Sociology Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2804

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Sociology, Public and Social Welfare

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Adolescents and Antidepressants: Analyzing a Social Scientific Controversy
    (2007-02-19) Nelson, Amber Dawn; Mamo, Laura; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis analyzes the scientific controversy over giving antidepressant medications to adolescents as it unfolded in a U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing. Using the FDA hearing held on February 2, 2004, convened in response to a "crisis" evolving around the safety of antidepressant use among adolescents, this paper analyzes the unfolding response. This study utilizes social world's analysis, a qualitative methods approach designed to uncover the multiple stakes and claims of the problem as understood by each person at the hearing. I identified four distinct social worlds: 1) Adolescents, family and friends, 2) Independent professionals, 3) FDA, and 4) FDA-summoned professionals. Findings revealed that 103 actors came together around the crisis and each defined the problem of the controversy through one or more of the following four distinct frames; (1) side effects, (2) data, (3) practices and policies and/or (4) a lack of access to informed choice.
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    Formalizing the Informal: A Network Analysis of an Insurgency
    (2006-06-27) Reed, Brian; Segal, David R.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This research project applies Social Network Analysis to Saddam Hussein's network and demonstrates how network analysis techniques uncovered a web of family and tribal linkages that resulted in the ousted dictator's capture. I use Simmel's approach to affiliations and interactions among consensual actors as the frame in which to view why and how warfare operates the way it does in the present context of an insurgency, and what difference it makes for states (and non-states) that war is waged in this particular manner. This project adds to the emerging sociology of war that is not primarily concerned with why wars start or why some states wage war against others, but rather with how wars work once opponents are engaged. I used two mapping networks and six associated sub-networks - trust (immediate family, extended family, close friendships, bodyguards) and strategy and goals (money and resources, insurgent operations) - to identify the structural and relational characteristics of the network. Network concepts allowed me to highlight the structure of the previously unobserved associations by focusing on the pre-existing relationships and ties that bind together such a group. By focusing on the roles, organizational positions, and those actors who are prominent and/or influential, I was able to get a sense of how the associations were structured and how the group functioned, how members were influenced and power was exerted, and how resources were exchanged. I found that insurgent members co-opted pre-existing ties to facilitate their operations. Roles are defined according to these pre-existing ties - primarily familial ties, but also those linked by previous political, tribal, or organizational association. Key individuals are connected to one another, thus forming a domain for each that gives them a high status in terms of prestige and influence. Those that are not part of this core group and who sit on the periphery of these critical task relationships extend the network and allow it to operate at a far greater distance. In short, social network analysis allowed me to formalize the informality of the insurgent network by visualizing the structure of one that we did not readily observe.
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    RACE, GENDER, AGE AND THE US NURSING SHORTAGE
    (2005-08-09) Alvarez, Wilmer; Landry, Bart; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis explores the demographic make up of nurses who have considered leaving the profession, those who have left, and the reasons cited for leaving. Data from the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses and the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals were used to examine the demographic characteristics of two nurse populations, explore demographic differences in the reasons nurses leave, and the degree of nurse job dissatisfaction. It was found that nurses who have considered leaving or have left the field have similar demographic characteristics as those currently in the field. It was also found that differences in the reasons cited for leaving exist by age and by the presence of children in the home among nurses who are no longer in nursing, but not among nurses who have considered leaving. Nurse job dissatisfaction was also determined to decrease with age. This research underscores the importance of developing multi-pronged and multi-level remedies to combat the consequences of the nursing shortage.
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    The Effects of Critical Thinking Pedagogy During the Ninth Grade on High School Dropout
    (2005-03-01) Boccanfuso, Christopher Michael; Martin, Steven P; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This paper tests existing educational theory regarding the effectiveness of interactive pedagogy in order to determine the predictive ability of interactive pedagogy during ninth grade math and English classes towards graduation. This is done using a mixed methods approach which examines correlations between student teacher interaction and dropout through logistic regression models using data from the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS), and qualitatively links interactive methods examined in the quantitative section (and some not examined) to pedagogy the sample of Philadelphia ninth-grade students find effective. Quantitative results provide strong evidence that low student-teacher interaction predicts a higher probability of dropout, as well as make suggestive connections between interactive methods and graduation. The qualitative results link both the non-interactive methods as part of the "pedagogy of poverty" and in-class discussion to pedagogy which students find effective in creating attachment to school, confirming the quantitative findings. Implications for educational theory are discussed.
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    EMPLOYMENT AND MARRIAGE: PATHWAYS OFF OF WELFARE?
    (2005-02-01) Roberts, Tracy Elizabeth; Martin, Steven P; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Does the way women exit welfare affect their probability of returning to welfare? Using data drawn from the 1979 - 2000 National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, I examine the effect of marital and employment transitions on recidivism rates. I find that women who combine employment and marriage after exiting welfare, in that order, have significantly lower risks of recidivism than other women. Women who marry but do not enter employment have higher recidivism rates than women who combine employment and marriage, but they are less likely to return to welfare than women who are only employed. The data suggest that simply encouraging marriage or women's employment may not reduce welfare recidivism. The best policy strategy to reduce welfare dependence and encourage healthy marriages may be to strengthen work support programs and improve the circumstances of employment (and opportunities for strong marriages) for low-income men and women.