This research was concerned with the possible effects that religion, especially conservative Protestantism, has upon the performance of fatherhood. The influence of religion was assessed using the religious beliefs reported by fathers. The performance of fatherhood focused on the amount of time fathers spent meeting the physical needs of their young children. This research hypothesized that conservative Protestant fathers would spend more time meeting their children's physical needs than other Protestant fathers. Also hypothesized was that the level of conservative Protestant beliefs held by fathers is positively related to the proportion of time they spent meeting the physical needs of their children out of the total time spent by fathers and mothers combined. Finally, it was hypothesized that the level of conservative Protestant beliefs held by fathers was positively related to their membership in conservative religious denominations. In order to test whether conservative Protestantism has an effect upon the amount of time that fathers spend meeting the physical needs of their young children, this study will used data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), completed in 1988. Regression analysis was used to test the first two hypotheses and crosstabulation analysis was used to …

This study addresses the issue of household disaster preparedness. This work contributes two elements to disaster research. The first contribution improve the knowledge of the factors that affect household disaster preparedness. The review of literature yielded three categories of variables that can jointly explain household disaster preparedness: household structure, demographics, and risk-perception factors. In this study 19 variables compose these factors. A second contribution constitutes a theoretical exploration of the concept of disaster preparedness. In this work, four different constructs of disaster preparedness were tested. These constructs include material preparedness, preparedness activities, a combined index, and a weighted and combined index. The study presents the logic and methodology of the index construction and validation. The data used in this study came from households in the Montreal Urban Community (MUC) in Canada. A random sample of 1,003 English- and French-speaking heads of households adequately represents the 1.8 million persons within the MUC. An independent survey firm conducted the interviews in 1996. Results show that the weighted combined household disaster preparedness index constitutes the best construct to represent the concepts under study. Study results also reveal that risk-perception variables (attitudinal factors) offered the strongest explanatory power. Household structure and demographic variables collectively …

Medicalization has been discussed at length in the sociology of health and illness literature. Typically, dialogue has centered on the effects of medicalization and the process as a phenomenon in professional fields alone. This work is an attempt to study medicalization using a theoretical model, structuration, that allows for inclusion of the larger social system in understanding health system changes and to include consumers of health services in the process as active agents. The example of oral aesthetics provides an opportunity to identify the agents of change, the process of medicalization in the larger social context, and possible indicators of the phenomenon. An attempt to operationalize the complex concept of medicalization marks a move toward creating testable theoretical models for the variety of behaviors and conditions under study as medicalized. Using content analysis of professional dental journals and lay magazines and a review of system rules and resources, shifts in language use and the emergence of medical frameworks were documented to determine if a medicalization of oral aesthetics had occurred. Results show two distinct periods within the last century when oral aesthetics have been medicalized in the United States. Evidence of turn-taking behavior among the agents is noted as well …

Objectives. Scholars have debated Max Weber's theory of the relationship between religion and capitalism for almost 100 years. Still, the debate is clouded by confusion over Weber's claims about religious doctrine and over the supporting evidence. The purpose of this study is to clarify Max Weber's claims regarding the concept of the calling and the related "anti-mammon" injunction and concept of "good works" and substantiate with historical evidence the religious doctrine Weber describes. Methods. Comparative analysis of early Protestant Lutheran and Calvinist documents from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was used to flesh out a history of ideas to determine whether evidence exists to support Weber's claims related to religious doctrine. Results. Historical analyses revealed that the concept of the calling pre-dated Luther in the Bible. Luther's innovation was not in his use of the word beruf but in his application of the concept of the calling to the common people and his teaching of that idea. The idea of sanctified work was key in both Lutheran and Calvinist documents. There was an increased emphasis on work and encouragement to accumulate wealth in Calvinist documents. Conclusion. Weber's etymological evidence surrounding Martin Luther's use of the word beruf in his German …

