Other Sociology Commons^™

Honor, Ritual And Violence In Ice Hockey, Kenneth Colburn

Kenneth D. Colburn

This paper examines the symbolic or expressive dimension to illegal assaults among players in ice hockey. Based upon the author's qualitative field research in Toronto and Indianapolis, a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate violence is proposed to account for the fact that players distinguish the fist-fight in ice hockey from other violent acts. The fist-fight is formulated as a social ritual involving respect and honor among players to explain this fact, qualities which are absent in other types of assaults. Some of what has been labeled by previous researchers as hockey violence, it is suggested, should be viewed as an …

The Social Practice Of Human Rights, Joel Pruce

Joel Pruce

The Social Practice of Human Rights bridges the conventional scholar-practitioner divide by focusing on the space in between. In capturing this cutting edge research program, the volume proposes a perspective that motivates critical self-reflection of the strategies that drive communities dedicated to the advocacy and implementation of human rights. The social practice of human rights takes place not in front of a judge, but in the streets and alleys, in the backrooms and out-of-the-way places where change occurs. Contributors to this volume investigate the contexts and efforts of activists and professionals devoted to promoting human rights norms. This research takes …

Suffering And Sacrifice: Individual And Collective Benefits, And Implications For Leadership, Scott T. Allison, Gwen Setterberg

Scott T. Allison

In this chapter, we review the ways in which suffering and sacrifice are beneficial to human beings. In our review, we draw from both ancient and modern spiritual traditions and a large body of psychological research on the determinants of happiness and mental health. Our review is necessarily an abbreviated one; a thorough treatment of this topic would surely fill an entire volume. This chapter represents an initial attempt to illuminate basic insights, using broad brushstrokes, about the ways in which suffering and sacrifice contribute to people’s emotional, behavioral, and spiritual wellness. In addition to describing the psychological and spiritual …

Decriminalized Prostitution In Rhode Island: Impunity For Violence And Exploitation, Donna M. Hughes Dr., Melanie Shapiro Esq

Donna M. Hughes

For 29 years (1980 to 2009) prostitution was decriminalized in Rhode Island. Lack of laws or regulations created a permissive legal, economic and cultural environment for the growth of sex businesses. During this time, sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls were integrated into the economic development of urban areas. The number of sex businesses grew rapidly during this period. Organized crime groups operated brothels and extorted money from adult entertainment businesses. Rhode Island became a destination for pimps, traffickers, and other violent criminals. The lack of laws impeded police from investigating serious crimes.

Feminist Evaluation And Research: Theory And Practice, Sharon Brisolara, Denise Seigart, Saumitra Sengupta

Denise Seigart

This thought-provoking book explores the 'whats,' 'whys,' and 'hows' of integrating feminist theory and methods into applied research and evaluation practice. Illustrative cases drawn from U.S. and international studies address a range of social and health issues. The book provides an overview of feminist theory and research strategies as well as detailed discussions of how to use a feminist lens, practical steps and challenges in implementation, and what feminist methods contribute to research and evaluation projects. Reflections at the close of each section invite the reader to consider key questions and common themes across the chapters. With a focus on …

International Military Memoirs, Esmeralda Kleinreesink

Esmeralda Kleinreesink

Exposing A Lack Of Communication Regarding Sport Policy: An Analysis Of The Canadian Talent Identification Process, Geoff Schoenberg, Winston Wing Hong To, David Legg

Winston Wing Hong To

The Sports Policy Factors Leading to International Sporting Success (SPLISS), a comparative high performance and elite sport (HPS) model, has identified nine distinct pillars that contribute to the success of a country’s HPS system. The study was originally conducted in 2003 with seven nations from Europe and North America. Beginning in 2009, the study was repeated and expanded to include 17 nations from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. While the SPLISS study was designed to examine and compare countries’ HPS systems, the aim of this research is to compare the intra-country results of Canadian athletes, coaches, and …

The Application Of Social/Political Theories To The Spliss (Sport Policy Factors Leading To International Sporting Success) Model, Winston Wing Hong To, Bryn Jones, Juliann Desjardins, Darwin Semotiuk

Winston Wing Hong To

This research focuses if a sociocultural theory such as the stakeholder theory or social value theory can be applicable to enhance the theoretical explanation of the SPLISS (Sport Policy Factors Leading to International Sporting Success) model. The SPLISS model is a comparative high performance sport (HPS) model which was created by researchers from Belgium, United Kingdom, and Netherlands in 2002 with the purpose of seeking which factors will lead countries to international sporting success (e.g. Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships) (Legg & DeBosscher, nd). A comparative HPS model is a research model that has a set of ingredients composed by academic …

An Investigation Of The Prevalence Of Quantitative Research Studies Within The Sociocultural Area Of Sport, Winston Wing Hong To

Winston Wing Hong To

This research study is to investigate if there is a prevalence of academic quantitative research studies within the sociocultural area of sport. Sociocultural of sport is defined by Harris (1989) in two levels, which were: "Suited Up Level": expressive meanings that sports have for people who encounter them, "Stripped Down Level": social structures within and beyond sport. Sociocultural of sport from her definition needs to encompass both levels when analyzing the cultural and social underpinnings of sport.

