Qualitative & Historical Research - Pres.

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/17129

Browse

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Stalking the Determinants of Behavior: From Boozing Student to Clean Living Movements and Chaos Theory. A Research Model to explain social reform movements
(1999) Engs, Ruth Clifford
Two presentations using PowerPoint slides that include the outline, and basic information from the lectures are detailed. One lecture, “From Boozing Student to Clean Living Movements” focused on theories of drinking behaviors as part of cycles of public health reforms. The “From Boozing Student to Chaos Theory, used much of the same material with the addition of chaos theory. In these presentations, Engs’ sums up her career as a researcher and presents the theoretical model she developed concerning determinants of behavior, in other words what causes people to behave in certain way. This has included both quantitative and qualitative historical research. The model was updated in 2012 to include new research findings.
MARGARET SANGER, BIRTH CONTROL, AND THE EUGENICS MOVEMENTS: CHANGES IN HISTORIOGRAPHICAL INTERPRETATIONS
(2020-11-14) Engs, Ruth Clifford
The eugenics movement was embraced by most middle class and professionals during the 1920s. Conflicting interpretations of Sanger, the leader of the birth control movement of the early twentieth century have been published over the past 50 years. Some historians have lauded her as a heroine who pushed through programs to allow women to have control of their own fertility. In opposition, others have discredited her as an evil villain who promoted negative eugenics among immigrant women. As eugenics became vilified in the post-WWII era, so did Sanger, who along with most public health reforms and professionals, were associated with the early 20th century eugenics movements. The changing historiography of the eugenics movement is likely an underlying factor in the changing interpretations of Sanger. Shifting, and contested views of Sanger and the eugenics movement are reflective of the times when the works were written along with the religious and other biases of the historian.
ROMANIZATION AND DRINKING NORMS: A MODEL TO EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES IN WESTERN SOCIETY
(1991-04-27) Engs, Ruth Clifford
A striking difference in drinking practices and attitudes between various western cultures and nations, particularly in western Europe between the north and south is found.. These differences do not appear to be just a modern phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model which explains the origins of these divergent cultural norm in modern western European society and the influence of the Roman Empire. From antiquity, distinctly different practices and attitudes concerning alcohol consumption developed in the northern and in the Mediterranean areas of western Europe. During the expansion of the Roman Empire, rural areas of west central Europe became Romanized. As a part of this process, indigenous inhabitants adopted some customs from urban Roman culture, including wine drinking with meals. When Rome's influence declined in the west, former provinces which retained Roman culture also retained drinking patterns characterized by moderation. The Germanic cultures beyond the Rhine, untouched by direct Roman influence, continued their traditional heavy, feast drinking patterns. Ale and mead, not wine, were the preferred alcoholic beverages. Britain lost its veneer of Romanization and returned to pre Roman Celtic practices, while Gaul integrated some aspects of northern drinking into its predominantly southern patterns. These patterns solidified during the early Middle Ages and became the underlying norms for the cultures overlaying these areas into modern times.
LUCY PAGE GASTON: The forgotten anti-smoking educator of the turn of the 20th century's Clean Living Movement
(2000-03) Engs, Ruth Clifford
Lucy Page Gaston (1860-1924) was born in Illinois of staunch abolitionist and prohibitionist She considered herself the “Carry Nation” (the hatchet-wielding anti-saloon and alcohol crusader) of tobacco reform. Gaston campaigned to make smoking and tobacco illegal and founded several lobbying groups for this effort including the National Anti-Cigarette League. A number of states passed legislation against smoking and tobacco during the Progressive Era due to her efforts. Most of these laws were repealed by the 1930s. She coined the term "coffin nails" for cigarettes. Gaston ran for president of the United States on the anti-tobacco platform but withdrew before the election. Ironically she died of throat cancer.
HAS THE AMERICAN CLEAN LIVING (ANTI-ALCOHOL) MOVEMENT CRESTED?
(1996-06) Engs, Ruth Clifford
Western Europeans brought their drinking patterns, formed in antiquity, to the new world. Because of vast cultural differences in these drinking norms, in combination with political and social forces, anti-alcohol and prohibition movements have occurred in the United States. These have often been part of social reform cycles, sometimes called "clean living movements," where concerns about tobacco, diet, pure water, exercise and social conditions have also been common. The current movement started in the late 1970s. It has resulted in modifications of public policy and education concerning alcohol. Some of the changes since the beginning of this reform cycle have included the raising of the legal purchase age for alcoholic beverages, warning labels on alcoholic beverages, government agencies suggesting abstinence from alcohol, severe penalties for drunken driving, and lowering of blood alcohol concentration for impaired driving. Although the per capita consumption of alcohol has continued to decline since 1980 among the populace as a whole, and among underage drinkers, there has actually been an increase in alcohol related problems, other than vehicular crashes, among youth despite these measures. This current wave of anti-alcohol reform appears to have begun to wane. This is symbolized by increased publications of research showing an association between health and longevity with small amounts of alcohol, recent federal guidelines encouraging moderate drinking and the lowering of drinking age in one state. It is now time to rethink restrictive policies and educational programs implemented during the past 15 years and develop more sensible and balanced approaches to alcohol education and public policy in the United States of America.
CONTROVERSIES IN THE ADDICTION FIELD: Ugly American Politics of Alcohol and Drugs Use, Education, Treatment, and Public Policies
(1990) Engs, Ruth Clifford
In the United States, conflicting philosophies are found concerning the use of alcohol and recreational drugs, alcohol and drug education, the treatment of alcoholism and drug dependency, and public policies concerning these issues. As editor of a publication to air both sides of these controversies, I found hostility to the idea of publishing a book presenting different opinions. In several cases a potential author considered their point of view as the ONLY correct educational or treatment philosophy. They suggested that opposing viewpoints were dangerous and should not be given a forum and they certainly would not be under the same cover with anyone who had a different opinion. There is a great divisive divide in the addictions field and one way to solve it and to gain insight is to air all sides of the issues in a book entitled, Controversies in the Addiction Field.
AMERICAN CYCLES OF PROHIBITION: DO THEY HAVE ROOTS IN ANCIENT DRINKING NORMS ?
(1992-06-02) Engs, Ruth Clifford
It has been proposed that different drinking norms developed in northern and southern Europe during antiquity and that these patterns are still found today in the cultures overlying these areas. In terms of western European civilization and its colonies, anti-alcohol movements have primarily emerged in the Protestant Nordic and English language speaking culture. European immigrants to the New World brought with them their different drinking attitudes and practices to both North and South America. In North America—particularly in the United States—clashes between these divergent cultures and their drinking patterns have precipitated anti-alcohol, temperance, and prohibition cycles.

Browse

Recent Submissions