This dissertation research project was conducted to investigate religion as a coping resource in later life. The major proposition of the study was that intrinsic religious orientation is positively associated with mental health in late life. A forty three-item questionnaire was distributed to residents of four independent retirement communities resulting in a sixty-six percent return rate. The convenience sample of 214 individuals, with a mean age of 81.94 years, consisted of 156 female and 58 male respondents. Intrinsic religious orientation was held as the independent variable, while mental health was the dependent variable. Stress vulnerability characteristics were held as control variables including age, gender, education, stressful life events, marital status, perceived social support, and physical health. The zero order correlation between the independent and dependent variables was r = .128, sig. = .034 (1 tailed). When all control variables were entered, the relationship between intrinsic religious orientation and mental remained, r = .116, sig. = 046 (1 tailed). Regression analysis produced three predictors of mental health for females: stressful life events, age, and intrinsic religious orientation. Intrinsic religious orientation did not significantly change the relationship between stressful life events and mental health. A highly narrow variability in the sample limited …

Medication adherence is a formidable challenge for the elderly who may have several prescribed medications while dealing with limited incomes and declining health. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the Liberty 6000, an automated capsule and tablet dispenser that provides proper medication dosages and is intended to encourage and track medication adherence. Seven focus groups were assembled; these comprised 49 men and women ages 65 to 98 years of Black, Anglo, and Hispanic descent who met the following criteria: living independently or semi-independently, had suffered one or more impairments, and were taking at least three prescription medications. Each focus group session lasted 90 minutes and was tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, resulting in about 2,600 lines of text. Each question was designed to be open-ended to avoid introducing any bias that might influence the response. The Health Belief Model conceptually guided the study that addressed perceptions of illness susceptibility and severity, barriers, benefits, and cues to action associated with medication adherence. Main benefits of taking medications included avoiding inherited illnesses (or tendencies for illnesses), and reducing illness symptoms. Barriers to taking medications included forgetting, dexterity problems, and high cost. Benefits of the proposed intervention included reminding, caregiver notification, …

This dissertation examines possible differences in media habits and tastes between Christians and non-Christians. The study utilizes data from singles Internet personal advertisements to determine whether or not Christians, especially those with high levels of religiosity or who may be part of the Christian Right, have different television viewing patterns. Three models were developed using multivariate data analysis and logistic regression to examine Christians' television viewing habits regarding reality shows, soap operas, and news. The first model looks at the viewing habits of Christians, the second model examines the viewing habits of Christians attending religious services at least monthly, and the third model analyzes the viewing habits of Christians attending religious services at least monthly and having conservative political views. No significant differences were found in viewing habits between Christians and non-Christians for any of the three models. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized to Christians as a whole, they suggest that Christians in this sample might have adopted secular practices with regard to their television viewing habits.

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 study found that the higher the respondent's or their partner's education and income, the less likely they were to report controlling/isolating behaviors. Also, the respondent's education and income had the same number of statistically significant relationships with the controlling behaviors as the partner's education and income.

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, the relationship between the victim and offender, motive of the offender, and the remaining variables affects the type of weapon used to kill. Significant relationships were found for all bivariate analyses performed. The type of weapon used to kill differs most by sex of offender, resulting in a moderately strong association. The type of weapon used to kill differs least by age of offender and although statistically significant, the association between the two is very weak.

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 identity has been portrayed in the media. Historically, biracial individuals have been portrayed as the tragic "mulatto" because of their confused racial background. In addition, mulatto women have been stereotyped as exotic and sexual objects. A content analysis was used to investigate how the media presents biracial identity. Only movies with black/white biracial individuals were watched. The categories under study included perceived race, character's race, skin color, likeability, sex appeal, ability to contribute, ability to be violent, mental health, overall positive portrayal social, and negative portrayal score. This study may suggest that the media is making attempts to rectify old stereotypes. Overall, this study does demonstrate that the media portrays biracial and black characters differently in film. One overarching theme from these results implies that the perception of …

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 knowledge acquisition and confidence, but no statistically significant effect on engagement in sexual risk behavior or likelihood of reporting sexual coercion. Control variables were significant predictors and overall model fit was low, indicating topical content in sexuality education is minimally important in creating adolescent sexual behavior. Further exploration of differing aspects of sexuality education is suggested.

