Browsing by Subject "Discrimination"
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Item Academic and social influences of underrepresented adolescents' perceptions of opportunity and plans for the future(2016-08) Kyte, Sarah Blanchard; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Callahan, Rebecca M; Crosnoe, Robert; Muller, Chandra; Raley, KellySociologists of education have long stressed the importance of students’ expectations for their subsequent success. Yet, an insufficient amount of previous work has considered how academic and social psychological factors guide when and how students develop their expectations for the future, particularly for the socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority students attending our cities’ schools. By using rich survey and administrative data from a large, urban district serving low income and predominantly Hispanic and African American students, this dissertation identifies how these students develop expectations related to higher education in general as well as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in particular at the start of high school. Chapter 2 examines whether Hispanic girls hold higher college expectations than Hispanic boys because they acquire a superior toolkit of academic resources including achievement, attitudes, and relationships, and/or whether girls are better able to leverage these resources. Further, it considers the potentially gendered role of nativity, language-minority, and socioeconomic status in shaping college expectations among Hispanic students. Chapter 3 analyzes how students’ perceptions of the relevance of science outside of school contribute to gender differences in expectations to major in specific areas of STEM, namely the biological and physical sciences as compared with computer science and engineering. Chapter 4 unpacks the extent to which minority students expecting to major in STEM anticipate that gender- or race-based discrimination may act as a barrier to their goals. Taken together, the findings of these studies underscore the importance of perceptions related to schools, society, and opportunity at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity for guiding students’ expectations, an important precursor to subsequent behavior and success.Item An analysis of the economic status of women as a result of divorce.(Texas Tech University, 1975-08) House, Barbara GailNot availableItem An Examination of Perceptual Challenges Faced by Female Police Officers(2016-07-26) Brinser, Kadee Lynn; Hoover, Larry T; Zhang, Yan; Gerber, JurgThis study examined the culture of female police officers by evaluating perceptual challenges associated with their role. The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of female police officers in a traditional male-dominated occupation. Primary data analyses was obtained through telephone questionnaires (n=15) conducted between March and April 2016 and online surveys (n=110) completed between November 2015 and January 2016 with a sample of female police officers who are employed in the state of Texas. Findings show that current organizational challenges are physical limitations, family, policing is a “man’s job”, approval from male police officers, society, intra-gender relationships, promotion process, and administration. Personal challenges, such as family life, are also current challenges for female police officers. The results establish that gender inequality not only exists in policing, but challenges have remained relatively stable overtime. However, sexual harassment and tokenism is not as prevalent as found to be in previous literature.Item The causes and consequences of managerial discrimination among analysts during earnings conference calls(2006-08) Mayew, William James, 1974-; Jennings, Ross (Ross Grant)Item Encountering racism in the ivory towers: a qualitative analysis of Latino student experiences in higher education(2009-05-15) Parks, Kathrin AnnCurrently, there is a significant gap in the literature on what Latino students are subjected to at predominately white universities regarding white racism and discrimination. If students of color face racism on university campuses, this could negatively impact their experiences while in college and perhaps the likelihood of their matriculation. This research focuses on whether or not Latino students are being treated differently because of their race, what patterns of discrimination exist for this group, and whether or not regional factors, as well as demographic factors influence these experiences. Feagin?s theory of systemic racism was the guiding framework for this study. According to this perspective, white racism permeates various levels of our society and is a foundational aspect of our country, both historically and contemporarily. Individual actors operate in the context of a system of racism, which occurs at the individual, institutional, and societal levels all at once. This dynamic informs this research. In order to get at the lived experiences of Latino students, qualitative interview methodology was used. Approximately 28 students on three campuses participated in face-to-face, in-depth interviews. Overwhelmingly, students faced various types of discrimination and racism both on and off-campus. This study contributes to the race and education literature by