Few sociologists have addressed the concept of boredom despite interest in the subject and experience of boredom from psychology, philosophy, the arts and popular culture. Classical sociological concepts of alienation, anomie and disenchantment are related to boredom, but do not address it directly. The history of the word boredom itself is not clear, though it appears it was first used in the late 19th century. Most authors agree that an increase in individualism and the concomitant rise in secularization, combined with industrial changes in labour and increased bureaucracy, help to explain a perceived increase in the experience of boredom. This dissertation is a phenomenological exploration of boredom, informed by the writings of Martin Heidegger and Walter Benjamin on the subject. Inspired by Benjamin’s method of literary montage, from his monumental Passagenwerk, I construct a cultural collage of the subject of boredom. I use the metaphor of storeys (the levels of a building) as an organizing device to construct the empirical work of this project. These storeys include a consideration and analysis of: billboards, internet advertising, the reflections of an overseas development worker, art installations, a poem, a greeting card, a play, song lyrics and Kafka’s short story character, the hunger artist. Each storey serves to inspire a sociological meditation on the subject of boredom, all of which are grounded in the historical, social and philosophical reviews in the first four chapters. These extensive reviews, as well as the eleven storeys, contribute a preliminary sociological analysis of the ambiguous yet ubiquitous experience of boredom in modernity.

Few sociologists have addressed the concept of boredom despite interest in the subject and experience of boredom from psychology, philosophy, the arts and popular culture. Classical sociological concepts of alienation, anomie and disenchantment are related to boredom, but do not address it directly. The history of the word boredom itself is not clear, though it appears it was first used in the late 19th century. Most authors agree that an increase in individualism and the concomitant rise in secularization, combined with industrial changes in labour and increased bureaucracy, help to explain a perceived increase in the experience of boredom. This dissertation is a phenomenological exploration of boredom, informed by the writings of Martin Heidegger and Walter Benjamin on the subject. Inspired by Benjamin’s method of literary montage, from his monumental Passagenwerk, I construct a cultural collage of the subject of boredom. I use the metaphor of storeys (the levels of a building) as an organizing device to construct the empirical work of this project. These storeys include a consideration and analysis of: billboards, internet advertising, the reflections of an overseas development worker, art installations, a poem, a greeting card, a play, song lyrics and Kafka’s short story character, the hunger artist. Each storey serves to inspire a sociological meditation on the subject of boredom, all of which are grounded in the historical, social and philosophical reviews in the first four chapters. These extensive reviews, as well as the eleven storeys, contribute a preliminary sociological analysis of the ambiguous yet ubiquitous experience of boredom in modernity.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / Parental school involvement is associated with positive social, psychological, and academic child outcomes. Beyond school, demographic, and individual influences, research is limited regarding the link between family-level processes and parental school involvement. Guided by family systems theory, this study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 1,896) to examine the link between coparenting support and mothers’ and fathers’ home-based school involvement and school-based school involvement when the child was nine years-old. Additionally, this study tested if parental union transitions (e.g., parental union dissolution; parental union formation; stably coresident relationship) significantly moderated these relationships. Latent variable structural equation modeling results revealed that higher levels of coparenting support was associated with higher levels of mothers’ and fathers’ home-based school involvement, and higher levels of mothers’ and fathers’ school-based involvement. Union transition was not a significant moderator between coparenting support and mother and father home- and school-based school involvement.

Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Robert Schaeffer / The purpose of this research started with a Cold War perspective of looking at the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life movement in the state of Kansas. They are in opposition of one another, so how do they communicate and see one another? Interviews were done in four cities in Kansas and with one organization located in Kansas City, Missouri that is responsible for their national organization’s mission in Kansas. Eighteen individuals were interviewed, which was split evenly with nine Pro-Choice and nine Pro-Life advocates in leadership or communication positions. Race, sex, religion, and age are all considered in the research. Most of the Pro-Choice organizations were found to be focused on multiple issues besides abortion, while all but one of the Pro-Life organizations were focused on the issue of abortion almost exclusively. There was a regional disconnect that showed a major difference of the thinking between the Kansas City metro area based organizations and the Wichita area based organizations, as the Wichita area advocates spoke more in detail about the events of the Summer of Mercy in 1991 and the death of Dr. Tiller in 2009. The research found that the Cold War analogy of the two sides works to only an extent, as the messages sent out are not directly sent to one another, even though both sides read what their opposition is saying. There might be subconscious messaging going on with some knowing the opposition is reading what they have to say. The learning factor for opposition organizations is that they are learning news tactics and how they should counter the actions and messages of the other side. Almost all direct communication between the two sides has been cutoff, thus that is where the Cold War analogy falls short as a comparison because both sides feel there is no agreeable middle ground or purpose for negotiations.

