Sociology Theses and Dissertations
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Item NONPARTICIPATION OF THE 12TH GRADERS IN THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS: UNDERSTANDING DETERMINANTS OF NONRESPONSE AND ASSESSING THE IMPACT ON NAEP ESTIMATES OF NONRESPONSE BIAS ACCORDING TO PROPENSITY MODELS(2009) Chun, Young I.; Abraham, Katharine; Robinson, John; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines nonparticipation of 12th graders in the year 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), using a model of nonresponse developed by Groves and Couper (1998). NAEP is a continuing assessment of American student knowledge in various subject areas including mathematics and science, and the possibility that its results could be contaminated by a low response rate was taken as very serious. The dissertation evaluates the statistical impact of nonparticipation bias on estimates of educational performance in NAEP, by applying response propensity models to the NAEP mathematics and science survey data and the corresponding school administrative data from over 20,000 seniors in the 2000 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). When NAEP and HSTS are merged, one has measures of individual- and school-level characteristics for nonparticipants as well as participants. Results indicate that nonresponse was not a serious contaminant, and applying response propensity based weights led to only about a 1-point difference out on average of 500 points in mathematics and of 300 points in science. The results support other recent research (e.g., Curtin, Press and Singer, 2000; Groves, 2006) showing minimal effects on nonresponse bias of lowered response rates.Item Locational Attainment and Residential Segregation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas(2009) Scopilliti, Melissa N.; Iceland, John; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Immigration of Asians and Hispanics has fueled recent growth in the non-White population in the United States. Using individual-level data from Census 2000, this dissertation examines the relationship between race/ethnicity, nativity, and socioeconomic characteristics with levels of neighborhood economic advantage, a process often termed residential or locational attainment. It also examines the effectiveness of spatial assimilation, place stratification, and segmented assimilation theories for understanding racial and ethnic stratification across metropolitan neighborhoods. Two sets of analyses are presented in this dissertation. The first examines differences in neighborhood residential attainment by race, nativity, and period of entry, and considers the role of individual socioeconomic and demographic characteristics for understanding disparities in neighborhood advantage. Results show that Whites and Asians, both native and foreign-born, reside in the most advantaged neighborhoods, whereas being Hispanic or Black is associated with residence in neighborhoods with lower median incomes and higher rates of poverty, net of model controls. The second set of analyses studies racial differences in neighborhood attainment among individuals residing in metropolitan areas with different levels of racial residential segregation. While little difference was found in neighborhood income and poverty between Hispanics and native Whites residing in metropolitan areas with low Hispanic-native White segregation net of differences in individual socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, substantial Hispanic-native White and Black-native White disparities were found among those residing in moderately and highly segregated metropolitan areas. Hispanics in moderately and highly segregated metropolitan areas experienced a similar gap in neighborhood advantage, relative to native Whites, as was experienced by Blacks. Consistent with spatial assimilation theory, individual differences in socioeconomic and acculturation characteristics such as education and English language proficiency explained some of the between-race differences in neighborhood advantage, and most of the within-race differences among immigrants by period of entry. However, the large and persistent Black-White and Hispanic-White gaps in locational attainment suggest that processes aside from individual attainment explain the lower residential attainment of Blacks and Hispanics, providing some supporting evidence for the place stratification framework. In addition, the high level of locational attainment among Asians and the variation in neighborhood advantage across metropolitan areas by level of residential segregation for Hispanics and Blacks support the importance of both individual and contextual factors, consistent with the main tenets of segmented assimilation theory.Item Internet communication among college students: its role and perceived effects on interaction and the self(2008) bern, thomas james; Dance, Lory; Milkie, Melissa; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study is a qualitative investigation into the effect of internet technologies on the social lives of college students who frequently employ them. Three research questions are addressed. First, how do college students understand the various roles or functions of the Internet in terms of their social ties with others? Second, what problems related to interaction occur through the use of these communication technologies? Finally, what problems or effects related to the notion of "the self" occur when maintaining social ties via Internet communication technologies? Focus groups with college students indicated that they could not possibly imagine maintaining their social lives without them. Among the limitations and problems frequently indicated were a difficulty in using these communication options to discuss important, sensitive, or emotional issues with significant others. Finally, these college students appear to be more authentic online and less-fragmented by this form of communication than previous literature would suggest.Item The Politics of Metabolism: The Metabolic Syndrome and the Reproduction of Race and Racism(2009) Hatch, Anthony Ryan; Collins, Patricia H; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Biomedical researchers, government agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry increasingly use the term metabolic syndrome to define the observed co-occurrence of the major biological risk markers for heart disease, type II diabetes, and stroke. The metabolic syndrome is a new feature in what I call the politics of metabolism, or the discourses, social processes, and institutional relationships that governs the metabolism of individuals and groups. The emergence of the metabolic syndrome reflects a growing network of scientific, state, and corporate actors and institutions that are invested in studying, regulating, and profiting from control over metabolism. Drawing on insights from critical race theory, science and technology studies, and Foucauldian studies of biopower, I analyze the metabolic syndrome as a new discourse about metabolism that