 2, 1998.

Resource Colonialism And Native Resistance: The Mining Wars In Wisconsin, Linda Marie Robyn

Dissertations

In recent years powerful multinational mining corporations have attempted to mine various minerals found on Indian lands in the northern region of Wisconsin. These lands are currently protected from corporate incursion by treaties between the Chippewa people and the United States government. The Chippewa are using the treaties as an obstacle to corporate access to their lands and to protect their lands from the environmental devastation that will occur from proposed mining ventures.

This case study utilizes a power-reflexive method to analyze the power of the state to control rich mineral resources known to be on reservation lands. Under examination …

Black Women Build Community: An Examination Of The Radcliffe Black Women Oral History Project, Dawn Michelle Hinton

Dissertations

This study investigated the unique position of Black women in the creation of community. Narratives from the Radcliffe Black Women Oral History Project were the source of information used for this work. These 20 oral narratives were collected between 1978 and 1982 by the Schlesinger Library. The women studied were involved in various community activities and represent Black women from various social classes and geographical locations. An in-depth reading of each of the narratives identified three themes: life-informing work, community-building, and religion. The theme of life-informing work was identified because the work and community involvement of the narrators had a …

Nonexplosive Warfare: Is It New Or Old?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides a contrary opinion to the analysis of the new United States Secretary of the Navy, Richard Danzig, concerning biological warfare agents and computer-attack variants of information warfare. The opinion is based on the perspective of science and technological change within the context of social, cultural, and political phenomena.

Trends. The Jericho Casino And Terrorism: A Gamble Or A Sure Thing?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the psycho-social impact of a casino being built in Jericho in the West Bank.

The New Temperance: The American Obsession With Sin And Vice. David Wagner.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

David Wagner, The New Temperance: The American Obsession with Sin and Vice. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. $60 hardcover, $16.00 papercover.

Visitor In A Foreign Land: Reflections On Intercultural Adjustment In The Republic Of Armenia, Jerry L. Johnson

Dissertations

This first person, autobiographical account of one American citizen’s nine-week experience covering two years in the Republic of Armenia answers the question, aIs it possible to become resocialized in a foreign culture?’ Employing the experimental writing method called personal experience narrative, the author uses personal journal accounts and autobiographical stories as primary data to demonstrate his movement from ’modem tourist’ (MacCannell, 1976; 1992) to resocialized individual and provide a rich and detailed description of the Armenian homeland undergoing significant social changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This study offers a model of socialization called ’life-learning’ to …

Racial Differences In Rape Myth Acceptance Among College Women, Lekeshia M. Washington

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the racial differences in rape myth acceptance among college women. There has been little research on the topic of rape which examines solely the opinions of women. Black and white college women {N=623) completed a survey which measured the degree of acceptance or rejection of false beliefs about rape, rape victims, or rapists. These false beliefs were termed rape myths. The myths demean the victim and support stereotypes about rape. Past research suggests that blacks accept rape myths more than whites, and that victims accept rape myths more than nonvictims. This study's analyses suggest that women as …

Rethinking Clientelism: Demands, Discourses And Practices In Contemporary Brazil, Robert Gay

Sociology Faculty Publications

It has been more than a decade since the Brazilian military relinquished its hold on the electoral process. Effective democratic governance has yet to be established, however. Traditional elites still dominate the scene, political parties remain weak, fragmented and unstable, and public administrations continue to pay lip-service to demands for citizens' rights. The source of these various problems of democratic governance is, by all accounts, the widespread practice of exchanging votes for favours, otherwise known as clientelism. In this essay, I argue that clientelism is an essential and endearing feature of the Brazilian political landscape. I also argue, however, that …

From The Southeast To Fort Ancient: A Survey Of Shell Gorgets In West Virginia, Darla Spencer Hoffman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

One of the most unique and artistic artifacts found throughout the eastern United States is the engraved shell gorget. During late prehistoric and protohistoric times many of these gorgets were transported from the Southeast, where they were associated with the Mississippian Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, into Fort Ancient territory.

Engraved shell gorgets can be traced to their region of origin, indicating prehistoric trade networks that were in place throughout the eastern United States. In addition, the gorgets can serve as temporal markers to order late prehistoric and protohistoric Fort Ancient sites in time.

Shell gorgets are found mainly in a burial …

National Identity, Nationalism, And The Organization Of The European Union, Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Based on in-depth interviews and document analysis, this article examines the relationships between cultural identification and the process of European integration. It shows that French and Spanish people's cultural attachments to Europe as a common social organization is still very limited and reflects a concern for the defense of a national identity. This research contributes to our understanding of the European integration and to the theory of cultural identity by suggesting a dynamic paradigm that articulates the constitution of a formal organization with the process of cultural identity formation.