Thesis (M.S.)--Middle East Technical University, 2003. / Keywords: Free Software, New Economy, Digital Economy, Gift Economy, Intellectual Property, Social Movements, New Social Movements, Copyright.

<p> This dissertation is presented to provide an accurate presentation of the current rate of attrition of Salvation Army officers in the U.S.A. Eastern Territory and to examine and explore the influence and importance of a healthy and holy community upon retention. An increased attentiveness and an intentional emphasis upon calling and covenant within the context of a consecrated community, shaping that community at the College For Officer Training, and sustaining it throughout active ministry, may ameliorate the rate of attrition and assist in retention of officers. </p><p> Chapter one provides the context of the study and a description of the problem, the purpose, the research model, and the theological framework. </p><p> The literature review in chapter two examines clergy attrition, business attrition, and the attrition of Salvation Army officers. Special emphasis is given a review of the literature concerning community and its possible influence upon retention. </p><p> Chapter three presents the quantitative and qualitative data collected from an historical database, an active officer survey, a cadet survey, a former officer survey, and interviews with particular leaders. Population, data collection, and the limitations of the measures are provided per research question and the validity and reliability of the instruments are discussed. </p><p> The findings in chapter four support the hypothesis that healthy community encourages retention; a sense of a lack of community contributes to attrition. The interpretation of the data includes the identification of the rate, causes, trends, and implications of officer attrition. The presented perceptions of community among officers all contribute to a sense of urgency to focus more effort on healthy, holy community. </p><p> The recommendations in chapter five suggest concrete ways to strengthen the covenant community through education, spiritual formation, pastoral care, and networks of personal relationship. </p><p> An appendix (F) provides a comprehensive outline of an Integrative Curriculum for Spiritual Formation for the College for Officer Training. </p>

<p> Organizations have an immense opportunity to raise employee awareness regarding the best values, skills, and attitudes that each generation offers. This study was an appreciative inquiry with an intact multigenerational corporate team located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, studying the strengths that each generation brings to intergenerational collaboration. Perceptions about collaborative strengths were gathered in a workshop and via pre- and post-workshop surveys. Through analysis and interpretation of the study findings, unique strengths for each generation were revealed; discoveries were made around foundations for intergenerational collaboration and the role of the individual contribution to multigenerational collaborative behavior was acknowledged. Recommendations emerged, including: to build generational competence, lay the foundation for intergenerational collaboration, bridge intergenerational collaborative gaps, and apply knowledge to organizational policy and program development. Developing an appreciation for what strengths each generation brings to collaboration provides an opportunity for organizations to enable diverse teams and ultimately improve business performance.</p>

<p> Social mobilization, which is a "change process" that today occurs in many countries, is commonly explained through social movement theories with most studies emphasizing economic indicators. However, the recent uprising in Taksim Square, Istanbul, which began in May 2013, contradicts these economic explanations of social mobilization, because the Turkish economy is generally considered to be still developing. Against this background, the main goal of the present study is to apply and discuss what previous studies have found with regard to the phenomenon of social mobilization and to suggest that the New Social Movement Theory is one of the most suitable tools to explain this mobilization in the context of Turkey. The study proposes an analysis of the question "What factors contributed to the social mobilization in Gezi Park demonstrations?" by comparing two different time periods, 2003-2005 and 2011-2013, in recent Turkish politics. The analysis concludes that in line with the significant decline in democracy in the country and the increasing conservative policy-making and the authoritarian style of the Government, the demands of individuals changed vividly. A significant number of citizens have felt supressed, unheard and excluded. However, the Gezi Park movement did not occur merely as a defense of identity and different lifestyles but also sought more progressive social change within the country.</p>

<p> While an estimated one-third of the United States population has a tattoo, tattoos are still seen as a sign of deviance. The appearance of the first tattoos in the United States were relegated to the bodies of the lower classes and outcasts of society. Over the past few decades tattoos have migrated on to the celebrity skin of today's pop culture icons. In the past twenty years, tattoos have moved from deviant subcultures to the mainstream, and yet are still considered to be a mark of the disfavored factions of society. The dominant culture continues to regard the bearers of tattoos as social deviants, while at the same time appropriating tattoos for use as fashion statements, beauty enhancements, and mechanisms for continued oppression. While tattoos make their way from the prison cell to the pop culture runway, how are they perceived by law enforcement? Are tattoos still seen as markers of deviance or has law enforcement adopted the mainstream culture's perception and view tattoos as self-expressive artwork? Do tattoos negatively influence law enforcement's judgment where individual discretion is exercised? The purpose of this study was to examine the arrest patterns of arrestees with visible tattoos using a critical theory perspective to determine if tattoos and arrest seriousness are related. This study also examines tattoo placement and type in affecting the severity of arrest charges. The data used in this study is a random sample of 2011 Pinellas County Florida arrestees (N=3,733). Numerous logistic regression models were utilized in this analysis and resulted in no consistently significant association between tattoos (visibility, placement, or type) and severity of offense charges. This provides evidence that the use of tattoos as a marker for deviance does not appear to influence police behavior any differently than other characteristics such as race.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Dept. of Political Science, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 3130. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Mar. 28, 2008). Adviser: Elinor Ostrom.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 5, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-08, Section: A, page: 3169. Adviser: Robert V. Robinson.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2758. Adviser: Anna-Maria Marshall. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-275) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Drought is a complex subject that has varied definitions and perspectives. Although drought has historically been characterized as an environmental problem from both the meteorological and agricultural communities, it is not considered a sociological disaster despite its severe societal impacts. Utilizing the framework developed by Spector and Kitsuse (2011) and Stallings (1995), this research examines the process through which drought is defined as a social problem. An analysis of the data revealed drought was well covered in Africa, India, China, Australia, and New Zealand, yet very little coverage focused on the United States. There were less than 10 articles discussing drought and drought impacts in the United States. The workshops/meetings examined also were lacking in the attention to drought, although their overall theme was focused on hazards and resilience. Six sessions in over 16 years of meetings/workshops focused on the topic of drought, and one session was focused on the condition in Canada. The interviews uncovered five thematic areas demonstrating drought understanding and awareness: Use of outreach to get the message out; agricultures familiarity with drought; the role of drought in media; the variability of what drought is; and water conservation. Drought's claims-makers who are dedicated to providing outreach and education to impacted communities. Drought is often overlooked due to its slow onset and evolving development makes it difficult to determine when to engage in recovery efforts. Drought defined as a social problem also expands theoretical conversations regarding what events or issues should be included within the sociological disaster list of topics.

<p> Much of the social capital literature focuses on unambiguous social situations where actors share generalized trust or interpersonal trust. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork in northwest Azerbaijan, this thesis focuses instead on distrust and the negotiation of conflicting interpretations of shared norms within moments of informal social support. In such situations, participants engage in an on-going negotiation of the situation, drawing on available cultural conventions to make sense of situations and perform relational work. They ultimately create meaning out of on-going social interaction and accomplish locally viable forms of social support.</p>