Digital Commons Network^™

Culture, Gender, And Labor Force Participation, Roger Clark, Thomas Ramsbey, Emily Adler

Emily S. Adler

This report assesses the impact of culture on women's share of the labor force. Measuring both economic factors and cultural milieu, we found that culture was related not only to levels of women's share of the labor force but, in some instances, to changes in those levels. A secondary finding of the study was that the economic development of a nation had a strong positive association with increases in women's share of the labor force and that one measure of dependency (commodity concentration) had a strong negative association with such change.

Neonatal Euthanasia, David Sugarman, Robin Montvilo, Colette Matarese

Robin K Montvilo

An attributional analysis of neonatal euthanasia was undertaken in two studies to compare the responsibility attributions of nursing and non-nursing students (Study 1) and nurses (Study 2) toward a physician for a critically ill neonate's death. In both studies, vignettes about a newborn's death differed with respect to the physician's treatment of the critically ill newborn. In the student study, the physician was attributed the least responsibility for the newborn's death when cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted but failed, followed by the physician's issuance of either a "Do Not Resuscitate" order or an order to turn off the infant's respirator. Greatest …

The Adult Disabled Population (16-74) In Massachusetts: Its Size And Demographic/Socioeconomic Composition In 2003-2004, Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Paulo Tobar, Sheila Palma

Ishwar Khatiwada

During the fall of 2005, leaders of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, including the Commissioner Elmer Bartels, met with staff from the Center for Labor Market Studies and the Commonwealth Corporation to discuss the feasibility of conducting research on the disabled population in the state of Massachusetts and the New England region to improve our knowledge base on the size and characteristics of the disabled population of the state, their geographic locations across the state, their labor market experiences and problems, and their personal and familial economic well-being. During the past few months, research staff within the Center for Labor Market …

Op-Ed: Banning Protesters An Attack On Democracy, Stephen D'Arcy

Stephen D'Arcy

A defence of academic freedom at Western U.

The Adult Disabled Population (16-74) In Massachusetts: Its Size And Demographic/Socioeconomic Composition In 2003-2004, Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Paulo Tobar, Sheila Palma

Andrew Sum

During the fall of 2005, leaders of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, including the Commissioner Elmer Bartels, met with staff from the Center for Labor Market Studies and the Commonwealth Corporation to discuss the feasibility of conducting research on the disabled population in the state of Massachusetts and the New England region to improve our knowledge base on the size and characteristics of the disabled population of the state, their geographic locations across the state, their labor market experiences and problems, and their personal and familial economic well-being. During the past few months, research staff within the Center for Labor Market …

A Survey Of International Practice In University Admissions Testing, Daniel Edwards, Hamish Coates, Tim Friedman

Dr Daniel Edwards

This paper explores how admissions tests are used in different higher education systems around the world. This is a relatively new area of research, despite the fact that admissions processes are a key component of university practices and given the ever-increasing globalisation of higher education. This paper shows that aptitude and achievement tests, for example, are used in many developed countries. In some of them, a specific test is nationally instituted and generalised; consequently, the function of the test is well embedded in the education landscape of the country. Elsewhere, tests exist but are administered in an ad hoc fashion …

Latino Students In Lawrence: An Educational Profile, Lorna Rivera

Lorna Rivera

With financial support from the National Council of La Raza, the Gastón Institute is developing "Educational Profiles" for the sixteen Massachusetts public school districts with the highest Latino student enrollments: Boston, Springfield, Lawrence, Worcester, Holyoke, Lowell, Lynn, Chelsea, New Bedford, Brockton, Fitchburg, Salem, Chicopee, Framingham, Haverhill, and Somerville. The profiles present basic data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education including information on student enrollment, MCAS results, dropout rates, and student aspirations. We hope this information will be used by Latino students, parents, educators, and policy-makers to make informed decisions and improve public education for Latino students in Massachusetts.

Balancing Yin And Yang, Roger Clark, Angela Lang

Roger D. Clark

The first three-quarters of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at …

Culture, Gender, And Labor Force Participation, Roger Clark, Thomas Ramsbey, Emily Adler

Roger D. Clark

This report assesses the impact of culture on women's share of the labor force. Measuring both economic factors and cultural milieu, we found that culture was related not only to levels of women's share of the labor force but, in some instances, to changes in those levels. A secondary finding of the study was that the economic development of a nation had a strong positive association with increases in women's share of the labor force and that one measure of dependency (commodity concentration) had a strong negative association with such change.

Economic Dependency And Gender Differences In Labor Force Sectoral Change In Non-Core Nations, Roger Clark

Roger D. Clark

This study examines two versions of how economic dependency has affected relative gender positioning in non-core nations' labor forces since the 1960s. A "new dependency" version asserts that multinational corporate investment in manufacturing has transformed the labor forces of such nations, permitting women unusual access to relatively high-paying, if ephemeral, light manufacturing positions. A "traditional trade dependency" version suggests that, despite the aforementioned transformation in some non-core nations, the dominant form of dependency in most remains traditional: they export primary goods in return for manufactured imports. This version claims that some structures not only deter women's entry into the labor …

A Multicultural Feminist Analysis Of Picture Books For Children, Roger Clark, Heather Fink

Roger D. Clark

The authors provide a multicultural feminist analysis of picture books for children by looking at the illustrations and listening carefully to themes of oppression and resistance in 33 picture books that focus on characters that are on the powerless side of some powerless/powerful social dichotomy. The authors find many images that either depict oppression or celebrate difference. They also find stories that extol the virtues of cooperation among similarly oppressed others, cooperation among differently oppressed others, and escape. They annotate the books to provide some sense of the themes of oppression and resistance that appear in each of them.

