Sociology Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2804
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Item Ethnic Identity and Intergroup Perceptions Among Post-Soviet Youth(1998) Kurbanov, Erjan; Robinson, John P.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This research examines theoretical concepts of ethnic identity using survey data from probability samples of about 13,000 youth from 11 countries of the former Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Russia, and Ukraine). The focus is on the combined impact of different micro and macro factors on ethnic attitudes and perceptions during a period of rapid social change. The dependent variable is ethnic distinctiveness, which describes a group member's distancing of themselves from other ethnic groups, an important consequence of ethnic identity. The variable was measured through evaluations of six personal characteristics of ethnic majority and minority groups in each country. The continuous nature of this variable allows detailed study of how ethnic micro factors (self-identification, parents' ethnic identity, ethnic language, level of interaction with outsiders), macro factors (ethnic conflict and level of ethnic homogeneity at the national, sub-national, and micro levels), and other social factors (parents' education, religious strength, gender, and family income) affect ethnic distinctiveness. Due to the nested nature of the data, the analysis was conducted on three levels--individual, sub-national, and national--using different techniques for each level. The results show that at the individual level, ethnic self-identification is the strongest predictor of ethnic distancing, followed by parents' ethnic identification and ethnic language; out-group interaction has only a weak effect. At the second level, the micro-level (school) ethnic homogeneity has the strongest effect, while the regional homogeneity effect is not significant. Both national-level variables (national conflict and homogeneity on the societal level) have strong effects on the dependent variable, while class variables (parents' education and family income) have no effect on ethnic distinctiveness (possibly a legacy of the egalitarian Soviet system). The original model which presumes that ethnic distancing is a product of the strength of ethnic identity, family ethnic background, and out-group interaction thus seems applicable mostly to societies (1) in which the majority and minority are significantly differentiated from each other, (2) where the minority is significantly large, and (3) where both groups are involved in a major ethno-social process. Thus, the study confirms that the individual ethnic processes of ethnic boundary formation are quite susceptible to the pervasive social dynamics of the larger society.Item Adolescent Deviance as a Function of Parents, Peers and Community Influence(1985) Slaght, Evelyn; Fleishman, John; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Recent studies conflict as to the relative importance of parents and peers as causal agents in juvenile misbehavior. Hirschi and other proponents of social control theory see parental bonding as preventing involvement in delinquency; Sutherland, Short and others envision youth as having differential learning opportunities, and see deviant peers and other negative learning opportunities in the community as more contributory to participation in antisocial acts. Part of the discrepancy in findings relative to these two perspectives has to do with the different in the way concepts are measured, based on different areas of interest. This study attempts to contrast social-emotional measure of parental influence with measure of parental control (knowledge, supervision, communication and discipline) in an effort to demonstrate the importance of the effect of parental control on deviant behavior.Item Women in the Chinese Military(1995) Li, Xiaolin; Segal, David R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This dissertation provides a sociological analysis of patterns of women's military participation in ancient China (5000 years ago-1840), during the post-Opium War period (1840-1949), and in modern times. It addresses three sociological issues: 1) under what conditions have Chinese women taken part in military operations? 2) Do Chinese women participate in direct combat? 3) Does the military institution facilitate women's social mobility to education, jobs and higher social status? The following questions are also addressed: does Chinese women's military participation go through cycles of expansion and contraction? What are the People's Liberation Army (PLA) women's evaluations of their military lives? The study scrutinized 717 Chinese military women from the secondary sources and 230 PLA women through a survey conducted in Beijing in 1992. Women participate in Chinese conventional and unconventional warfare across time. From the first female general, Fu Hao, who lived about 3200 years ago, to the 12 women generals who serve in the PLA today, women's frequent presence has been observed in both regular and irregular military formations. Chinese women participated in direct combat--50% in this study with a 12% combat casualty. Female guerri11a fighters suffered the heaviest, but no casualty of women has been recorded since 1949. Sixteen percent of these women commanded battles. Seventeen percent ranked major and above, 3.5% of them became national leaders. Most women warriors are of the Han nationality. Nearly half of the ancient and the PLA women were from official and officers' families. Cultural and ideological support for women's military participation has also been frequent. Military service is one of the social mobility channels which allow women to achieve or hope for social recognition or higher status. The scope of women's military participation goes in cycles of expansion and contraction, particularly affected by group security situation and shortage of manpower. Women's representation in regular military formations has been increased. Modem military women in mainland China and Taiwan are career makers. Most PLA women did not expect combat participation nor becoming a woman general.Item Sexual Behavior and Risk of Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Do Community Characteristics Moderate the Relationship between Individual Behaviors and STD Risk?(1999) Rogers, Susan Matthews; Kahn, Joan R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This study examined individual demographic and behavioral characteristics associated with the risk of infection with two bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. Unlike other studies of STDs, this study also investigated how the neighborhood composition may influence individual behaviors and STD risk. Individual-level data were derived from a probability sample of 560 adults residing in households in Baltimore, Maryland in 1997-1998. The Baltimore STD and Behavior Study (BSBS) combined use of urine-based diagnostic tests for gonorrhea (GC) and chlamydia! (CT) infection with a population-based survey of health and STD-related risk behaviors. Neighborhood-level data on the geographic and social characteristics of Baltimore's neighborhoods were obtained from 1990 Census data and the Baltimore City Department of Planning (1993). Urine assays revealed that 8.3 percent of adults ages 18-35 were currently infected with gonorrhea and/or chlamydia. A self-reported history of GC/CT infection was assessed from BSBS interview data; 26.1 percent reported previous treatment for GC/CT. As predicted by the STD literature, bivariate and logistic regression analyses suggested that self-reported infections were significantly associated with individual and behavioral characteristics. However, the lack of STD-related risk behaviors among respondents currently infected was somewhat unexpected. Compared with uninfected participants, respondents with a current infection, for example, were less likely to report multiple sex partners, new partners, paid sex, or concurrent sexual relationships. Hierarchical logistic regression models indicated only the proportion of black residents within the neighborhood was positively and significantly associated with self-reported GC/CT infection after controlling for individual- and community-level characteristics. However, multilevel analyses did not detect an association between neighborhood characteristics and current infection. Neighborhood characteristics did not seem to matter when examining differences in the distribution of current infection in Baltimore. Unlike individuals with a self-reported infection, currently infected individuals were not more likely to report high-risk sexual behaviors or STD-related symptoms. One plausible explanation is that the partners of these 'low-risk' individuals may have engaged in 'high-risk' behaviors. These data urge further exploration of the social context of gonorrhea and chlamydiaI infection in conjunction with an investigation of the interactions between individuals and their sexual partners.