Search Results

open access

Coming in From the Cold: Integration into the European Union and Public Opinion on Democracy and the Market Economy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Description: The political economy transformations of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have received a great deal of attention over the past decade. The focus of much research has been to examine the internal national reorientations of the countries with regard to the changes in political and economic conditions. The importance of the international reorientation of these countries toward Western Europe in general and the European Union in particular has been generally overlooked. This dissertatio… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Zottarelli, Lisa K.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Characteristics of Sociological Practitioners: A Social Psychological Examination

Description: Questionnaires were sent by mail and e-mail to 143 members of the Sociological Practice Association. The purpose of the questionnaire was to measure the role expectations as qualities (competencies), role expectations as actions, and role enactments of the respondents'. An additional goal was to examine how respondents perceived their work to be sociological in nature, and how they saw their work as different from the practices of social workers, counselors, and psychologists. The first questi… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Carr, Joel Lance
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Examining the Origins of Sociology: Continuities and Divergences Between Ibn Khaldun, Giambattista Vico, August Comte, Ludwig Gumplowicz, and Emile Durkheim

Description: This thesis examines the extent to which Ibn Khaldun can legitimately be considered a founding father of sociology. To pursue this research, Khaldun's theoretical framework will be compared with four Western scholars: Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Giambattista Vico, and Ludwig Gumplowicz. This paper begins with an Introduction (Chapter I), followed by a general overview of Khaldun's work (Chapter II). Next, Khaldun's work is compared to that of Auguste Comte (Chapter III), Emile Durkheim (Chap… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Soyer, Mehmet
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Social, Demographic, and Institutional Effects on African American Graduation Rates in U.S. Colleges and Universities.

Description: Improving the retention and graduation of African Americans and other minority groups in higher education is an important but highly politicized issue on college and university campuses. Prior studies emphasize the relationship between minority retention and achievement, cultural diversity, and racial policies and climates at predominantly White colleges and universities in the United States. In response to the need for further research, the effects of institutional actions related to diversi… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Wright, LaQueta L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Socioeconomic variables associated with the reports of controlling behaviors in current relationships among abused and non-abused females.

Description: This study examined the relationship between reports of controlling behaviors and education/income in a sample of 297 abused women and 2951 non-abused women in married or cohabitating relationships. This study confirmed that women who reported abuse were more likely to report all five of the controlling behaviors than women who did not report abuse. However, the abuse and non-abuse samples did show similar relationships between the controlling/isolating behaviors and the SES variables. This stu… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Hunt, Megan Elaine
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Weapons in the City: Weapon Use in Chicago Homicide Cases

Description: This study used data from the homicides in Chicago 1965-1995 dataset (N=9,340) to examine the relationship between the use of certain types of weapons in criminal homicides by gender, race, age, victim-offender relationship, motive, location, and changes over time. Differential association and sex-role theory were utilized to argue why gender differences would occur in type of weapon used in a homicide. Subculture of violence theory was used to emphasize that the place where the homicide occurs… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Johnson, Natalie Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Social Control in the Newsroom: A Case Study

Description: The problem of this study is to investigate how news policy in the Denton Record-Chronicle is defined and maintained and whether the newspaper staffers tend to conform to or conflict with the newspaper's news policy. The study suggests that the more experienced the staffer, the more likely he will conflict with the newspaper's news policy, and the less experienced the staffer, the more likely he will conform to the newspaper's news policy. Social control is in the hand of the newspaper organiza… more
Date: August 1982
Creator: Abderrahmane, Azzi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Voluntary Associations: Membership Attrition and Structural Characteristics

Description: The problem of this research was to investigate David Sills' explanation of membership attrition in voluntary associations. Using the membership population of the Dallas Association for Retarded Citizens from 1969 through 1974, a survey was conducted to determine whether the organizational characteristics of bureaucracy, minority rule, and goal displacement are associated with membership attrition in a selected voluntary association. The findings of this study support Sills' ideas about the ass… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Huffman, Ellen Jane
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Study of Viewer Response to the Television Presentation, “Roots”