The research study looks to answer how much have sport sociologists used quantitative research methodology within their academic work within the sociocultural area …

Feminist Evaluation Research, Sharon Brisolara, Denise Seigart

Denise Seigart

Program evaluation emerged as a professional field in the United States during the 1960s with the expansion of social programs during that period. Although evaluation is a discipline in its own right, practitioners often receive training in other fields before embarking on a career in program evaluation. Program evaluation can be described as the application of social science research methods to the assessment of "the conceptualization, design, implementation, and utility of...social intervention programs" (Rossi & Freeman, 1993, p.5). Program evaluation makes use of a range of methods and draws from a range of methodologies used by social science researchers; however, …

Neoliberalizing Higher Education In Greece: New Laws, Old Free-Market Tricks, Panayota Gounari

Panayota Gounari

Amid a financial crisis that has shifted politics in Greece to conservative market-driven ideologies and policies, specific major changes are proposed by the Greek Ministry of Education for primary, secondary and higher education. With the gradual disappearance of public space and of the welfare state, under the pressure and the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), education becomes one more space quickly geared up towards privatization, marketization of learning and educational goals while the character of free public education is radically redefined. This article addresses the changes in higher education legislation and policy in Greece and analyzes the discursive …

The Seven Spices: Pumpkins, Puritans, And Pathogens In Colonial New England, Michael Sharbaugh

Michael D Sharbaugh

Water sources in the United States' New England region are laden with arsenic. Particularly during North America's colonial period--prior to modern filtration processes--arsenic would make it into the colonists' drinking water. In this article, which evokes the biocultural evolution paradigm, it is argued that colonists offset health risks from the contaminant (arsenic poisoning) by ingesting copious amounts of seven spices--cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, vanilla, and ginger. The inclusion of these spices in fall and winter recipes that hail from New England would therefore explain why many Americans associate them not only with the region, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas, …

The Reorganization Of A Professional Sports League - A Critical Analysis Of The Restructuring Of The Australian National Basketball League, Winston Wing Hong To, Shayne Quick, Darwin Semotiuk

Winston Wing Hong To

There are numerous examples of professional sports leagues that have failed. Australia has witnessed professor soccer (National Soccer League) and rugby leagues (Super League, Australian Rugby Football League) disappear, be restructured, or reintroduced under a new brand and name (soccer: A-League, rugby league: National Rugby league) (MacDonald & Karg & Lock, 2010; Commonwealth of Australia, 2006). North America has seen the closure of a number of professional sports leagues such as the XFL (American Football), World Hockey Association (Ice Hockey), and the Canadian Soccer League (Football/Soccer) (Bostwick, 2007; Golokhov, nd). There are numerous reasons why these professional sports leagues fail. …

Can Culture Shape The Identity Of A Sport? A Case Study On Lifesaving Sport - Surf Lifesaving Australia And Lifesaving/Sauvetage Canada, Winston Wing Hong To

Winston Wing Hong To

Sport is an important marker of our country's culture and identity. Citizens within a country will cheer and support their sport teams if they are successful, or criticize and judge if they are doing poorly. The importance of culture within sport is an important indicator of a country's success or failure within international competitions; such as the Olympics and World Championships. However, can culture shape the identity of a sport within a country?

Lifesaving is a vital aspect of a country's swim program, as it focuses on reducing injury and death in, on, or around the water. Within Lifesaving, there …

The Emerging New Human Being, The Culture-In-The-Self, And Ahp's New Multidimensional Intercultural Initiative, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

The emerging New Human Being will need to explore and come to terms with a phenomenon, operating deeply, uniquely, and diversely at a core level of all human beings on the planet. I call this phenomenon the “culture-in-the-Self,” a term coined some years ago by cofounders of Interculture Inc. What we commonly think of as culture is just the surface of this phenomenon, often appearing outwardly in the diverse “forms” of cultural scripts, beliefs, values, behaviors, and customs). I want to call attention to what goes on beneath surface culture(s), and how AHP intends to play a primary role in …

Feminist Evaluation And Accreditation Efforts: What Standards?, Denise Seigart

Denise Seigart

This paper will discuss the implications of attempting to implement feminist evaluation principles while conducting ongoing accreditation monitoring for organizations such as NCATE (National Council of Teacher Education), the NLN (National League of Nursing) or Middle States. While evaluators are often involved in the preparations and ongoing monitoring required for various accreditation reviews, implementing the philosophies and methods associated with feminist evaluation or other participatory approaches can be challenging. This paper discusses my experiences and reflections with regard to my involvement in accreditation preparations for reviews by the NLN, NCATE, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and Middle States, and provides …

Looking Good : College Women And Body Image, 1875-1930, Margaret Lowe

Margaret Lowe

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, as young women began entering college in greater numbers than ever before, physicians and social critics charged that campus life posed grave hazards to the female constitution and women's reproductive health. "A girl could study and learn," Dr. Edward Clarke warned in his widely read 1873 book Sex in Education, "but she could not do all this and retain uninjured health, and a future secure from neuralgia, uterine disease, hysteria, and other derangements of the nervous system." For half a century, ideas such as Dr. Clarke's framed the debate over a woman's place …

Exploring Feminist Evaluation: The Ground From Which We Rise, Kathyrn Sielbeck-Bowen, Sharon Brisolara, Denise Seigart, Camille Tischler, Elizabeth Whitmore

Denise Seigart

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming The Spirit: Gay Men And Lesbians Come To Term With Religion, David Shallenberger

David B Shallenberger

This book is the result of deep interviews of gay men and lesbian women about their spiritual journeys. Each chapter tells an individual's story as he or she reflects back on the trajectory traveled.