continually draws upon racial meanings to construct individual and group differences in different kinds of metabolic risk. The metabolic syndrome not only constitutes a new way of constructing, studying, and treating metabolic health problems, it also constitutes an emerging site for the production of racial meanings. Researchers use race in metabolic syndrome research and to study, prescribe, and label prescription drugs that may be related to the metabolic syndrome. I investigate the use of race and the metabolic syndrome in biomedical research on prescription drugs and African Americans. I develop the metaphor of killer applications to examine how prescription drugs operate in the politics of metabolism. A killer application is a superior technology that combines human and non-human elements that structure bodily practices in a wide range of social, commercial, and scientific contexts--prescription drugs have become the new killer applications in biomedicine. I argue that the search for killer applications has transformed the ways that pharmaceutical corporations study prescription drugs, metabolism, and race. I compare how drug researchers use race and the metabolic syndrome to study antipsychotics and statins in African Americans, how physicians' race-based diagnoses of schizophrenia and high cholesterol structure the prescribing patterns of antipsychotics and statins, and how scientists' assumptions about the genetic basis of racial differences in drug metabolism structure the debate about racebased drug therapies.Item Residential Segregation: Hurting or Helping U.S. Hispanic Health?(2009) Nelson, Kyle Anne; Iceland, John; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)U.S. Hispanics experience health disparities that are in part socially determined. My dissertation explores the connections between health and residential segregation for Hispanics and key Hispanic subgroups in metropolitan America. I conduct a multivariate analysis combining individual-level health survey data on Hispanics from the 1997-2002 Urban Institute National Survey of America's Families with metropolitan area-level residential segregation scores from Census 2000. My primary research question is: What is the role of residential segregation in shaping the health disparities of U.S. Hispanics? I compare the link between segregation and health for U.S. Hispanics with African Americans, and evaluate differences among Hispanics by nativity and country of origin. My outcome measures are self-rated health, insurance status, and having a usual source of health care. I find a significant negative effect on health status of residential segregation from whites for U.S. Hispanics even after accounting for compositional factors such as poverty status and education. Consistent with spatial assimilation theory, however, much of the observed negative effects of segregation on health are overshadowed by individual-level socioeconomic characteristics. In support of place stratification theory which emphasizes the relative disadvantage of African Americans as racial minorities in the U.S., I find that African Americans experience modestly greater health disparities associated with segregation than Hispanics. Despite my prediction that health outcomes for foreign-born Hispanics may actually improve with higher segregation, nativity does not significantly alter the link between health and segregation among U.S. Hispanics. I do find a significant interaction between nativity and segregation for Mexicans in the prediction of being uninsured and for Cubans in the prediction of self-rated health. For foreign-born Mexicans, segregation is more of a disadvantage in the prediction of being uninsured. The only evidence I find of any positive or protective link between segregation and health is for Cuban-origin Hispanics whose odds of reporting good self-rated health increase with higher levels of segregation. While segregation has a positive association with health status for both U.S.-born and foreign-born Cubans, the effect is substantially stronger for the foreign born. This research highlights the importance of examining residential segregation as a social determinant of health, and reveals important nuances in the link between health and segregation for nativity and country-of-origin subgroups of U.S. Hispanics.Item `Do-It-Yourself': Self-checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Self-Service Trend in American Business(2009) Andrews, Christopher K.; Landry, Bart; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A significant portion of sociology has always taken as its central focus the underlying relationship between economy and society. This dissertation continues this tradition by examining how self-service and its `do-it-yourself' ethos is changing the U.S. economy and the way in which Americans consume goods and services. Focusing upon the supermarket industry and the three principle stakeholder groups involved - employers, employees, and consumers - this dissertation examines why businesses are adopting automated checkout lanes. Particular attention is given to the reasons cited for their introduction, their effect upon work and employment in the industry, and the public's perception and attitude towards the technology. This dissertation adopts a multi-method approach, using information collected from eighty face-to-face interviews with customers, employees, and store managers, as well as secondary data and nonparticipant observation. Secondary data sources include published economic indicators and employment statistics, as well as information provided by newspapers and retail industry publications; nonparticipant observation was used to collect field notes documenting staffing levels, customer behavior, and other related information. Precisely why self-checkouts are being introduced remains a much-debated issue. Interviews indicate that organized labor and consumers view them as primarily a cost-cutting mechanism, yet labor costs within the industry continue to rise and employment remains relatively stable. At present, a number of social and economic barriers currently limit the extent of their use in stores; these factors include theft, maintenance, perceptions of service, internal controls, and specific labor contract provisions. Results also suggest that external, rather than internal, market factors may be driving current employment trends, including competition in the low-wage labor market and the emergence of non-union competition into the retail food industry. The benefits offered to consumers remains unclear. A majority of customers surveyed still prefer conventional cashier lanes, yet self-checkout clearly appeals to some consumers due to the perceived speed, control, and independence. However, results indicate that under most circumstances self-checkouts are not faster than conventional methods of checkout due to differences in user skill and experience. This may change, however, as similar self-service technologies become increasingly common in the service industry.Item Mandated Change and Gendered Organizational Culture: A Content Analysis of Graduate Perceptions of the U.S. Air Force Academy's Agenda for Change(2009) De Angelis, Karin Kristine; Segal, Mady W.