Browsing by Subject "African Americans"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 47
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A comparison of postformal operations in diverse adult populations: contrasting African Americans and standard-average-European Americans(Texas Tech University, 1998-12) McBride, Lynda RossThe study of cognitive change over adulthood became important to researchers during the 1980s with the recognition and clarification of the limits of Piaget's formal operational stage and suggestions that formal operations was not the concluding or most comprehensive cognitive structure. With this recognition, researchers turned to look for a model of development that might outline systematic and positive cognitive elaboration that occurred beyond formal operations and over the adult years. Thus, the field of postformal operations was created. Postformal theories build upon Piagetian theory with expectations that postformal stages evolve from formal operations. The new stages are outlined as cognitive levels through which the adult comes to understand the contextual and contradictory nature of social life. The adult is expected to bring certain wisdom to the tasks of everyday life and look for a 'best' answer, not necessarily the most logically correct answer to whatever problem is at hand. Empirical findings suggest that indeed middle-aged and older adults do look for 'workable' answers while younger adults look for logical answers to a variety of posed everyday problems. Using interview methods to pose everyday problems and using a variety of new measurement techniques, researchers found detectable differences in cognitive processes of middle-aged adults when compared to young adults. Yet, efforts are just beginning and existing research is narrow in its focus. To date, research has centered on only White middle-class and highly educated respondents. Existing studies have not included individuals from disparate social statuses or ethnic groups. This project was designed to augment existing research. This project examined postformal levels of cognition in two previously underrepresented groups, working-class Anglos and African Americans. It was theorized, as social psychologists predicted, that social milieu would have an impact on cognitive development. It was predicted that minority status would aid in and speed the development of postformal stages. To a limited extent, the prediction was upheld and differences were found on measures of postformal operations between the working-class Anglos and African Americans who participated in this study.Item Addressing the lack of Baseball Consumption amongst African Americans(2013-08-06) Brown, Brandon LeighThe African American consumer represents a valuable market segment in the United States. This target market possesses both substantial purchasing power and future growth potential. Yet, baseball marketers have failed to secure the African American target market as a viable consumer base. As such, marketers should understand what factors encourage African Americans to consume sport, and what factors deter African Americans from consuming baseball. Thus, the purpose of my study was to advance the literature by investigating the factors influencing African American baseball consumption. African American participants were surveyed in order to ascertain the motivational aspects they perceived to be present (or absent) in both a favorite sport and baseball. Results suggest that African American participants believed baseball failed to contain the following motivational factors: skill, drama, aesthetic value, group entertainment, family value, escape, and cultural affiliation. Still, of the factors measured, results suggest that the factors, ?skill? and ?drama? were the two most influential factors motivating participants to consume sport. The current study utilized a set of focus group interviews to identify what factors, if any, deterred baseball consumption amongst African Americans. Results suggest two broad categories best represent the reasoning for a lack of baseball consumption: perception of baseball and socio-cultural dynamics. Within these two categories, six general dimensions were found that best characterized the reasons for not consuming baseball: A perceived lack of excitement in baseball, a perceived lack of skill in baseball, a distaste towards baseball?s structure, a lack of access for young African Americans, African American player representation, and African American players in pop-culture. The current study examined African American attitudes towards baseball consumption by investigating the role of perceived fit and its association with the theory of reasoned action. The study utilized an experimental design to investigate if racial identification and identifiable motivational factors would influence perceived fit. Results from the study indicate that advertisement setting (i.e., advertisements containing identifiable motivational factors) was not influential upon perceived fit; yet, endorser race did moderate the relationship between advertisement setting and perceived fit. Subsequently, perceived fit was found to be influential upon attitudes and subjective norms. Furthermore, these factors ? attitudes and subjective norms ? were significantly related to intentions to consume baseball.Item African American citizen soldiers in Galveston and San Antonio, Texas, 1880-1906(2009-05-15) Blair, John PatrickThe Texas Volunteer Guard, created by the Militia Law of 1879, continued to allow African Americans to serve as citizen soldiers. From 1880 to 1906 over six hundred black men faithfully served in the