Digital Commons Network^™

An "Act Of God": Race, Religion, And Policy In The Wake Of Hurricane Katrina, Seneca Vaught

Seneca Vaught

This essay addresses how characterization of Hurricane Katrina as an “act of God” exposed historical racial cleavages and policy challenges in post-Katrina America. Act-of-God rhetoric not only stemmed from religious history but was also largely informed by America's racial legacy. Usage of the term often absolved individuals and institutions from personal responsibility and economic liability, especially when the specter of race could be invoked. The term also revealed generational ideological differences within the Black community itself, posing significant questions about the discourse of race and religion in post–civil rights America.

Issues Facing Scientific Research Employment In Australia, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

Do higher research qualifications help or hinder job seekers? A recent ACER research project sought Australian labour market expectations and impressions from employers and prospective employees.

Developing A Community Of Practice For Trainers: Towards A Culture Of Conscience In Clinical Research, Marie Mckenzie Mills

Marie McKenzie Mills PhD, CSci

This developmental research study concerned how trainers, drawn mainly from the commercial (pharmaceutical) sector of the field of clinical research, shared understandings of practice in a professionally localised community, as part of their continuing professional development. Trainers in this community had a heterogeneous range of identities including full-time and part-time trainers: clinical research trainers, training managers; clinical research managers, clinical research associates, compliance managers, auditors and others. The main aim was to explain conditions shaping this community and its concept of practice. The study involved observing practice from an interlocutory position, using Cultural- Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), to reveal the …

A Law Unto Themselves: Historical Consequences And Cultural Realities From The Neglect Of Africana Studies In Policymaking Processes, Seneca Vaught

Seneca Vaught

No abstract provided.

Consulting And Evaluation With Nonprofit And Community-Based Organizations, Judah J. Viola, Susan D. Mcmahon

Judah J. Viola, Ph.D.

Frock Coat And Flag: Union Soldier Markers In Central Maine, Kimberly Sawtelle

Kimberly J. Sawtelle

The Frock Coat and Flag motif of gravestone is a short-lived memorial theme borne from a compressed period of American history. The horrors, tragedy, and impact of the U.S. Civil War on American civilians and a lack of a comprehensive plan by the U.S. Congress to provide means or methods to bury and mark the graves of soldiers who died in service contributed to the manifestation of a portrait-style grave marker used by families in a relatively compact geographic region of central Maine between 1861 and 1864.

Playing, Shopping, And Working As Rock Musicians, Carey Sargent

Carey L Sargent

Masculinities vary by organizational context, demonstrating that organizational culture shapes the gendering of work even within the same occupation. The author draws on comparative and ethnographic data collected in two retail environments (large and small musical instrument stores) to understand how a common organizational culture is differently gendered by the organization of work. In these music stores, organizational culture is driven by masculinist fantasies of the rock musician lifestyle. As the products and knowledge of the rock musician lifestyle are made popularly accessible and retail work is deskilled, a style of masculinity based on fraternization and competition takes the place …

Intimacy, Sexuality, And Early-Stage Dementia: The Changing Marital Relationship, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

When one's marital partner receives a diagnosis of dementia, it has major ramifications for a couple. Such a diagnosis affects every aspect of marital life, including the most intimate areas. This qualitative study (1) focuses on the perspectives of married couples, caregivers, and their spouses in the early-stage dementia as they discuss their intimate relationships, both positive and negative aspects, (2) identifies how they cope with these changes to their marital relationship, and (3) develops evidenced-based recommendations for other couples in the early stages of dementia and for their healthcare providers.

Gender Wage Gap; Family Medical Leave Act; Genetic Prenatal Testing;, Medora Barnes

Medora W. Barnes

Restoring The Culture Of Peace In Islamic East And Northeast Africa, Jesse Benjamin

Jesse Benjamin

No abstract provided.

The Steel And Shipbuilding Industries Of South Korea: Rising East Asia And Globalization, Kyoung-Ho Shin, Paul Ciccantell

Paul Ciccantell

In this paper, we focus on the roles of the steel and shipbuilding industries as generative sectors in Korea’s rapid economic ascent. We argue that a worldsystems analysis focusing on these generative sectors provides a more complete understanding of Korea’s rapid economic ascent than do other theoretical models. We outline the similarities between this case and those analyzed by Bunker and Ciccantell (2005, 2007) both in terms of the central role of generative sectors in raw materials and transport industries and how the creation and growth of these two industrial sectors shaped institutional patterns and the broader economic ascent of …

Five Decades Of Educational Assortative Mating In Ten East Asian Societies, Jeroen Smits, Hyunjoon Park

Hyunjoon Park

We study trends in educational homogamy at six boundaries in the educational structure of 10 East-Asian societies and explain its variation using explanatory variables at the country, cohort and boundary level. Educational homogamy was higher at the higher boundaries in the educational structure. Since the 1950s it decreased at all but the lowest boundaries, indicating convergence to a relatively low level of homogamy. Educational homogamy is lower in societies that are more modern, have higher female employment and experienced less Confucian influence. Results support the general openness and the exclusivity hypothesis, which predict educational homogamy to decrease in modernizing societies …

Defining Gendered Oppression In U.S. Newspapers: The Strategic Value Of “Female Genital Mutilation", Lisa Wade

Lisa Wade

No abstract provided.