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 study was voluntary. Of the 39 patients in residence, 26 participated in SIS training, (23 attended over 80% of the sessions and 3 attended over 50%). Three were excluded from the study due to developmental or dementia-related diagnoses, 3 chose not to participate, 5 were discharged routinely prior to completion and were not post-tested; and 2 were discharged against medical advice during the training. It is interesting to notice that on the average there are about 5 discharges against medical advice per month at the facility, but during the five weeks of SIS there were only 2. Self-reports of empowering behaviors, quality of family and group life and self-esteem showed highly significant increases following SIS. Self-reports of disempowering behaviors (placating, passive-aggressive, blaming, irrelevant, intellectualizing) showed highly significant decreases following SIS and anomie showed …

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 but Blacks are not undergoing assimilation. Classic assimilation theory suggests that when a subordinate group assimilates with the dominant group then they will also take on the dominant group's values and beliefs, including their prejudices and propensities to stereotype. The use of racial stereotypes in support of the assimilation of a minority group has not been tested. Results from the LSAF national survey provide support for Asians to be assimilating with Whites. However, Hispanics do not appear to be taking on Whites' propensity to stereotype, contradicting the prediction that Hispanics are assimilating with Whites.

This dissertation examines the effects of trade liberalization policies (represented by membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization on selected Least Developed Countries' (LDCs) human development (represented by the Human Development Index). In this dissertation, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) policies are theorized to have two distinct types of effects: their direct effect and their indirect effect. Two questions are focused on: first, what is the effect (total, direct and indirect) of WTO policies on human development for selected LDCs? Second, what is the effect (total, direct and indirect) of WTO policies on human development for selected developing/developed countries (i.e. non-LDCs) holding economic development constant? Using the dependency theory of development as a theoretical basis, this dissertation examines the assumptions of modernization-theory-based policies as expressed in trade liberalization policies (i.e. the implementation of comparative advantage and now market fundamentalism) with world-system analysis techniques. To examine these questions, four panel regression models are constructed to measure the total, direct and indirect effects of WTO policies during the near-term (1998-2003) and during a longer historical term (1975-2000). The data for the analyses are taken from seven different sources of international data. …

Strain theory has a long academic lineage for explaining criminal and deviant behavior from the classical writings of Emile Durkheim to the contemporary writings of Robert Agnew. The purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical test of Agnew's general strain theory utilizing Wave 1 data from the 1994-1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data (Add Health) (N = 6,503). Utilizing the Add Health data set represents a new attempt at empirically evaluating Agnew's theory. Scales were constructed by the author operationalizing the propositions of general strain theory utilizing variables from this data set. Regression was used to find out if juvenile delinquency is associated with Agnew's general strain theory. Research findings show that taken together, the propositions of general strain theory, cumulative measures of failure to achieve goals, loss of valued objects and introduction of stressful events are all statistically significant predictors of juvenile delinquency. Regression and scale correlations indicated a low positive relationship between juvenile delinquency and Agnew's general strain theory propositions. This study represents an attempt in utilizing a data set which has not been used before to empirically test general strain theory.

Interviews conducted with patients receiving treatment for insomnia at one of two sleep medicine clinics, located in Texas and Oregon, suggest that work is a pivotal influence in shaping the respondents' interpretations, explanations and behaviors relating to insomnia. "Work" includes such facets as the nature of one's occupation, the associated volume or amount of work required, mental demands related to work, work schedules and work-related stress. Specifically, results reveal: 1) nearly 60% of the sample identify work as a primary or perpetuating cause of their insomnia, 2) respondents often report work as influencing the nature and importance of their sleep, 3) sleep is considered a problem, and medical intervention is solicited, after work is affected, and 4) work performance is a major consideration in determining treatment efficacy and compliance.

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 experience higher levels of social rejection and are perceived more negatively than the control group and that endorsement of negative stereotypes is associated with social rejection.

Although a change of religious landscape in America in recent years has been suggested and widely accepted in the social sciences, most studies tend to focus on measures of religiosity and how it is changing. The subject of spirituality and its correlates seem to be mostly ignored. This study utilizes nationally representative data generated for the first time in General Social Survey (GSS) on the subject of spirituality to measure Americans' spirituality and daily spiritual experiences and their most significant correlates. In this study, most Americans (89%) showed to have some degree of spirituality and daily spiritual experiences. Moreover, variables of gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, religious origin, and residence in conservative region when growing up shown to be significant predictors of spirituality.