various state militia companies of Galveston and San Antonio; yet, their service has rarely obtained scholarly attention. Often discounted by historians as mere social clubs or deemed too few and insignificant to warrant study, these men sought not only to demonstrate their citizenship, but to improve their social status during a period of racial segregation. The differences and similarities of these groups of African American men at the grassroots level are illuminated by using the comparative method to examine socioeconomic characteristics. Furthermore, this examination demonstrates how racial attitudes remained flexible enough during this period to allow these men to participate in military-type activities. An examination of these activities, both as citizens and as soldiers, makes evident what inspired this state military service. Framed within the network of local fraternal, social, religious, educational, and political organizations, coupled with a study of previous military service, the militia companies expose the aim of these African American men to improve their social status as citizens through militia participation. The Adjutant General of Texas issued firearms, ammunition, and equipment to the respective companies of African American militiamen from these cities, and coordinated training exercises, which involved the travel of armed black men over the state?s existing railroads. Despite their segregated status, the very presence of armed, uniformed black men officially sanctioned by the Democratic-controlled government of Texas suggests that race relationships still remained flexible enough during this time for African Americans to display their citizenship and manhood through state military service. Conversely, their dissolution in 1906 reveals the termination of that flexibility and solidified their status as second-class citizens. Even though they were unsuccessful in continuing their military organization, the heroic efforts of these men deserves inclusion in the written history of the long struggle for African American civil rights in this country.Item African American high school graduates who chose higher education: a profile(Texas Tech University, 1996-12) Abanobi, Kevin EzewuiroAfrican Americans are grossly underrepresented in American higher education. Despite the removal of all legal barriers to full access and an increased rate of graduation from high school, college enrollment by African Americans remains below those of other ethnic groups in America and even showed a decline in the last decade. In 1993, African Americans constituted over 12 percent of the American population but only 10.20 percent of those enrolled in the country's colleges and universities. The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of African Americans enrolled in higher education in the West Texas region and determine how important each of eight selected factors was in the decision of an African American high school graduate to pursue higher education. The survey questionnaire method was used to obtain the information. Besides rating the importance of each of the eight factors in their personal decisions to pursue higher education, the study participants rated how important they believed each factor should be in the decision of other African American high school graduates to pursue higher education.Item African Americans and HIV/AIDS-related bereavement: an exploratory study of loss, coping, and help-seeking(2009-08) Allen, Sydnye Dyan; Hazen, HazenThe purpose of this study was to understand how individuals from African American families process the HIV/AIDS-related bereavement of a loved one. A sample of African American adults age 18 and older who experienced the loss of a loved one to HIV/AIDS-related death were interviewed for this study. Qualitative methodology was employed for data collection and thematic analysis was used to identify central themes. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, emergent themes regarding AIDS related bereavement were expected. It was postulated that African American individuals shared experiences related to HIV/AIDS-related loss. Individuals were also expected to report unique bereavement experiences. In particular, prolonged grief and internalized coping strategies were expected to impact bereavement experiences of individuals in families acutely affected by HIV/AIDS-related stigmatization. Secrecy about a loved one’s HIV/AIDS-related death was expected to impact the ability of bereaved persons to process and effectively cope with loss; results yielded evidence of protracted states of shame or blame regarding loss. The findings of this study are useful for identifying methods for targeting bereavement resources toward individuals who are underrepresented in HIV/AIDS-related intervention programs.Item Arts for all : exploring the ways arts serve East Austin residents affected by gentrification(2013-08) Esekawu, Celina Ngozi; Adejumo, Christopher O., 1959-This study examined two community programs, Helping Everyone Recognize Opportunity and Excellence in Success (HEROES) and the Alamo Recreation Center (ARC). Both programs incorporated art making in order to serve central East Austin residents affected by gentrification in the area. The purpose of this study was to present ways these two programs utilize the arts to provide a voice for a population challenged by gentrification. This study integrated firsthand experiences obtained during participant observations of the programs and a historical look at of East Austin to identify the significance of HEROES and ARC in their surrounding community.Item Black college football in Texas(Texas