Sociology has long struggled with the problem of human agency in its theoretical constructions. Systematically purged from the corpus of positivist, functionalist and rational choice theories, agency has nevertheless surfaced repeatedly in empirical analyses as a constant reminder that individuals are able and willing to act in ways that are not fully explained by the dominant theories. This thesis deals with the problem of human agency by exploring a particular instance of human interaction in which the choices and actions of individuals as well as the contingencies facing them are particularly conspicuous. The example chosen as a case study is the conflict over the planned Roşia Montană gold and silver mine in Romania. As neither the supporters, nor the opponents of the planned open cast mine have managed to impose their will and determine the commencement or cancelation of the mining project, the resulting struggle was extended over more than a decade. During this period, a variety of social actors with different interests and worldviews were drawn into complex interactions with each other, thus making the trajectory and outcome of the conflict unpredictable. At the same time, there emerged an enlarged space for human agency, especially for those actors that have been usually conceived as voiceless and powerless. The origins of this space of agency are traced to the particular configuration of macro-social processes which interacted in series of highly contingent events. More exactly, none of the broad processes discussed in the literature on resource conflicts – such as accumulation by dispossession, the resource curse or unequal development – ran its full course in determining the outcomes of the conflict. The temporary suspension of overpowering structural determinations opened up a realm in which social actors could convert the contingencies of the conflict into opportunities and risks. Individuals became relatively free to make choices and influence the choices of others. The language of the sociology of translation is used as the most apt description of the fluidity of these interactions. The dynamic between the ordering and reordering of the social world of Roşia Montană through interaction is a key insight of the thesis.

Sociology has long struggled with the problem of human agency in its theoretical constructions. Systematically purged from the corpus of positivist, functionalist and rational choice theories, agency has nevertheless surfaced repeatedly in empirical analyses as a constant reminder that individuals are able and willing to act in ways that are not fully explained by the dominant theories. This thesis deals with the problem of human agency by exploring a particular instance of human interaction in which the choices and actions of individuals as well as the contingencies facing them are particularly conspicuous. The example chosen as a case study is the conflict over the planned Roşia Montană gold and silver mine in Romania. As neither the supporters, nor the opponents of the planned open cast mine have managed to impose their will and determine the commencement or cancelation of the mining project, the resulting struggle was extended over more than a decade. During this period, a variety of social actors with different interests and worldviews were drawn into complex interactions with each other, thus making the trajectory and outcome of the conflict unpredictable. At the same time, there emerged an enlarged space for human agency, especially for those actors that have been usually conceived as voiceless and powerless. The origins of this space of agency are traced to the particular configuration of macro-social processes which interacted in series of highly contingent events. More exactly, none of the broad processes discussed in the literature on resource conflicts – such as accumulation by dispossession, the resource curse or unequal development – ran its full course in determining the outcomes of the conflict. The temporary suspension of overpowering structural determinations opened up a realm in which social actors could convert the contingencies of the conflict into opportunities and risks. Individuals became relatively free to make choices and influence the choices of others. The language of the sociology of translation is used as the most apt description of the fluidity of these interactions. The dynamic between the ordering and reordering of the social world of Roşia Montană through interaction is a key insight of the thesis.

Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning / Stephanie Rolley / This is an exploratory study investigating: How those currently experiencing homelessness perceive the influence of bonding and bridging social capital on their future successful residential reintegration. It is an important consideration in understanding the emotional and intellectual circumstances of residents entering a rural shelter environment, and discovering what types of social capital residents need and have access to. This research used phenomonography to gain access to the thoughts and opinions of residents of the Harvey County Homeless Shelter, coupled with grounded theory to discover emergent themes in those transcripts. The study topic was explored through direct inquiry of people experiencing homelessness in Newton, Kansas. Through an interview process, five areas of inquiry were studied: demographics, residential history, social connections, community connections, and social connectedness and community belonging. Using grounded theory methodology, the responses were coded and the writing of rich memos determined and explored themes. Emergent themes; an analysis of their relevancy to the study topic; an examination of the areas the study topic satisfied; and, identification of areas where it failed to satisfy are topics of exploration concerning the findings. Community courtesy, individual personality, healthy relationships, and social connections over address were the four emergent themes to come from the five categories of inquiry. In general, resident’s perceptions of social capital were important to their future efforts toward residential reintegration, although in slightly different ways than the study topic assumed.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Bimal K. Paul / Given the recent recognition that not only physical processes, but social, political and economic aspects of hazards determine vulnerability and impact of an event, the next logical step would seem to be the development of classification systems that address those factors. Classifications for natural disasters, such as the Fujita Scale for tornadoes and the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, focus on the physical properties of the event, not the impact on a community. Pre-event vulnerability to a natural hazard is determined by many factors, such as age, race, income and gender, as well as infrastructure such as density of the built environment and health of the industrial base. The behavior of residents in the community, construction quality of shelters and warning system effectiveness also affect vulnerability. If pre-event vulnerability is to be determined by such factors, post-event impact should, at least in part, be as well. The goal of this research was to develop the Tornado Impact-Community Vulnerability Index (TICV) that utilizes variables such as the number of persons killed, economic impacts and social vulnerability to describe to the level of impact a tornado event has on community. As tornadoes that strike unpopulated areas are often difficult to classify, even in the traditional sense, the TICV will take into consideration only events that strike communities with defined political boundaries, or “places” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By assigning a rating to the impact, this index will allow the severity of the storm to be understood in terms of its effect on a specific community and hence its impact, rather than an physically-based rating that gives only a broad, general indication of its physical strength.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Farrell J. Webb / The current military family life is punctuated by a series of events that are not present in the lives of most Americans, most notably the stress, fear, and disruption of lives that accompany the periodic absences of one or both adults in the family. These absences fostered by deployments, challenges of readjustments, coupled with combat injuries have tremendous effects on not only the troops and their families, but also the communities that military families live in as well. This investigation examined how military assistance, family connectedness and community networks contribute to the well-being of families affected by anticipated and repeated deployments that cause family interruptions. Despite the myriad of studies on military deployments and the impact on families, there has been little focus on the spouse and children that relates to their resilience during the deployment process. Using an online national all service unit sample from military spouses (n = 185) who have children and have experienced a recent deployment (n = 153) it was possible to isolated the specific components that influenced the well-being of those affected by deployments. The Influence of Interruptions on Family Well-Being Model—which combines ideas from both the ecological systems and boundary ambiguity perspectives—was tested and utilized in this study. It was disclosed that 45% of the variance in well-being could be explained by knowing how families perceive the deployment process, military assistance, community networks, family connectedness, and how these families coped with periodic family interruptions. These data revealed that deployments have a greater impact than originally conceived and that issues addressing deployments must be placed on the national agenda, particularly where family well-being is concerned. The research findings underscore the importance of family to both the deployed personnel and the ones that they leave home. The implications from this investigation are simple and direct—there needs to be a more comprehensive program for children that employ pre-, during- and post-deployment related issues, such as adjustments to absent parents, developing better responses to the authority structure of the remaining parent, and some program focused on the immediate and long-term psychological needs of the children and their families.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / The current study tests a theoretical model exploring the relationship between hooking up and marital quality and whether this relationship is mediated by sexual satisfaction and communication using public-use data from currently married participants in Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, n = 1,729). Gender proved to significantly moderate the association between the variables in the model, but college education did not. The results indicate that hooking up has a direct negative relationship with marital quality for men that is not mediated by either sexual satisfaction or communication. The results for women revealed no direct relationship between hooking up and marital quality, but an indirect influence via communication.