Spring 2007 Perspectives
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Welcome to the 12th edition of Perspectives. Perspectives is the online undergraduate research journal of the University of New Hampshire’s Sociology Department. This journal is a display of students’ work undertaken for various sociology courses.
The contributions range across a wide array of fields in sociology. The works cover criminology, medical and employment issues and a number of other topics. The submissions display the diversity of authors’ views on their topics, even when written for the same class and with similar focus. Some authors conducted original study on their topic, while others inputted their personal views on previously conducted research.
I want to thank all the authors for their work, Jamie Morrill for her help with the publication and Ian MacIntosh for his work on the Perspectives website. I hope you find the diversity of the submissions interesting reading. Please feel free to e-mail the authors with questions or comments on their work. The Sociology Department is proud to present this composition for you, so enjoy it!
Sincerely,
Skye MacKay
Editor
Criminology
Law Enforcement and Their Attitudes Toward Needle-Exchange Programs
Kristina Mann and Dave Walsh
Mann and Walsh investigate the attitudes of police forces toward needle exchange programs by analyzing and discussing their own data collected at police departments in Milford, MA, Bellingham, MA, and Franklin, MA.
How Injury and Conjugal Status Effect the Prosecution of Domestic Violence
Joshua Rowland
Rowland looks at the relationship between the injury and conjugal status of the offender and victim of domestic violence and the prosecution of their case in the rural community of Moultonborough by analyzing domestic violence data from the Moultonborough Police Department.
Child Sexual Abuse Victims: Gender Specific Consequences in Sexual Behavior and Intimate Relationships in Adulthood
Melissa Royer
In her review of the literature concerning the relationship between child sexual abuse and future adult sexual behavior, Royer highlights the sexual behavioral effects of abuse which victims may experience as they enter adulthood. Gender disparities in adult sexual behavior are also considered.
Violent and Aggressive Behavior: Are Violent Video Games Really a Cause?
Elizabeth Summers
Summers examines the relationship between violent game use and aggressive reactions and behaviors of the game players through observational research. In her study, she accounts for a variety of social contexts and game genres.
Medical
Relapse Trends Within Alcoholics Anonymous
Shannon Byrne, Shauna Mahoney, Jamie Morrill, and Katryn Treamer
The authors examine relapse trends among AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) members through a combination qualitative and quantitative study and outline the strengths, weaknesses, and perceived effectiveness of the program, as cited by attendees.
College Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Surrounding HIV/AIDS
Skye MacKay
MacKay examines general patterns among undergraduate college students’ knowledge about Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), its transmission modes, and its preventative measures, their attitudes about HIV/AIDS, and their HIV testing behaviors through quantitative data collected from students at the University of New Hampshire.
The Psychosocial Stresses of Living with HIV and AIDS
Tammiann Searle
Searle outlines the physical, emotional, and social stressors of living with the diseases concerning Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) trough a review of the literature concerning these.
Employment
Exploring the Relationship between Welfare Reform and Housing Instability for Low-Income and Rural Families
Ann Dippold
Dippold illustrates through a review of literature concerning the impact of welfare reform, how changes in housing and employment markets can have an affect on homelessness and housing instability in both rural and urban areas.
Waiting in the Panopticon
Sarah Gormady
Gormady investigates gender discrimination incorporating her own experience, and examines its relationship to management policy and the patriarchical system.
Women's Career Paths and Choice: An Investigation of Females Pursuing Elite, Traditionally Male Occupations
Sarah LoPresti
LoPresti examines the relationship between women’s career paths and the role of choice in their careers, specifically looking at women in traditionally male careers, discussing grade school education, higher education, peers and culture, and the work environment and their influence on a women’s choice.
Microenterprise: Antipoverty or Antiwoman?
Rachel Umberger
Umberger, through a review of the literature, looks at the microenterprise phenomenon through a feminist lens, outlining its detriment to women.
The Politics of the Paid Domestic Housecleaner: Rural versus Urban Laborers
Ashley Ward
Ward through a review of literature and preliminary research concerning the politics of the paid domestic housecleaner, compares aspects of the housecleaning field between rural and urban laborers including entering domestic work, breaking into the housecleaning field, the work itself, the employer-employee relationship, and the degree of “dirty work”.
Other
Defining the Public
Silas Archambault
Archambault discusses the sociological implications of private transportation, reduced mobility, and transportation planning methods through a review of the literature concerning planning and reduced mobility.
MacIntosh examines Nashua, NH’s role in the commuter society through a review of aspects of the city’s tax system, the cost of commuting and, the effectiveness of its advertising.
School Involvement and Student Attachment
Cathryn Minshall
Minshall examines the relationship between student’s involvement and their feelings of bond and attachment to their school using primary data from her research questions collected from students at the University of New Hampshire.