Tech University, 2003-12) Fink, Robert ChristopherThe research on the history of black college football in Texas and that established this increased understanding of African-American history comes primarily from the black newspapers in Texas. Papers like the Houston Informer and Dallas Express served as the cultural voice for a community ignored by the white press in the state. Since many of the black college football players m Texas, especially those who competed before 1950, are deceased, the black press offered the only remaining channel for their stories. Also, the university records of the black colleges in Texas are sparse. For Bishop College, which closed in 1988, its records are completely gone. The lack of a historical record makes the Texas African-American newspapers even more valuable. Furthermore, the few sources that exist on black college football in Texas prove the value of this dissertation to the Texas African-American community, the state of Texas and the field of history.Item Blackness and bilingualism: language ideologies in the African American community(2015-12) Greer, Elizabeth Jane; Palmer, Deborah K.; Foster, Kevin MThis qualitative interpretivist study uses Richard Ruiz’s language orientation framework to explore the perspectives of African Americans towards Spanish-English bilingualism as it relates to dual language education. Ruiz presented three ideologies towards minority languages: language as a problem, language as a right, and language as a resource (1984). Galindo later added the idea of language as a boundary (1997). This study attempts to add to these frameworks by providing an alternative perspective: a minority language as seen by members of another marginalized group. Previous research demonstrates the potential of dual language programs to promote academic, linguistic, and cross-cultural competence in all students (Howard, Sugarman & Christian, 2003; Thomas & Collier, 2011), yet also suggests that African American students are experiencing limited inclusion in these types of programs (Center for Applied Linguistics, 2008; Lindholm-Leary, 2001). This project contributes to the scant but growing body of research on African American involvement in dual language by examining the existing language ideologies in the African American community towards multilingualism, specifically Spanish-English bilingualism. The researcher analyzed 5 semi-structured interviews with members of the African American community in one urban school district. Thematic coding revealed the representation of each of Ruiz’s original orientations as well as Galindo’s, however, the data analysis also uncovered nuanced and additional ideologies emerging from the racial position of African Americans in U.S. society. This project provides compelling insight into the perspectives of African Americans towards Spanish-English bilingualism. In practice, the implications of this study suggest alternative approaches to the design, recruitment, and implementation of dual language programs with African American students in mind. In theory, this study presents a racially nuanced understanding of Ruiz’s original language orientation framework as well as engages in problematizing the existing raciolinguistic hierarchy of power in U.S. society.Item Bourdieuian Analysis on African Americans? Under-representation at Parks and Outdoor Recreation(2013-07-18) Lee, KangJaeThis study used Pierre Bourdieu?s theory of practice and analyzed African Americans? under-representation at parks and in outdoor recreation. It focused on Cedar Hill State Park (CHSP) located in Cedar Hill, Texas and investigated local African Americans? non-visitation to the park. The study also explored how fear of racism impacts middle class African Americans? travel choices and how they negotiate constraints associated with racism. This study is guided by four research questions: (1) What factors prevent local African Americans? visitation to CHSP? (2) How does Bourdieu?s concepts and theory explain African Americans? non-visitation to CHSP and other outdoor recreation sites? (3) How does racism impact middle class African Americans? travel choices? and (4) How do they negotiate fear of racism when they travel? A qualitative research approach was employed in this study. Archival method, site visits, and fact-to-face interview with 13 local African Americans were conducted. Data collection was implemented from October 2012 to March 2013. The collected data provided rich information related to the phenomenon under investigation. First, racism was interwoven with the history of local community and Texas state parks. There has been a rapid increase of Black populations and white flight at cities around CHSP. Many incidents of racial discrimination were found in the history of the community and Texas state parks. Second, this study identified that (1) lack of information and encouragement, (2) lack of interest/cultural irrelevance, (3) lack of attraction, and (4) fear of racism were four main reasons African Americans do not visit CHSP or other state and national parks. These four reasons were closely interrelated with each other and commonly held racism as an underlying theme. The findings illustrated that racism is a foundation of the under-representation issue.Item Breaking Outside the Walls: Teachers of Gifted and Talented African American Males in a Texas Urban Middle School(2013-08-07) Henderson, Sowanda NimmerEducation and its associated resources continue to be unequally administered and delivered in the United States. All stakeholders in the education of the nation?s children?parents, teachers, unions, school administrators, principals, community