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Women are a token group at the United States Air Force Academy and by extension within the social networks of Academy graduates. Using Kanter's theory on the effects of proportions on group culture, I complete a qualitative content analysis of the public discourse surrounding the removal of the words "Bring Me Men..." from an Academy ramp in response to the 2003 sexual assault scandal. The vast majority of male graduates and all of the female graduates publicly opposed the decision to remove the words. I observe three phenomena in the public discourse in line with Kanter's theorized process of boundary heightening: loyalty tests, exaggeration of the dominant's culture, and the use of formal in-group recognitions as reminders of difference between the dominants and the tokens. Both the dominants and the tokens failed to consider alleged sexual assault claims and whether these claims had connections to USAFA's organizational culture.Item SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AMONG ELDERLY MEN AND WOMEN IN TAIWAN(2009) Sa, Zhihong; Kahn, Joan R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although an obesity epidemic has spread to people of all age groups, empirical knowledge about elderly obesity remains largely scant, particularly in non-Western societies. This dissertation addresses that gap by examining the social determinants of overweight and obesity and weight gain among men and women, using 1999 and 2003 waves of the longitudinal Survey of Health and Living Status of the Near Elderly and Elderly in Taiwan. Existing literature shows that the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on body weight shifts from positive to negative as the level of development of a society progresses from low to high, and social gradients in obesity appear first among women. A gender-specific pattern of social disparities in overweight and obesity is expected to have emerged in Taiwan. The analysis captures a gendered pattern in the transition of the SES-obesity relationship in Taiwan. Similar to less-developed countries, men and women with more material resources (i.e. income and wealth) have an elevated risk of overweight and obesity, indicating the importance of material resources in getting access to food through most of the lifetime of this elderly population. However, household wealth is inversely associated with short-term weight gain among women, suggesting that wealth may become a protective factor against overweight and obesity. The education effect has shifted to the pattern of Western societies, particularly among women. While education has strong negative impacts on cumulative body weight among women, it is inversely associated with short-term weight gain for both men and women. The protective effect of education emerges earlier among women than among men, probably as a result of educated women adopting the Western ideal of thinness. Also, the negative effect of childhood SES on body weight among women is transmitted through education. Hence, social disparities in overweight and obesity among older women is mainly produced by differential weight gains in adulthood for individuals of different SES. Finally, the relationship between social participation and excess body weight is explored. Men and women with active social participation have a reduced risk for greater weight gain, suggesting that social participation may have some buffering effects on unhealthy weight outcomes of the disadvantaged groups, especially among women.Item "This Makes me Who I Am": The Meaning and Significance of School Membership for Ninth Grade Students Transitioning to High School(2009) Boccanfuso, Christopher Michael; Lucas, Jeffrey; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines the motivational aspects of academic engagement from a social-psychological perspective by introducing the concept of school membership as a mediating factor between academic environment and the behaviors that comprise academic engagement. School membership is rooted in identity theory and is defined as the possession of social bonds with a social network of school members through which a highly salient self-identity and high levels of commitment as a member of the school are internalized. In order to identify links between academic environment, school membership, and academic engagement, I qualitatively examine disadvantaged students within "City High", a school employing the Talent Development High School Model, a comprehensive school reform model with that creates an environment conducive to the internalization of school membership. Using ethnographic methods, I compare and contrast school membership levels and perceptions of in and out of school environment within a diverse group of students at "City High". In order to test my qualitative findings on a broad scale, I quantitatively examine links between academic environment, school membership, and academic engagement through multilevel modeling techniques, using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Both the qualitative and quantitative portions of this dissertation provide suggestive results indicating both the presence of school membership within disadvantaged students with high levels of academic performance and effort. In addition, both phases of this project indicate that students' social and structural academic environment were related to the creation and maintenance of school membership. This dissertation concludes by examining the ways in which comprehensive school reform models benefit by focusing on students who are transitioning to high school and placing the creation of a "culture of success" on par with raising student achievement levels, as these goals are intertwined.Item Biomedical Innovation and the Politics of Scientific Knowledge: A case study of Gardasil(2008) Clark, Aleia Yvonne; Mamo, Laura; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Vaccine development represents a special case where historically, public health priorities are central. Trends of privatization have increased the role played by pharmaceutical and biotech companies in developing new biomedical technologies. As the innovative science behind new medical technologies moves into pharmaceutical laboratories and biotech companies, the "logics of action" that pattern knowledge production shift. This project explores how different logics of action based on commercial investment and public good shaped the development of Gardasil, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. The study found that both the logics of public good and commercial profit significantly shaped the final product. The study also found that variations in the definition of public good allowed for the settlement of tensions between good and profit. The findings have implications for the future of vaccine development, as well as for the analysis of biomedical innovation in our contemporary political economy.