Description: The problem of this research is to discover viewer response to the television series, "Roots," as revealed through newspapers and magazines published from December, 1976, to June 20, 1977. Thirty-seven articles and 134 interviewee responses were analyzed. The responses with the highest frequency of occurrence in the sample provided eight major categories (listed in the order of highest to lowest frequency of response): inaccuracy/oversimplification, increased awareness, future race relations, w… more
Date: December 1977
Creator: Cannon, Sherry L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Suffragette Movement in Great Britain: A Study of the Factors Influencing the Strategy Choices of the Women's Social and Political Union, 1903-1918

Description: This thesis challenges the conventional wisdom that the W.S.P.U.'s strategy choices were unimportant in regard to winning women's suffrage. It confirms the hypothesis that the long-range strategy of the W.S.P.U. was to escalate coercion until the Government exhausted its powers of opposition and conceded, but to interrupt this strategy whenever favorable bargaining opportunities with the Government and third parties developed. In addition to filling an apparent research gap by systematically an… more
Date: December 1977
Creator: Lance, Derril Keith Curry
Partner: UNT Libraries

A study of continuing bonds and their impact on life attitudes in parents of murdered children.

Description: For most of the past century, the positive outcome of grief in the West was characterized as the relinquishment of the bond to the deceased. Phrases such as "let go", "move on", and "get over it" were, and continue to be, common to the language of this pursuit. This 'breaking bonds' perspective does not take into account other means of grief resolution, nor does it consider historical or cultural findings. Consequently, reports of bereaved parents who indicate resolution of grief yet maintain a… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: May 2006
Creator: Haag, Marcy J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Acceptance and use of corporal punishment among parents of biologic and non-biologic children.

Description: Objective: Differences between biologic and non-biologic parents' acceptance and use of ordinary corporal punishment and use of explaining/reasoning as a disciplinary tool are examined from a sociobiological theoretical perspective. Method: Cross tabulations are used on data from a national survey conducted by the Gallup Organization in 1995. Results: Contrary to predictions, differences between biologic and non-biologic parents' acceptance of ordinary corporal punishment and the use of expla… more
Date: May 2006
Creator: Hall, Ellie Tiedeman
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Impact of the Media on Biracial Identity Formation

Description: Biracial individuals undergo a developmental process that is different than monoracial individuals. Not only do they have to develop a strong and cohesive self-esteem, but also develop a strong and cohesive racial identity to have a healthy self-concept. The media is a social structure that has infiltrated into many aspects of American lives, including their racial identity. The media perpetuates current beliefs concerning race and racial identity. This research investigates how biracial identi… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Edison, Alicia
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Topical content in sexuality education and sexual health outcomes.

Description: Secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is used to examine possible explanatory variables for sexual health outcomes. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between sexual health outcomes and topical content in sexuality education, controlling for race, biological sex, low socioeconomic status, and religiosity. Results indicated increasing topical content in sexuality education had a positive effect on know… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Cudhea, Maia Christine
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

New Reality Resembles Old: An Examination of the American Public's Social Construction of Reality Following September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks

Description: This thesis examines whether the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks caused a significant, lasting change in the American public's social construction of reality. A framework of everyday reality was created which focused on beliefs, behaviors, and cultural institutions in the United States. Data regarding specific beliefs and behaviors was collected from numerous survey sources, and content analysis was performed on media literature from September 11, 2001 to September 11, 2003. Findings from … more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Stoutmeyer, Stacie L.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Caregiving in Later Life: A Contextual Approach to the Provision of Care

Description: Guided by the life course perspective, this study examined the frequency of caregiving provided by older adults to kin and non-kin. A telephone survey produced a random sample of adults 60 years of age and older, which was predominantly White, with higher income and education levels (n = 278). Bivariate and multivariate analyses tested the impact of demographic characteristics and other variables, conceptualized as physical, human, and social capital, on the frequency of caregiving. Gender, age… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: August 2003
Creator: Worthen, Laura T.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Use of Preventive Screening for Cervical Cancer among Low-income Patients in a Safety-net Healthcare Network