members and students, should be concerned with the inequities which abound in the country?s education system African American male cohorts are particularly vulnerable in the US population as they face a series of challenges that continue to threaten their achievement, including those students who are academically gifted. The purpose of this study was to examine and interpret the philosophy, ideology, and educational practices of five teachers of African American males in gifted and talented programs in an urban secondary school. The following research questions guided the study: (a) How do teachers describe factors that promote achievement with African American males in Gifted and Talented Programs? (b) How do the life experiences of teachers influence their advocacy for African American males in Gifted and Talented Programs? (c) How do Gifted and Talented teachers of African American males participate in and influence identification and referrals of African American males in Gifted and Talented Programs? The naturalistic paradigm of inquiry guided the study to collect and analyze data. The participant sample consisted of five teachers of African American males in gifted and talented programs in an urban secondary school. In addition to a detailed review of the literature related to this population, data came from in-depth interviews and classroom observations. Data from the audio recorded and transcribed (verbatim) were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Some of the major findings reveal that the educational demographic landscape in the US and in Texas in particular highlights an underrepresentation of African Americans, and especially African American males in gifted and talented education. The themes that emerged from the study reveal that valuable insight can be gained from teachers of this cohort which can inform educational practice and policy. The teachers reported to be working hard for the success of all students and not just those from minoritized backgrounds. Nonetheless, all five teachers were committed to believing that all of their students had the potential to be successful, albeit some with more challenges than others. Their experiences and backgrounds frame their ideologies and in turn the way in which they teach and interact with these learners. It is important to note that despite these differences and diversity in their racial/ethnic backgrounds, each teacher reflects deep commitment and passion for these learners. The overall goal reported by the participants is to encourage creative problem solving, to develop content mastery, to serve as a role model for their students, regardless of racial or ethnic background. Ultimately, they believe that these are the keys to the success of all students, and particularly for African American male gifted and talented middle school students.Item Cerebral and peripheral microvascular function in individuals with elevated cardiovascular disease risk(2015-08) Hurr, Chansol; Brothers, Robert Matthew; Farrar, Roger P.; Coyle, Edward F.; Tanaka, Hirofumi; Davis, Scott L.The series of studies in this dissertation determined: 1) the effectiveness of a clinically applicable dietary supplement on cerebral vascular function in African Americans (AA), 2) cerebral vascular function in obese individuals, and 3) the underlying mechanism of cutaneous microvascular dysfunction in AA. Study #1 identified that acute flavanol consumption improves cerebral vasodilatory capacity in response to rebreathing-induced hypercapnia in AA. Our laboratory previously found that hypercapnia-induced cerebral vasodilation is reduced in AA when compared with Caucasian Americans (CA). Findings in study #1 may provide an effective interventional strategy to mitigate the high incidence of cerebral vascular diseases, which is commonly found in AA. Study #2 assessed the cerebral vasodilatory capacity in obese individuals. Cerebral vasodilation during hypercapnia, as indexed by the total range of change and the maximal increase in cerebral vascular conductance, was decreased in obese individuals relative to lean counterparts. This attenuated response in obese individuals may explain why they are at higher risk for cerebral vascular diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. In study #3, mechanisms underlying impaired cutaneous microvascular thermal reactivity in AA were explored using an intradermal microdialysis technique. Our preliminary data previously found that cutaneous vasodilation in response to local heating is decreased in AA. As a follow-up study, we assessed cutaneous vasodilation using pharmacological agents ascorbic acid and tempol, a global antioxidant and superoxide-specific scavenger, respectively. Study #3 determined that reduced cutaneous microvascular thermal reactivity in AA is mainly due to elevated concentration/activity of superoxide. Collectively, the series of studies in the current dissertation provide a potential therapeutic strategy to ameliorate the vascular impairment as well as potential mechanisms for elevated cerebral and peripheral vascular dysfunction in individuals with elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases for future clinical/mechanistic investigations.Item Consumers' perception of the ethics and acceptability of product placement in movies : African Americans and Anglo Americans(2008-12) Johnson, Glynnis Michelle; Cunningham, Isabella C. M.The goal of the study was to explore African Americans’ perceptions and acceptance of products used for placement in movies and to compare their perceptions to those of Anglo Americans. A mix between and repeated measures ANOVA was