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Mixed Feelings: Identity Development Of Biracial People, Ronald Ferguson 2022 South Dakota State University

Mixed Feelings: Identity Development Of Biracial People, Ronald Ferguson

Great Plains Sociologist

Multiracial people traditionally have been categorized as monoracial, thus creating limitations to their identity development (Gibbs 1987; Davis 1991). However, recent societal shifts concerning race have left mixed race individuals with an array of racial identity choices (Huffman 1994; Townsend et al. 2012). To explore such a phenomenon, this study consisted of in-depth interviews with 15 adult Biracial respondents on questions surrounding their experiences as a mixed-race person. The results indicate that Biracial persons come to develop a variety of distinctive racial identities ranging from monoracial to Multiracial. Additionally, the respondents identified three distinct stages in their development of a …


Bureaucracy, Demography, And Midwest Sociology, Boyd Litterell, Larry T. Reynolds, Rachel Campbell 2022 South Dakota State University

Bureaucracy, Demography, And Midwest Sociology, Boyd Litterell, Larry T. Reynolds, Rachel Campbell

Great Plains Sociologist

This article proposes a framework for analyzing the impact of social change on universities, using Midwestern states to flesh out the perspective. The framework draws together political, economic and, demographic changes by using the concept of bureaucratic organizations. More specifically, it uses the notions of the internal and the external environments of universities as organizations to examine the impact of societal change upon universities in general and, by extension, on sociologists’ knowledge. The internal environment is viewed as the administrative effort to rationalize the external and internal environments with programmatic changes. The central concerns here are financial control and privatization. …


Editor's Note, 2022 South Dakota State University

Editor's Note

Great Plains Sociologist

Editor's Note


Human Development And The Hiv/Aids Epidemic In Sub-Saharan Africa, Manfred Wogugu 2022 University of Nebraska at Omaha

Human Development And The Hiv/Aids Epidemic In Sub-Saharan Africa, Manfred Wogugu

Great Plains Sociologist

The adoption of both the biomedical and socio-behavioral approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention in sub-Saharan Africa has resulted in a significant drop in mortality. However, there is a need to take into account and address the structural inequalities of limited access to employment, education, and affordable health care; gender disparity, poverty and the disease environment in order to accelerate the tempo of this decline. Applying the social inequality framework, and using the various Inequality-adjusted Human Development indices (IHDI) by the Atkinson index, a descriptive analysis of data from the statistical annex to the 2011 UNDP Development Report was undertaken to factor …


Perceptions Of The Research Climate In Universities And National Research Institutes: The Role Of Gender And Bureaucracy In Three Low-Income Countries, B. Paige Miller, Heather M. Rackin, Wesley Shrum, Mark Schafer, Antony Palackal 2022 University of Wisconsin- River Falls

Perceptions Of The Research Climate In Universities And National Research Institutes: The Role Of Gender And Bureaucracy In Three Low-Income Countries, B. Paige Miller, Heather M. Rackin, Wesley Shrum, Mark Schafer, Antony Palackal

Great Plains Sociologist

This article examines the relationship between sex and sector of employment and perceptions of the research climate among a sample of researchers in three lowincome areas: Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala India. Using data gathered in 2010 from scientists working in universities and national research institutes, we address the following questions: 1) Are there differences in men’s and women’s assessment of the research environment in terms of their satisfaction with funding, ratings of problems associated with communication and coordination, and sense of autonomy? 2) Do contextual factors— primarily sector of employment but also controlling for home region—account for these differences? 3) …


“It’S Just A Girl Thing”; The Feminization Of Work Groups And The Effect Of Numerical Composition On Group Hierarchy, Miriam E. Verploegh 2022 University of Iowa

“It’S Just A Girl Thing”; The Feminization Of Work Groups And The Effect Of Numerical Composition On Group Hierarchy, Miriam E. Verploegh

Great Plains Sociologist

Women have recently shown higher rates of attendance and graduation in college, a reversal of a long-standing educational status quo that could alter gender relations in society. Given recent trends of female achievement in higher education, how will this shift in gender composition shape processes of stratification in academic work settings? To answer this question, this study looked at 78 videos men and women working in three person groups, who had been videotaped for a previous laboratory study. Examination of these videos provided the qualitative data to investigate how group composition and gender shapes stratification within academic groups. Systematic observation …


A Graphic Representation Of The Minnesota Dakota Diaspora, Ronald G. Stover 2022 South Dakota State University

A Graphic Representation Of The Minnesota Dakota Diaspora, Ronald G. Stover

Great Plains Sociologist

By the early 1800s, the Sioux of the upper Great Plains had divided into three main sub-divisions: the Dakota, the Nakota, and the Lakota. The Dakota occupied most of the territory now known as the state of Minnesota. Throughout the 1800s, they were slowly deprived of much of that territory. By the end of the 1800s, they had not only lost most of their land, they had lost the legal right to live in Minnesota. This manuscript presents a graphic representation of that diaspora.