Description: This study is a secondary analysis of survey data collected in fall 2000 from patients of a safety-net hospital and its eight community health outreach clinics in Fort Worth, Texas. The study examined three objectives. These include explaining the utilization of Pap smear tests among the sample who were low-income women, by ascertaining the determinants of using these services. Using binary logistic regressions analyses primarily, the study tested 10 hypotheses. The main hypothesis tested the r… more
Date: May 2003
Creator: Owusu, Gertrude Adobea
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Uninsured Adult Working-Age Population in Tarrant County: Access, Cost of Care, and Health--Hispanic Immigrants

Description: This study uses secondary survey data collected from a sample population of clients from JPS Health Network in Tarrant County, Texas from July-August, 2000. Respondents for this study represents a group of working-age Hispanic immigrant adults, N=379. Andersen's "Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations" is used to as the theoretical framework. Bivariate crosstabulation revealed significant relationships for dependent variables: problems getting needed healthcare, doctor visits, emergency ro… more
Date: August 2004
Creator: Queen, Courtney M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Understanding How Jurors Award Civil Damages: A Test of Affect Control Theory

Description: This dissertation examines predictors of juror-determined damage awards among 377 juror eligible mock jurors. Citizens reporting for jury duty in a large metropolitan county on five days when the study was conducted were invited to participate. Scenarios were created that varied both case facts and witness emotion during trial testimony. Results indicate that Affect Control Theory can be applied to the situation of juror-determined damage awards and is helpful in scientifically explaining some … more
Date: August 2004
Creator: McDonald, Emily
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Reduction of Anomie through the Use of Say It Straight™ Training

Description: This study evaluated the Say It Straight™ (SIS) Training Program for its ability to improve straightforward communication, increase self-esteem, increase an individual's overall perception of group and family belonging or cohesiveness within a residential treatment setting and decrease an individual's perceived level of anomie. Effectiveness of SIS training was evaluated with paired sample t-tests (2-tailed) on six objective questionnaires given before and after training. Participation in the… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Wood, Thomas Erin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Reformulating a link between social influence network theory and status characteristics theory and a method for testing that link.

Description: The impact of social influence from others on choices made by subjects and how this influence accumulates was studied by secondary analysis of reported experimental data. To explain this impact a link is proposed between social influence network theory (SINT) and status characteristics theory (SCT). The link formula transforms stay probabilities for different status relationships of subject with one disagreeing other agent into horizontal axis coordinate values while stay probabilities of subj… more
Date: May 2006
Creator: Hollander, James Fisher
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Racial Stereotypes and Racial Assimilation in a Multiracial Society

Description: Interest in a multiracial society has increased in recent years and including on racism and prejudice and in the propensity to stereotype out-groups. Theories on racism help explain the dominant group's prejudice toward subordinate groups. Yet they only explain why dominant group members stereotype subordinates or if the dominant group's propensity to stereotype is different from that of subordinate groups. Recent assimilation theories suggest that some minorities are assimilating with Whites b… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Youngblood, Thomas
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Organizational Commitment in a Self-Managing Work Team Environment

Description: This study examines the determinants of organizational commitment in a self-managing work team setting. The data used in the study are from a sample of 313 employees in an electronics manufacturing plant. Chapter one introduces the reader to the topic of self-managing work teams and explains the relevance of commitment to this organizational structure. Chapter two is a review of the literature which focuses on commitment, its determinants, and two theories used to explain the relationship betwe… more
Date: December 1991
Creator: Ruggiere, Paul John
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Isomorphism as a Paradigm for Examining Self-Managed Work Teams and Work Spillover

Description: This study investigates the effects of a participative-type management approach termed self-managed work teams (SMWTs) and work spillover into the family environment. The perspective of isomorphism by Aldous (1969), and Rapoport and Rapoport (1965), was used as a paradigm to examine both positive and negative effects of the work-family relationship. A total of 76 employees from the Department of Defense's Quality Division was used in the regression analysis, due to recent transitions into SMWTs… more
Date: December 1993
Creator: Cyphers, Amy E. (Amy Elizabeth)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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