run to test four hypotheses dealing with race, gender and product differences. A factor analysis was run on the 30 attitudinal measures. A content analysis was done on the comments obtained from the open-ended question. Cross-tabulations were run on product and media consumption data. The results indicated that there are differences in the perceptions and acceptance of products used for placement in movies across ethnic and cultural groups in the U.S., specifically African American and Anglo Americans. Not only were African Americans less likely to accept ethically charged products for product placement in movies than Anglo Americans, their product acceptance ratings, in general, were lower than those of Anglo Americans. In fact, African American males rated all of the products lower than African American females and Anglo American males and females. The implications are that product, race, gender, frequency of movie watching and attitudinal differences should be considered when the product placement strategy is used. Advertisers and marketers should use caution when using the product placement strategy to target the African American market and when selecting the types of products to be used for placement.Item Contesting the mark of criminality : resistance and ideology in gangsta rap, 1988-1997(2009-08) McCann, Bryan John; Cloud, Dana L.This dissertation situates the emergence of gangsta rap from 1988-1997 within the historical trajectory of the American criminal justice system and the mass incarceration of African Americans. Specifically, it examines how the genre enacted the mark of criminality as a gesture of resistance in a period of sustained moral panic surrounding race and criminality in the United States. The mark of criminality refers to a regime of signifiers inscribed upon African American bodies that imagines black subjects as fundamental threats to social order. Drawing upon the theoretical resources of historical materialism and cultural studies, the project locates the mark of criminality within the social structures of capitalism, arguing that hegemonic fantasies of racialized criminality protect oppressive and exploitative social relations. The project concludes that while gangsta rap has many significant limitations associated with violence, misogyny, and commercialism, it nonetheless represents a salient expression of resistance that can inform broader interventions against the American prisons system. A number of questions guide this project. Chief among them are the following: In what ways does the criminal justice system operate as a site of rhetorical invention and hegemonic struggle? To what extent does gangsta rap enable and disable rhetorical and political agency? To what extent does it enable and disable interracial political practice? What are the implications of gangsta rap for a gendered politics of criminality? Three case studies demonstrate how specific gangsta rap artists inverted the mark of criminality toward the constitution of affirmative and resistant fantasies of black criminality. While the work of these artists, I argue, was significantly limited in its emancipatory potential, it nonetheless offered important insights into the contingency of race and crime in America. The project also considers how other rhetors responded to gangsta discourse, frequently toward the end of supporting hegemonic notions of race and criminality. The dissertation concludes that criminality functions as a vibrant site of rhetorical invention and resistance provided it is articulated to broader movements for social justice. While the often-problematic discourses of gangsta rap do not constitute politically progressive rhetorics in their own rights, they provide resources for the articulation of righteous indignation and utopian desires capable of challenging the prison-industrial complex.Item The crossroads of race : racial passing, profiling, and legal mobility in twentieth-century African American literature and culture(2004-08) Dunbar, Eve, 1976-; Woodard, Helena, 1953-; Harlow, Barbara, 1948-Item Daughters of Ruth : enterprising black women in insurance in the New South, 1890s to 1930s(2011-05) Garrett-Scott, Shennette Monique; Walker, Juliet E. K., 1940-The dissertation explores the imbricated nature of race, gender, and class in the field of insurance within the political economy of the New South. It considers how enterprising black women navigated tensions between New South rhetoric and Jim Crow reality as well as sexism and racism within the industry and among their industry peers. It complicates the narrative of black southern labor history that focuses more on women as agricultural laborers, domestics, and factory workers than as enterprising risk takers who sought to counterbalance personal ambition and self-interest with communal empowerment. Insurance organizations within black-run secret fraternal societies and formal black-owned insurance companies emerged as not only powerful symbols of black business achievement by the early decades of the twentieth century but also the most lucrative business sector of the separate black economy. Negro Captains of Industry, a coterie of successful, influential, self-made men, stood at the forefront; they represented the keystone of black economic, social, and political progress. The term invoked a decidedly masculinist image of “legitimate” leadership of black business. Considering fraternal and formal insurance, gender-inscribed rhetoric, shaped by racism and New South ideology, imagined black men as the ideal protectors and providers; women became the objects of protection rather than agents of economic development, job