Using Humor With Dying And Bereaved Children, Gerry Cox 2022 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Using Humor With Dying And Bereaved Children, Gerry Cox

Great Plains Sociologist

Both adults and children may suffer from complicated grief. Strategies that are effective for adults often do not work as well for children. Individuals suffering from complicated grief typically feel overwhelmed, unable to adapt, engage in behavior that is repetitive, or experience extensive interruptions of the healing process that abnormally lengthens their grieving. For children, complicated grief may be presented by the complete absence of grief reactions. Although many strategies exist to aid those suffering from complicated grief, the use of humor may be used to aid both children and adults be more receptive to other forms of grief management. …


Society And The Individual: A Theoretical Exploration Of The Contemporary Era, Daniel Bartholomay 2022 University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Society And The Individual: A Theoretical Exploration Of The Contemporary Era, Daniel Bartholomay

Great Plains Sociologist

The theoretical discussion of the relationship between society and the individual is fundamental to the field of sociology. A shift into the contemporary era of social theory begins to accredit the individual with a greater sense of agency in terms of interacting with and recognizing the impact of structures rather than being unconsciously controlled by them. The following work discusses the positions held by seminal contemporary theorists regarding the relationship between the individual and society. A comparative analysis among a number of the theorists highlights similarities and differences in approaches and illuminates the core concepts, terminology and theoretical perspectives generated …


A Comparative Approach To Promotional Methods For Seasonal Influenza Immunizations To Dorm Dwelling College Freshmen, Gina Aalgaard Kelly, Carolyn Townsend 2022 North Dakota State University

A Comparative Approach To Promotional Methods For Seasonal Influenza Immunizations To Dorm Dwelling College Freshmen, Gina Aalgaard Kelly, Carolyn Townsend

Great Plains Sociologist

Introduction: Comparing tailored e-mail messaging to mailed postcards promoting seasonal influenza immunizations for dorm dwelling college freshmen is important for early health prevention and promotion. Dorm dwelling college students are particularly at risk of viral diseases due to the close proximity of their living conditions. Understanding influences with health care decisions and practices is therefore also important with the college dorm dwelling population. Method: A convenience sample was used to collect data from influenza clinic participants on a Midwest college campus over three seasonal flu periods. A Health-E card was sent in 2010 via university issued student e-mail accounts informing …


Quality Of Life In Nursing Homes: A Theoretical And Empirical Review, Gina Aalgaard Kelly 2022 North Dakota State University

Quality Of Life In Nursing Homes: A Theoretical And Empirical Review, Gina Aalgaard Kelly

Great Plains Sociologist

Quality of life is a complex and multi-dimensional notion which individuals and their families try to attain. This paper provides an overview of quality of life literature guided by Lawton’s (1983: 351) “Four Sectors of the Good Life”.” This model of organization demonstrates a multidimensional conceptual view of quality of life in which theoretical and empirical domains were recognized in the literature. Parameters used to understand quality of life and how it is studied provide the framework of the review, specifically in the nursing home setting. Quality of life is of growing importance because people are living longer and population …


Hearing Social Structure: A Musical Exercise In Teaching Introduction To Sociology, Roxanne Gerbrandt, Preston Gilmore 2022 Austin Peay State University

Hearing Social Structure: A Musical Exercise In Teaching Introduction To Sociology, Roxanne Gerbrandt, Preston Gilmore

Great Plains Sociologist

This article details employing music as a pedagogical tool to enable introductory students to relate personal experiences to larger social structures such as class, race, and gender through a creative yet rigorous exercise. The authors review earlier uses of music in the classroom, and expand on that framework, adding a number of crucial elements. The exercise includes the selection of a song by students, then a review of the sociological frameworks influencing the song, culminating in a formal research paper to enhance critical thinking and a presentation where students educate their classmates. The exercise enables the popularity of music to …


Book Review: A Disability History Of The United States By Kim E. Nielsen, Jack Trammell 2022 South Dakota State University

Book Review: A Disability History Of The United States By Kim E. Nielsen, Jack Trammell

Great Plains Sociologist

Nielsen, Kim E. A Disability History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2012, 272 pp., $26.95 hardback.