Should Genes Be Patented - Introduction To The Ipria&Cite Public Event, Kwanghui Lim

Kwanghui Lim

No abstract provided.

Thinking Outside The Master’S House: New Knowledge Movements And The Emergence Of Academic Disciplines, Mikaila Arthur

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for understanding emergent disciplines as knowledge-focused social movement phenomena called New Knowledge Movements, or NKMs. The proposed theoretical framework is developed through a synthesis of new social movement theory and Frickel and Gross's Scientific/Intellectual Movements (SIMs) model. In contrast to the SIMs model, this paper argues that many new disciplines emerge through contentious collective action on the part of political and intellectual outsiders rather than through the action of intellectual elites. The framework is examined through historical narratives of two disciplines, women's studies and Asian American studies, in the USA. This framework will be …

Una Mirada Detrás De La Ventana: Racionalidad Utilitaria Y Racionalidad Normativa En El Apoyo A La Democracia En Brasil, Rodolfo Sarsfield

Rodolfo Sarsfield

Este artículo se propone analizar los tipos de racionalidad que subyacen al proceso de decisión respecto al régimen político que intervienen en la formación de las preferencias de los individuos. El análisis se concentra en Brasil, una sociedad que recientemente experimentó un proceso de transición hacia la democracia. Nuestra estrategia consiste en poner a prueba la racionalidad del apoyo a la democracia tanto en el nivel agregado como en el análisis individual. En el nivel agregado, lo que nos interesa es saber si el desempeño macroeconómico, político e institucional de los gobiernos democráticos predice los porcentajes de apoyo a la …

Penmel Adventures In Genealogy, Mel Regnell

Mel Regnell

Results of tracing the Maine Sawyers and Bachelders back to the Revolutionary War. Artifacts from gathering family oral history, photos, documents and records, this site is a compilation of ten years of research and wandering through DownEast graveyards in Maine.

Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law, And Society, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Neighborhood Disorder: The Role Of Individual And Neighborhood Characteristics., Rachel Margolis, Irma Elo, Laryssa Mykyta, Jennifer Culhane

Rachel Margolis

Objectives. The study of neighborhood effects on health and well-being has regained prominence in recent years. Most authors have relied on Census data and other administrative data sources to assess neighborhood characteristics. Less commonly employed, but gaining in popularity, are measures from surveys that ask neighborhood residents about various aspects of their neighborhood environment. Such surveys are a potentially attractive alternative or augmentation to administrative data sources. Methods. Using data from a study of neighborhood effects on pregnancy outcomes among low-income, inner-city women in Philadelphia, PA (N=3,988), we examined psychometric and ecometric properties of scales used to assess perceptions of …

The Infrastructure Of Collective Action And Policy Content Diffusion In The Organic Food Industry, Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee

Little is known about the relationship between industry self-regulation organizations and the diffusion of policy content. Using the organic food industry as a context, this study examines the relationship between local and federated standards-based certification organizations and specific changes in U.S. state laws. The study’s findings indicate that local structures correspond to greater legal innovation and elaboration, but less variation. Conversely, federated structures correspond to less legal innovation and elaboration, and greater content variation. These findings both challenge extant theories regarding organizational capacities of local and federated organizations and extend contemporary conceptions of diffusion.

Gender Differences In Mba Students: Work-Life Balance, Opting Out And The Increasing Importance Of Flexibility, Jennifer Keil, K. Somerville

Jennifer Keil

An Evaluation Of The Rational Choice Theory In Criminology, Serdar Kenan Gul

Serdar Kenan Gul

Rational choice theory is an approach used by social scientists to understand human behavior. This approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent decades it has become more widely used in other disciplines. It is basically about how incentives and constraints affect behavior. This article discusses rational choice theory in criminology. This study provides the basic assumptions of the rational choice approach, and then evaluates this approach by giving several examples of its use. The first example is about rational choice model of illegal sales of tobacco products to underage youths, which places a strong emphasis …