Within the discipline of sociology human olfaction is rich with social significance yet remains a poorly charted frontier. Therefore, the following discourse is aimed toward the development of a foundation for the sociological study of olfaction. It is formed by the dual goals of unearthing the social history of olfaction and of providing a viable sociological account of the manner in which smells affect human ontology. From these goals arise the following research questions: (1) Have the meaning and social relevance of odors and the olfactory sensorium changed throughout different periods of history?; (2) How have those in the lineage of eminent sociological thinkers addressed the phenomenon of human olfaction during these periods?; and (3) What is the process by which aromatic stimuli are transformed from simple chemical compounds, drifting in the atmosphere, into sensations in a sensory field and then on to perceived objects, to subjects of judgment and interpretation, and finally to bases of knowledge which form and continually reform individuals in the world? The weaving of the sociohistorical tapestry of smell is undertaken to provide examples from thousands of years lived experiences as to the fluid and sociologically complex nature of individuals' olfactory senses. This historical information …

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, school funding, and student-teacher ratio. Using an ordinary least squares regression, I found that socioeconomic status of students had the most significant impact school performance. Two other variables, teacher salary and student-teacher ratio, had a significant effect on school performance suggesting alternative means of eliminating inequality in education.

The objective of this study was to examine if intra-racial income inequality contributes to higher infant mortality rates (IMRs) for African-Americans. The conceptual framework for this study is derived from Richard Wilkinson's psychosocial environment interpretation of the income inequality and health link. The hypotheses examined were that race/ethnicity-specific IMRs are influenced by intra-race/ethnicity income inequality, and that these effects of income inequality on health are mediated by level of social mistrust and/or risk profile of the mother. Using state-level data from several sources, the 2000 National Center for Health Statistics Linked Birth Infant Death database, 2000 U.S. Census, and 2000 General Social Survey, a number of regression equations were estimated. Results indicated that the level of intra-racial/ethnic income inequality is a significant predictor of non-Hispanic Black IMRs, but not the IMRs of non-Hispanic Whites or Hispanics. Additionally, among Blacks, the effect of their intra-racial income inequality on their IMRs was found to be mediated by the risk profile of the mother, namely, the increased likelihood of smoking and/or drinking and/or less prenatal care by Black women during pregnancy. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The primary focus of this study is to explore the relationship between structural factors of a specific society and occurrence of terror related crimes. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to examine how or to what extent social disorganization theory, which is the basic theoretical foundation of this study, can explain terrorism related crimes in Turkey. Although several previous studies investigated the social and structural dimensions of terrorism in a country, many of those studies did not go beyond investigating the impacts of traditional structural factors such as poverty, inequality, and education on terrorism. This study goes a step further by adding the mediating factors between those primary social disorganization variables and terror related crimes. Direct, indirect and, total effects of structural variables on terrorism through the mediating variables, that is prevalence of voluntary associations and religious institutions, are examined. Findings obtained from multivariate and mediation analyses show that while some structural variables such as education and poverty are directly related to distribution of terror related crimes, this relationship became indirect through the mediating variables for other structural variables such as residential mobility and unemployment. Results suggest that rather than overreliance on traditional antiterrorism strategies which are mostly depending …

Bivariate correlation was used to examine possible relationships between instructor immediacy and instructor presence, and a statistically significant correlation was found. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence caused significant variance in student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. For all three of the latter dependent variables, the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence was found to cause statistically significant variance. However, although the overall regression models were significant in all three tests, instructor immediacy was not found to be a significant individual predictor for causing variance in affective learning, cognition, or motivation, whereas instructor presence was found to be a significant individual predictor of all three. Finally, factorial ANOVA revealed that, for perceptions of instructor immediacy, only classification and course type were found to explain significant variance, with undergraduate students in asynchronous courses reporting significantly lower instructor immediacy. For perceptions of instructor presence, graduate students tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did undergraduate students, and students in synchronous courses tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did students in asynchronous courses.

This study examined the opinions of university students about the current situation of the headscarf dispute on the wearing of headscarves in Turkey. The influence of gender, the level of secularism, socioeconomic status and encounter with women wearing headscarves on opinions about the wearing of headscarves were analyzed in this study. The sample of this study was composed of 400 university students among whom there were 240 female and 160 male students. Moreover, the sample comprised university students from 50 universities from Turkey. The results indicated that the level of secularism and encounter with women wearing headscarves were distinguished as two determining factors of the diverse opinions of the university students on the topic. No association was found between the perceptions of university students about the issue and the independent variables of gender and socioeconomic status.