creation, and financial security. The dissertation explores how women operated creatively within and outside of normative expectations of their role in the insurance business. The dissertation considers the role of state regulation and zealous regulators who often targeted insurance organizations and companies, the primary symbols of black business success; in other ways, regulation dramatically improved profitability and stability. The dissertation identifies three key periods: the Pre-Regulatory Era, 1890s to 1906; the Era of Regulation, 1907-World War I; and the Professionalization of Black Insurance, Post-WWI to the Great Depression. It also considers the barriers to black women’s involvement in professional organizations. By the late 1930s, enterprising women in insurance lost ground as fraternal insurance waned in influence and as the strongest proponents of the black separate economy promoted a vision that embraced women as consumers rather than business owners.Item (De)sexing prostitution : sex work, reform, and womanhood in Progressive Texas, 1889-1925(2012-08) Rosas, Lilia Raquel Dueñas; Zamora, Emilio; Walker, Juliet E. K., 1940-; Alidio, Kimberly; Falola, Toyin O.; McKiernan-González, John; Menchaca, MarthaThis dissertation examines the participation and regulation of African American and Mexican women in the sex industry during the Progressive period of Texas to complicate ideas of womanhood. Between 1889 and 1925, sex workers survived, resisted, and contended with several shifts to their industry caused by the interventions of religious leaders, civil servants, community members, and reformers. Red light and related vice districts were socially- and legally-sanctioned tolerated forms of amusement and leisure throughout the state. Although black and brown madams, inmates, and prostitutes were not the most visible sex workers, they were often pivotal to that social and cultural fabric of numerous cities such as San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston, and Laredo. The white slavery and antivice campaigns reshaped the discussions and reforms from the local to federal level. They created a social, economic, and political climate of stringent policing of vices that led to the eventual abolition of commercialized sex, where prostitutes of color embodied the worst tenets of womanhood. In contrast, the Mexican anarcho-socialist and African American progressive women’s club movements more broadly enhanced the views of women of color, demonstrating the ways that they (re)defined themselves. In this study, I argue that the intersection of prostitution and progressivism in the South/west represents a peculiar juncture in race- and sexual-making. At stake were the contested meanings of sexuality, race, and modernity under the growing vilification of vice by the national government and local groups in the Jim Crow Borderlands. While this dissertation contributes to the diverse historiographies of progressivism, the New South, and U.S. West, it also has important implications in enriching and facilitating the intersection of the histories of Mexican American and African American women in new and unconventional ways. Its significance is that it advances knowledge in topics of sexuality, race, and gender formation from a transborder and transregional framework. Moreover, it expands conceptual and methodological paradigms that presently exist in the field of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, by coupling them with the study of Jim Crow segregation of the Southwest.Item Depressive Symptoms and Subclinical Vascular Disease: a Cross-Cultural Comparison(2013-07-25) Moore, Patricia Sinclair; Cullum, C. Munro; Weiner, Myron F; Hynan, Linda; King, Kevin S; Rossetti, Heidi; Deschner, MartinWhile rates of depression are similar across ethnic groups, severity of symptoms and disability related to depression are greater in African Americans when compared with other groups (Breslau, Kendler, Su, Gaxiola-Aguilar, & Kessler, 2005). Markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease have been associated with depression, and rates of most cardiovascular risk factors are higher in African Americans than Caucasians (Shaya, Gu, & Saunders, 2007). Whereas rates of atherosclerosis are similar across these groups (Jain et al., 2004), atherosclerosis has been shown to be associated with depression in mostly Caucasian samples (Bus et al., 2011; Gebara & Santos, 2010). A more direct marker of subclinical cerebrovascular impact is cerebral white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHv). Differences in WMHv have been reported across ethnic groups, and WMHv is more closely associated with the cardiovascular risk factors that are higher in African Americans. White matter hyperintensities (WMH) have been independently associated with increased depressive symptoms in late-life depression (Pompili et al., 2007; 2008; Sneed et al., 2011; Tham, Woon, Sum, Lee, & Sim, 2011), although the relationship between vascular disease and depression is poorly understood. This study aimed to examine the relationship between atherosclerosis, WMHv, and depressive symptoms in Caucasians and African Americans over age 50 to determine the association between subclinical vascular disease and depressive symptoms across ethnic groups. To this end, specific measures of subclinical vascular diseases (measures of atherosclerosis, WMHv) were compared to identify the best predictors of depressive symptoms within ethnic groups.Item DOES THIS ACCURATELY DEFINE US? BLACK AUDIENCE MEMBERS’ VIEWS ON AFRICAN AMERICAN REALITY TELEVISION(2017-04-18) Ponder, Erica Michelle; Johnson, Robin; Kim, Nam