providing an in-depth analysis of how mistreatment based on race plays out for these students on both the individual and institutional level. It also suggests that white racism is still an issue for students of color and that the system of racism can have an impact on their educational experiences. Suggestions are made about how the institution of education could change in order to better suit the needs of its increasingly diverse student population.Item Essays on the Relationship of Competition and Firms' Price Responses(2012-02-14) Lee, SungbokThis dissertation investigates the relationship of competition and firms' price responses, by analyzing: i) whether new entry reduces price discrimination, ii) when incumbents reduce price discrimination preemptively in response to the threat of entry, and iii) how competition increases prices. The dissertation consists of three independent essays addressing each of the above questions. The first two essays present an empirical analysis of the airline industry and the third essay presents a theoretical analysis of the credit card industry. In the empirical study of the relationship between competition and firms' pricing in the airline industry, I emphasize the importance of distinguishing the equilibrium behaviors with respect to different market characteristics. Major airlines can price discriminate differently in a market where they compete with low-cost carriers comparing to in another market where they don't, and also they can respond dfferently to the threat of entry depending on whether they are certain about the rival's future entry. The study reveals that competition has a positive effect on price discrimination in the routes where major airlines compete against one anther. In these routes, competition reduces lower-end prices to a greater extent than upper-end prices. In contrast, an entry by low-cost carriers results in a significant negative relationship between competition and price discrimination. Thus, the opposite results in the literature are both evident in the airline industry, and it is very important to identify the different forces of competition on price discrimination. Firms can respond to potential competition as well as actual competition. So, I extend the study to the relationship of potential competition and price discrimination, specially in cases where major airlines compete against one another while facing Southwest's threat of entry. I also attempt to suggest major airlines' motives of reducing price discrimination preemptively. The results of the study suggest that incumbents reduce price dispersion when it is possible to deter the rival's entry and that the potential rival discourages incumbents from deterring entry by announcing before its beginning service. Finally, I examine when competition can increase prices in a market, by analyzing the issuing side of the credit card industry. This industry is characterized by a two-sided market with a platform. Under the no-surcharge rule that restricts merchants to set the same price for cash and card purchases, the equilibrium interchange fee increases with competition. This occurs because issuers can compensate losses from competing on the issuing side by collectively increasing the interchange fee. As a result, limiting competition may improve social welfare when the interchange fee is higher than the social optimal level. In contrast, in the absence of the no-surcharge rule, the analysis shows that competition always improves social welfare by lowering the price of the market.Item Invisible Minority: Experience of Middle Eastern American Women in Using Health Care Services(2015-04-02) Kalbasi-Ashtari, ShaidaIssues related to the experiences of minority populations have received increasing attention during the last few decades. The research has been mostly focused on minority populations that are known to the U.S. general population including Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and African Americans. However, the Middle Eastern American population has received little attention. As the research on health disparities advances, there has been a growing attempt to reduce disparities that cause Middle Eastern populations to have chronic or life-threatening diseases. Some of these research studies have looked at the experiences of discrimination as a factor that would make a difference in the health of this population. While these studies are important, they usually engage a quantitative research method that is not fully equipped to evaluate the experiences of discrimination in a fuller sense. Addressing this gap in the literature, I conducted 30 in-depth interviews with Middle Eastern American women about their experiences with the U.S. health care system. Based on these interviews, there seem to be signs of anti-Middle Eastern racial framing among health care professionals that often caused significant problems for these respondents in their attempts to access the U.S. health care system.Item Minority group status, perceived discrimination, and emotion-focused coping(2014-05) Vassilliere, Christa (Christa Theresa); Holahan, Charles J.In two studies, this thesis depicts the relationship between minority group status in the United States, perceived discrimination, and coping with stress. Past literature on coping and its types – problem-focused versus emotion-focused – is inconsistent in terms of differences between minority status groups and majority groups. It remains unknown whether or why Black Americans and lesbian or gay Americans may demonstrate coping patterns that differ from White Americans and heterosexual Americans, respectively. What is altogether absent from the literature is the possible mediating factor of perceived discrimination experienced by these minority groups. That is, differences in internal, stable coping processes that manage stress may have been molded by one’s experience with discrimination. Study 1 examines the relationship between race (Black versus White) and coping, mediated by perceived discrimination. Study 2 examines the relationship between sexual orientation (lesbian or gay versus heterosexual) and coping, mediated by perceived discrimination. Both studies confirm the thesis that minority group members exhibit maladaptive, emotion-focused coping more than majority group members – but that this difference is explained by the minority group members’ perceived discrimination. Historical and political relevance, social implications, and possible limitations in design and interpretation are discussed.Item Motivational teaching strategies for pronunciation(2010-12) Kusey, Crystal Lyn; Sardegna, Veronica G.; Schallert, DianeCurrent research into L2 motivation addresses all aspects of language learning. However, there is a paucity of research into students’ L2 motivations to improve their speaking skills. Specifically, research on pronunciation issues is very rare. This report sheds light on factors that relate to pronunciation issues and their facilitating or hindering effects on L2 motivation. It starts by reviewing research that informs about students’ social-psychological and utilitarian motivations to acquire a second language. Interestingly, these general L2 motivations are mostly affected by factors related to students’ pronunciation skills. The second section discusses the negative factors, which have been found to hinder students’ motivations to learn, and in particular to improve their pronunciation. Based on these research findings, the third section of the report offers recommends pronunciation-teaching strategies to motivate and empower students. This report makes a case for Multi-competence that focuses on increased intelligibility through suprasegmentals and sociopragmatic awareness.Item Negotiating divisions : a history of inequality In Monterey County, CA(2012-12) Lopez, Gabriella Michelle; Menchaca, Martha; Wade, MariaMonterey County is one of the most economically productive regions in California. With its geographical range enclosing prime environmental conditions for agriculture production, pine forests lining the Pacific shore, and the Monterey Bay, people have flocked to the region in search of opportunity. Since the Spanish colonial period to the present, the region has been home to a variety of immigrants and migrants from around the world; thus, social and cultural interactions between residents have shaped the political, economic, and social conditions of the communities in Monterey County throughout history. Furthermore, with the influx of Europeans and Anglo Americans in the early nineteenth century, colonial hegemonies, racial politics, and cultural ideologies influenced the ways by which dominant groups gained power and attempted to control the distribution of social resources throughout Monterey County. As a result, a long record of racial discrimination, marginalization, resistance, and community shifts are prominent throughout the community histories of the region. Today, cultural ideologies and racial hierarchies continue to permeate social relations in the region and influence the socioeconomic differences between the minority-dominated communities and the Anglo dominated communities in Monterey County. Latinos are currently the largest group of the region, making up 55.4 percent of the population while Anglos make up the next largest group at 32.9 percent of the population. The social divisions between Anglos and minorities shape the ongoing struggle for equality in a variety of spheres of community life in the region. The goal of this project is to contribute to the social history of racial and ethnic relations throughout Monterey County in California. Moreover, I hope to create a foundation for future ethnographic field-work concerning current race and ethnic relations and the construction of cultural ideologies in Monterey County. This historical analysis begins with the Spanish colonization of California in the late eighteenth century and continues into the late twentieth century; however, I focus on exploring the racial and ethnic discrimination that was launched after the Spanish conquest and later, augmented by the United States government after the conquest of California in 1848, and continued to increase as war, political ties, and civil rights movements affected the Monterey County communities (Chavez 2007). My focus on the deeply embedded intersecting processes of discrimination, segregation, and marginalization in Monterey County’s history of ethnic and race relations reveals the heavy impact this long history has had on the social conditions of minorities and ethnic relations in the region today.Item "Outcomes of assimilation and discrimination: The case of Hispanics in