SOC Theses
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Item LGBTQ+ employees’ workplace experiences: An exploration of the impacts of gender identity and sexual orientation(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Khakbazan, Melika; Koeber, Charles, 1967-This thesis reports on a quantitative analysis of negative workplace experiences of LGBTQ+ employees in the workplace in the United States. Using data from the 2016-2018 Trans-Pop survey, a U.S. transgender health survey, the analysis compares occurrences of workplace experiences of LGBTQ+ employees with their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. This study analyses the associations between employees’ gender identity and sexual orientation with experiencing job termination, receiving negative evaluations, and having trouble with their supervisors and colleagues. The results of multivariate and logistic regression analyses indicated that while controlling for other factors, sexual minority and transgender employees were more likely to report experiencing negative evaluations and conflicts with their boss or coworkers, while there was no association between gender identity and sexual orientation with job termination. Results are discussed in the context of Status Inequality theory and future directions for exploring work discrimination among LGBTQ+ employees are identified.Item Exploring the lived experiences of resident pediatricians regarding vaccine hesitancy(Wichita State University, 2023-12) Baus, Desiree Sara; Hertzog, JodieVaccine hesitancy is a phenomenon that is becoming more prevalent in the United States, resulting in the World Health Organization declaring it one of the greatest threats to global health. Previous research has uncovered reasons behind vaccine hesitancy, and in turn, specific strategies suited to countering hesitancy responses. However, little is known about the lived experiences of healthcare professionals when confronted with vaccine hesitant patients. This study fills this gap by examining qualitative data obtained from interviews with ten resident pediatricians enrolled in a program in the midwest to explore experiences with vaccine hesitant patients or families. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically using both deductive, in line with existing theoretical frameworks, and “in vivo,” or inductive methods based on the emergence of trends and categories. Key themes related to perceptions of the current environment of vaccine hesitancy, resident experiences and processes involved in addressing vaccine hesitancy encounters, as well as training formats and perceived efficacy were identified with the use of qualitative analysis software and were further systematically analyzed through the creation of dashboards to identify relationships between themes. Findings indicate that resident pediatricians respond well to mentor-based vaccine hesitancy training, adopt non-authoritarian tactics to increase vaccine uptake in patients, and do not utilize specific tactics for managing patient cases that are extremely vaccine hesitant. This study provides valuable insights into the challenges resident pediatricians encounter with vaccine hesitancy and calls for more research into the relationship between the themes to better prepare healthcare professionals for managing hesitant patients.Item Is religion bad for the bedroom? A quantitative analysis of adolescent and adult religiosity on sexual satisfaction(Wichita State University, 2023-12) Conley, Cristin Beth; Pearson, Jennifer D.This study investigates the relationship between religiosity, religious affiliation, and adult sexual satisfaction through a sociological perspective. Employing quantitative methodologies, this study explores the comprehensive analysis of how religiosity and affiliations during both adolescence and adulthood shape adults’ reported sexual satisfaction. Findings indicate that adolescents who identified with a religious affiliation later had significantly lower sexual satisfaction compared to their Atheist, Agnostic, and nonaffiliated peers. This study also found that high importance of faith during adolescence significantly predicts higher levels of adult sexual satisfaction. This study explores nuanced gender dynamics, finding a positive link between the importance of faith during adolescence and female sexual satisfaction. These findings underscore the complexity of sociocultural factors in shaping adult sexual satisfaction, necessitating further exploration and understanding within the sociological paradigm.Item Investigating campus stakeholder experiences in addressing campus sexual violence through the lens of institutional courage(Wichita State University, 2023-12) Abeywickrama, Amanda ; Hertzog, JodieIn order to combat sexual violence among college students, federal laws such as the Clery Act, Title IX and Violence Against Women Act require federally funded educational institutions to craft procedures and policies to address sexual violence incidents. However, student trust in institutions is affected by factors such as concerns related to perceived effectiveness of institutional response and low accountability for perpetrators, which are associated with overall feelings of institutional betrayal. One promising avenue for mitigating institutional betrayal is to implement a Whole School Approach (WSA) that targets prevention at all levels of the social ecology driven by the involvement of multiple stakeholders that could potentially facilitate institutions to move from betrayal towards courage, such as by implementing sexual assault response teams (SART). Utilizing a qualitative case-study approach, the current study explored the lived experiences of stakeholders at one university in the Midwest involved in instituting a more holistic approach based on a SART framework with funding from an Office of Violence against Women grant program. Using purposive sampling methods four focus groups with key stakeholders were conducted in Spring 2023 to identify their perceptions of current efforts and to assess how the strategies being implemented might contribute to the promotion of the elements of institutional courage. Template analysis was used as the primary analytic technique for the generation of themes and subthemes. Stakeholder perceptions about instituting a multidisciplinary approach to addressing DVSAS, instituting prevention efforts, practicing trauma-informed (TI) approaches by utilizing TI communication, and barriers arising due to following strict bureaucratic procedures are discussed along with implications and limitations of the study and its findings.Item Distance and direction of internal residential movements of the aged in Wichita from 1949 to 1954(Wichita State University, 1956-08) Brown, Helen Maxine; Cowgill, Donald O. (Donald Olen), 1911-The American population is aging. A larger proportion of our population is living in the later years of life than ever before, and it is going to increase. The present study represents the attempt to expand what is known about this age group, about whom so little is really known. It was aimed to understand the nature of the moves by older people in a large city.