Y.; Wiedenfeld , GrantAs reality television has evolved over time, the representation of African Americans in the popular genre has as well. This paper discusses the changes in these representations and how certain reality programs that are centered around Black culture affect their audiences. Using media reception studies and insight from cultivation theory, I conducted qualitative research through focus groups with black audience members who watch the popular reality television programs Love and Hip Hop, Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Married to Medicine. Focus groups reported that reality television featuring black cast members are highly enjoyable but would like to see more positive interactions and situations. Focus groups reported using reality television as a basis for how not to behave in certain social situations. This work sheds light on the history of Blacks on reality television and in the media, the history and growth of reality television, and the role that reality television plays in black viewers’ lives today.Item The effect of acute consumption of a flavonol-rich cocoa drink on cerebral vasomotor reactivity in African Americans(2014-05) Ku, ByungMo; Brothers, Robert MatthewAfrican Americans (AA) are at great risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) which can lead to brain damage, dementia, and endothelial dysfunction. Decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability contributes cardiovascular disease in AA population. Flavonols of the subclass known as flavonoids that have several beneficial effects on cerebral blood flow and cerebral vasomotor reactivity (CVMR). This study investigated the effects of the acute consumption of a flavanol-rich cocoa drink on CVMR. Ten non-smoking African American (6 males and 3 females) participants were randomly recruited. The subjects participated in two experimental sessions which were separated before and after the consumption of cocoa drink. For the pre-session, baseline CVMR was measured by the hypercapnia rebreathing (CVMR test) prior to the consumption of the cocoa drink and the again at 2h after consumption of one serving of the cocoa drink (45g of cocoa mixed with 8oz of cold water). Cerebral vascular conductance (CVC) was significantly increased in the post-study during hypercapnia rebreathing compared with the pre-study(post-study: 3.649 ± 1.833 CVC % of baseline/mmHg, pre-study: 2.483 ± 1.418 CVC % of baseline/mmHg vs. P < 0.05) Thus, CVMR was significantly increased in the post-study after the acute consumption of a flavonol-rich cocoa drink compared to the pre-study in AA.Item Examining the Relationship Between Racial Identity Status and Race-Related Stress in African Americans(2012-02-14) Hurst, MorganRace-related stress has been found to impact the mental health of African Americans in literature. Three manuscripts were developed for this dissertation. The first is a critical literature review identifying the multiple pathways by which racism can affect mental health, and the current research addressing this problem is presented. Second, a quantitative study looking at what type of coping mechanisms African Americans use when dealing with race-related stress and how racial identity statuses impact these coping mechanisms?; The third manuscript addresses the research question, among the identified coping mechanisms, is there a relationship with psychological distress? The first manuscript is a critical literature review which discusses racism, race-related stress, and coping resources. The aim of the paper is to identify the multiple pathways by which racism can affect mental health and the current research addressing this problem. Initially, views of racism and race-related stress will be identified; theories for use of stress will be examined, and how racial identity status influences the perception of racism. In addition, individual strategies for coping with racism will be discussed, as well as major approaches to coping that have received sufficient research with regard to their effectiveness for mental and physical outcomes. The purpose of the first quantitative study was to examine the relationships among race-related stress, racial identity status, and coping resources in African Americans in a sample of 294 African American adults. Results indicated that avoidance coping and seeking social support predicted higher levels of race-related stress. Problem solving coping did not predict race-related stress. In addition, racial identity status (pre-encounter and immersion-emersion) predicted avoidance coping where racial identity status (internalization) predicted more problem solving coping behavior. The findings emphasize the need to recognize how racial identity status influence styles of coping in African Americans. Implications for mental health providers are discussed. The purpose of the second study was to examine the relationships between race-related stress, coping resources, and mental health in African Americans in a sample of 294 African American adults. Results indicated they were a predictor of psychological distress and well-being in African Americans. Specifically, the avoidance coping mechanism led to participants in the study experiencing more psychological distress when using this coping resource. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the results, which confirmed our hypothesis that mal-adaptive coping strategies predicted psychological distress. The findings emphasize the need to recognize how coping styles influence mental health in African Americans. Implications for mental health providers are discussed.
- «
- 1 (current)
- 2
- 3
- »