the US at the dawn of the 21st century"(2008-05) Estrada, Emily Pate; Tsai, Yung-Mei; Chandler, Charles R.Using the National Survey of Latinos (2002), this thesis examines how various types and outcomes of assimilation impact perceptions and experiences of intergroup and intragroup discrimination for Hispanic-Americans. In regards to intergroup discrimination (occurring between ethnic groups) two outcomes of assimilation are examined -- the consensus and ethnic conflict outcomes. Under the consensus, or Anglo-conformity, hypotheses, it is predicted that greater cultural, structural, and identificational assimilation will decrease perceptions and experiences of intergroup discrimination. The ethnic conflict outcome predicts that greater cultural, structural, and identificational assimilation will increase awareness about disadvantages based on ethnicity and race and, therefore, increase perceptions and experiences of intergroup discrimination. In regards to intragroup discrimination (within the Hispanic-American community) it is predicted that greater levels of assimilation by some individuals will create hierarchies which will be the basis of discrimination. Large support was found for the consensus hypotheses supporting the idea that, for some cultural, structural, and identificational measures of assimilation, having attitudes and behaviors that are more parallel to mainstream society decreases perceptions and experiences of discrimination. The ethnic conflict outcome of assimilation was supported less. Analysis of intragroup discrimination yielded results that were opposite of the intragroup discrimination hypothesis.Item Reducing heterosexist attitudes toward relationships in young children(2016-05) Clark, Caitlin Marie; Bigler, Rebecca S.; Church-Lang, Jessica; Echols, Catharine; Russell, Stephen; Woolley, JacquelineSchool climates in the U.S. are typically characterized by heterosexism, or bias against sexual minority students. Research suggests that elementary school children might benefit from lessons that acknowledge and support same-sex romantic relationships (Jetlova & Fish, 2005; Griffin & Oullet, 2010). The primary aim of this project is to design and test the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at teaching children about the existence of families with same-sex parents and improving their attitudes toward these families. A secondary aim is to explore whether several individual differences variables moderate attitudinal changes. The study took place at a local private school, and 106 children participated in the assessment. Children were assigned to the sexual minority inclusive or sexual minority non-inclusive condition. Inclusive lessons provided age-appropriate, active lessons about families that included the explicit modeling and valuing of same-sex parents. Non-inclusive lessons were identical, but did not include any explicit instruction about same-sex parents. Data collection occurred at a pretest before the lessons occurred and an immediate posttest following lesson completion. The efficacy of the lessons was assessed with three measures: the Heterosexist Attitudes Toward Relationships Scale (Clark & Bigler, 2014); a family creation task, in which children grouped photographs into possible families; and a behavioral task in which children were presented with five children’s books, each about a different kind of family, and asked to select their favorites. Additionally, I assessed four factors hypothesized to moderate children’s reactions to the lessons, including participants’ a) age, b) gender, c) gender stereotyping (COAT-AM; Liben & Bigler, 2002), and d) reliance on inherence heuristic (Sutherland & Cimpian, in press). Results indicate that children, regardless of condition, improved in their knowledge of and attitudes toward same-sex couples after intervention. For the measure of same-sex romance knowledge, there was interaction of time and condition. Children in the inclusive condition had higher levels of same-sex romance knowledge than those in the non-inclusive condition. Contrary to our hypothesis, none of our predicted individual difference factors moderated children’s reactions to the lessons. This study provides useful information for educators who wish to implement LGB inclusive curricula in their elementary classrooms.Item The origins and effects of "Colorism" in Latin America: A case study of Mexico and Brazil(2009-05) Gonzalez, Cesar J.; Johnson, Paul; Bradatan, CristinaThe purpose of this thesis is to explore how skin color affects a person’s status in the society. The effects of skin color allows for finer distinctions than provided by major racial categories. The study of skin color (colorism), rather than race categories, allows for finer distinctions in the Latin American context, where there are a large number of people of mixed races. The subject of racism and white privilege almost invariably pertains to differences between blacks and white in America without consideration of the effects the variations of skin tones have on the social hierarchy. This thesis will examine the topic of colorism by taking into account: 1) the geographical and historical factors which were involved in creation of white racial superiority in Latin America and 2) the role played by the independence movements in creating and maintaining colorism in the region