Book Review: Reshaping The Work-Family Debate: Why Men And Class Matter By Joan C. Williams, Kurt Osborne 2022 South Dakota State University

Book Review: Reshaping The Work-Family Debate: Why Men And Class Matter By Joan C. Williams, Kurt Osborne

Great Plains Sociologist

Williams, Joan C. Reshaping the Work-Family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter. Harvard University Press, 2012, 304 pp., $18.95 paperback.


A Day At The Morgue: Student Interpretations Of Death And Reality, Jason L. Karsky, Pamela M. Everett, Donald E. Arwood 2022 Wayne State University

A Day At The Morgue: Student Interpretations Of Death And Reality, Jason L. Karsky, Pamela M. Everett, Donald E. Arwood

Great Plains Sociologist

This study involved the reflections of 15 college students six months after a visit to a morgue. After witnessing the various aspects of death at the morgue (e.g. morgue intake of bodies, significant time spent in a very large storage cooler for corpses, as well as an autopsy) a qualitative inquiry was conducted to determine whether or not the participants’ experiences were “real” or “surreal.” Analysis revealed that most determined their experience to be surreal. The students’ lack of experience with death, to the extent they experienced it at the morgue, no doubt resulted in more subjects determining the experience …


The Ritual Of Riots: An Examination Of University And College Riots, 1990 – 2009, Sandra Marker 2022 Black Hills State University

The Ritual Of Riots: An Examination Of University And College Riots, 1990 – 2009, Sandra Marker

Great Plains Sociologist

Between 1990 and 2009 a wave of student riots washed across 52 college campuses and communities in the United States. Over 100 riots erupted from student festivities and sporting events. On a cursory level, today’s student riots in contrast to past Vietnam War Era campus riots that had a specific goal (i.e., ending the war), seem to have no particular aim nor objective other than the consumption of alcohol. This has led researchers to presume that excessive student drinking is a significant causal factor to these events; however, findings from initial student riot studies indicate that alcohol is neither a …


An Examination Of Geographic And Socio- Demographic Impacts On Private Industry Job Change In The Dakotas, 2002 – 2008, W. Trevor Brooks, Jake Cummings, Joshua J. Turner 2022 Austin Peay State University

An Examination Of Geographic And Socio- Demographic Impacts On Private Industry Job Change In The Dakotas, 2002 – 2008, W. Trevor Brooks, Jake Cummings, Joshua J. Turner

Great Plains Sociologist

This study examines geographic and socio-demographic factors associated with private industry job change in North and South Dakota from 2002 to 2008. We conceptualize private industries as enterprises or businesses that are individually or corporately owned and operated outside the public sector. County-level occupational data were captured using the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI). Results indicate that percentage of workers commuting to another county for work, median household income, the percentage of residents identifying as American Indian and Alaska Native, and population change were significant predictors of county-level private industry job change.


Book Review: Debating Sex And Gender By Georgia Wamke, Laura Colmenero-Chilberg 2022 Black Hills State University

Book Review: Debating Sex And Gender By Georgia Wamke, Laura Colmenero-Chilberg

Great Plains Sociologist

Warnke, Georgia. Debating Sex and Gender. Oxford University Press, 2011, 144 pp., $19.95 paperback.


Book Review: Fat Matters: From Sociology To Science Edited By Gina Tsichlia And Alexandra M. Johnstone, Brittney Hansen 2022 University of North Dakota

Book Review: Fat Matters: From Sociology To Science Edited By Gina Tsichlia And Alexandra M. Johnstone, Brittney Hansen

Great Plains Sociologist

Tsichlia, Gina and Alexandra M. Johnstone (Eds.). Fat Matters: From Sociology to Science. M & K Update Ltd., 2010, 144 pp., $45.00 paperback.


Voters Reframe The Abortion Policy Debate: A Theoretical Analysis Of Abortion Attitudes In South Dakota, Pamela Carriveau, Linda Colmenero-Chilberg 2022 Black Hills State University

Voters Reframe The Abortion Policy Debate: A Theoretical Analysis Of Abortion Attitudes In South Dakota, Pamela Carriveau, Linda Colmenero-Chilberg

Great Plains Sociologist

Since the Supreme Court’s announced its decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), individuals and groups opposed to legalized abortion in the United States have battled to reverse the ruling. Using established political processes, incremental steps such as parental consent requirements and/or twenty-four hour waiting periods have been strategically advanced as they charted the path to their real goal – an all-out abortion ban. Contemporary South Dakota Pro-Life activists abandoned this incremental approach in 2006, in the belief that the time was ripe for a voter-supported broadbased abortion ban that could be used to challenge the Supreme Court decision. They failed, …


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