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open access

Drought: Construction of a Social Problem

Description: Drought is a complex subject that has varied definitions and perspectives. Although drought has historically been characterized as an environmental problem from both the meteorological and agricultural communities, it is not considered a sociological disaster despite its severe societal impacts. Utilizing the framework developed by Spector and Kitsuse (2011) and Stallings (1995), this research examines the process through which drought is defined as a social problem. An analysis of the data re… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Parham, Antoinette D
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
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

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

A multi-state political process analysis of the anti-testing movement.

Description: I applied McAdam's political process model for social movement analysis to examine the level of collective resistance to high stakes testing in California, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, and Texas from 1985 to 2005. Data on protest occurrences in those states were gathered from online news reports, anti-testing organization websites, and electronic interviews from individuals associated with the anti-testing movement. Variables used in the analysis included each state's key educationa… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: DeMerle, Carol
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Inequality and School Performance: The Effect of the No Child Left Behind Act on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test

Description: This thesis examined the impact of teacher quality and the socioeconomic status of students on school performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test. The data were obtained from the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) 2005-2006 Report. Disparities in education were used to examine the use of teacher quality in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A multiple regression model was used and included other factors such as socioeconomic status of students, teacher salary, s… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Martinez-Cantu, Veronica A.
Partner: UNT Libraries

Conspicuous Consumption and American Political Behavior

Description: The following premise is based on the ideas of social theorists who have contributed to understanding the importance of image in society. This proposal argues that political participation is susceptible to exploitation in the form of conspicuous consumption as defined by Thorstein Veblen. The analyses that follow will test the degree to which Americans who demonstrate more traditional forms of conspicuous consumption also tend to show more activity in political venues. While the correlation … more
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Date: August 2005
Creator: Bouressa, Andrea Kelly
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Exploratory Analysis of Social E-health Behavior

Description: Extant literature has documented well that people seek health information via the internet as patients and consumers. Much less, however, is known about interaction and creation behaviors in the development of new online health information and knowledge. More specifically, generalizable sociodemographic data on who engages in this online health behavior via social media is lacking in the sociological literature. The term “social e-health” is introduced to emphasize the difference between seekin… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Acadia, Spencer
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

The Effects of Labeling and Stigma on the Social Rejection of Striptease Performers

Description: This study uses survey data collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students (N=89). A vignette survey design is employed to measure social rejection of striptease performers compared to a control group. Data is also collected on negative stereotypes held about striptease performers, which are correlated with social rejection. Link and Phelan's conceptualization of the stigma process provides the theoretical framework for this analysis. Findings suggest that striptease performers e… more
Date: December 2006
Creator: Ebeid, Omar Randi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

High Risk Occupations: Employee Stress and Behavior Under Crisis

Description: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships between stress and outcomes including organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), job satisfaction, and burnout in high-risk occupations. Moreover, how personality, emotions, coping, and leadership influence this relationship is investigated. Data were collected from 379 officers in 9 police organizations located in the Southern and Southwest United States. The primary research question addressed within this dissertation is: What is the r… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Russell, Lisa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The "Good" Mother: Ideology, Identity, and Performance

Description: The purpose of this study is to understand the power and influence of the institution of motherhood and how it is shaped by culture. More specifically this research explores the ideology that shapes our understanding of the good mother in the contemporary United States; how this ideology affects the way mothers view their identity; and how both the ideology and identity shape actions and performance. Twenty women were interviewed in North Texas and the results were: first, this group of mothers… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Vigil, Jennifer M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Bundle of Joy: Pregnancy, Coping, and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls

Description: Using the stress process model, the relationship between pregnancy and depressive symptoms among adolescent girls was investigated. This model posits that stress resulting from social location and related disruptive life events may indirectly affect health by eroding coping, mastery, or social support mechanisms. The effect of low income, minority status and pregnancy on coping processes in adolescent girls was hypothesized and tested. Communication with parents, involvement in activities, and … more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Kaiser, Karen Claiborne
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

American Indian Worldviews, Risk Perceptions and Disaster Planning: an Exploratory Study

Description: It is commonly assumed that when confronted with an imminent hazard that people will react rationally, and prepare for, or at least attempt to avoid, danger from pending disasters. However, this conventional wisdom is not as evident as it appears. People prepare for, react to, or take social action to avoid hazards when they perceive the risk of danger to be threatening enough to warrant action, providing one has the will, insight and resources to do so. However, not all people perceive risk… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Bales, Rodney A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Environmental Inequality in Tarrant County: An Analysis of Public and Private Sector Waste

Description: Thesis written by a student in the UNT Honors College discussing the distribution of environmental contamination generated by public and private sector activities as it relates to the social, demographic, and economic characteristics of the inhabitants of Tarrant County, Texas.
Date: Spring 2007
Creator: Pohlmeyer, Remington
Partner: UNT Honors College
open access

Health Status and Access Disparities Among the Uninsured Working-Age Population in a Safety-Net Healthcare Network in Tarrant County, Texas

Description: The objective of this research was to determine if healthcare access disparities exist across race and gender in a publically funded safety-net healthcare system in Texas. Data were examined from a representative random sample of 1468 adults aged 18-64 who were patients in this safety-net system in July and August of 2000 and were analyzed using binary logistic regression and chi-square measures of significance. Major Findings: On measures of health status - overall health rating (p =.051), lim… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Queen, Courtney M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Social Vulnerability and Faith in Disasters: an Investigation Into the Role of Religion in New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina

Description: Disasters are an ever increasing phenomena in our society, resulting in many people being adversely affected. the social vulnerability paradigm explores the social, economic and political factors which contribute to certain populations being disproportionately affected by disasters. However, the paradigm has not yet begun to investigate the cultural or religious ideologies which may affect a population's behavior in disaster. This study is an exploratory investigation into whether religious ide… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Herring, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Macro Level Predictors of Community Health Center HIV Testing Approach

Description: Using a logistic regression model, this dissertation employed a macro level Gateway Provider Model to explore eight factors that may influence community health center HIV testing approach. The logistic regression model indicated that three variables related to community health center HIV testing approach. First, all else equal, the odds of offering routine HIV testing for community health centers that perceived their patients and community to be at average risk for HIV were 3.676 times the odd… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Patty, Lyndsay
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Assessing Social Determinants of Severe Mental Illness in High-Risk Groups

Description: The primary objective of this research was to explore the impact of possible social factors on non-institutionalized adults 18 years of age or older residing in the United States who exhibited severe mental illness (SMI). A holistic sociological model was developed to explain SMI by incorporating elements of social learning theory, social disorganization theory, and gender socialization theory with social demographic factors. Based on the holistic sociological model, the following factors were … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Sun, Qi
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

Parental Portrayals in Children's Literature: 1900-2000

Description: The portrayals of mothers and fathers in children's literature as companions, disciplinarians, caregivers, nurturers, and providers were documented in this research. The impact of time of publication, sex of author, award-winning status of book, best-selling status of book, race of characters, and sex of characters upon each of the five parental roles was assessed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, and multinomial logistic regression techniques. A survey instrument developed for th… more
Date: August 2005
Creator: DeWitt, Amy L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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