Of Caldecotts And Kings, Roger Clark, Rachel Lennon, Leanna Morris

Roger D. Clark

The authors mark the twentieth anniversary of the classic study by Weitzman et al., which found considerable gender stereotyping in picture books for preschool children, by replicating and extending their study with an updated sample that includes books by Black illustrators. The authors find evidence that female characters and female relationships receive considerably more attention in recent books by both conventional illustrators and Black illustrators than they did in the late 1960s. They also find, consistent with the liberal feminist aims of Weitzman et al., evidence that male and female characters are shown in a more egalitarian fashion than they …

The Face Of Society, Roger Clark, Alex Nunes

Roger D. Clark

We have updated Ferree and Hall's (1990) study of the way gender and race are constructed through pictures in introductory sociology textbooks. Ferree and Hall looked at 33 textbooks published between 1982 and 1988. We replicated their study by examining 3,085 illustrations in a sample of 27 textbooks, most of which were published between 2002 and 2006. We found important areas of progress in the presentation of both gender and race as well as significant areas of stasis. The face of society we found depicted in contemporary textbooks was distinctly less likely to be that of a white man, very …

Authoritarianism Versus Welfare Policy: The Two Faces Of The Bolivarian Revolution, Augusto De Venanzi

Augusto S De Venanzi

Since Hugo Chávez’s rise to the presidency, Venezuela has become a deeply divided country. The ensuing polarization has expressed in violent forms of political fanaticism; in the partisan fracture of many professional and labor associations, of the army, in open warfare between private and public media outlets; in the weakening of the private sector of the economy and, overall, in the erosion of sociability. The present article seeks to explain the causes of such a high degree of polarization. It departs from two main hypotheses: First, the Bolivarian Revolution reveals two distinct faces: an authoritarian face and a welfare face. …

Coming Out Narratives: Realities Of Intersectionality, Marni Brown

Marni A Brown

Coming out of the closet and sharing a disclosure narrative is considered an essential act to becoming gay (Jagose 1996; Meeks 2006). Although coming out experiences vary by time and place, sexuality scholars note the assumed difficulties when claiming a non-heteronormative identity, including stress, isolation, and rejection (Chauncey 1994; Faderman 1991; Herdt 1993; 1996; Savin-Williams and Ream 2003). In the late 1990s, a post-closet framework emerged arguing that coming out of the closet has become more common and less difficult; “American homosexuals have normalized and routinized their homosexuality to a degree where the closet plays a lesser role in their …

Rural Nebraskans’ Support For Alternative Energy Sources, Rebecca Vogt, Randolph Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan Tomkins

Alan J Tomkins

Published by the Center for Applied Rural Innovation, University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Copyright © 1999 by J. Allen, R. Filkins, and S. Cordes. Alternative and renewable energy sources have been given increasing attention during the past few years. Many wind energy projects and ethanol plants have been started across the state. How do rural Nebraskans view alternative energy sources? Do they view them as beneficial to the state’s economy? Do they think more electricity should be generated from alternative energy sources? How often do they use ethanol blend fuel? This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural …

2005 Nebraska Rural Poll Results: Well-Being In Rural Nebraska, Rebecca Vogt, Randolph Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan Tomkins

Alan J Tomkins

Nebraska’s economy has begun to improve during recent years. How have these changes affected rural Nebraskans? How do rural Nebraskans perceive their quality of life? Do their perceptions differ by community size, the region in which they live, or their occupation? Who do they feel comfortable talking to about their personal problems? What factors are most important to rural Nebraskans when selecting a behavioral health service provider? This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions regarding their individual well-being. Trends for …

Perceptions Of Latin American Immigration Among Rural Nebraskans, Rebecca Vogt, Randolph Cantrell, Miguel Carranza, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan Tomkins

Alan J Tomkins

In an earlier Nebraska Rural Poll report (August 2006), rural Nebraskans were asked their opinions of newcomers in general to their community. Some parts of rural Nebraska have seen significant growth of a specific group of newcomers, Latin American immigrants. How do rural Nebraskans view recent immigrants from Latin America? How do they view various immigration policies? Do their views differ by community size, the region in which they live, or their education level?

This report details 2,482 responses to the 2006 Nebraska Rural Poll, the eleventh annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions of current issues and conditions. Respondents …

Making A Living In Rural Nebraska, Rebecca Vogt, Randolph Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan Tomkins

Alan J Tomkins

Nebraska has historically had a low unemployment rate but the state’s per capita income has also been below the national average. How are rural Nebraskans making a living? How many households have individuals with multiple jobs? Why do individuals hold multiple jobs? How important is agriculture to rural Nebraskans’ families, communities and the state? This report details 2,482 responses to the 2006 Nebraska Rural Poll, the eleventh annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their jobs and their perceptions about the importance of agriculture in Nebraska. For all questions, comparisons are made …

Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

As the frequency of open adoptions of infants increases, furious debate continues between those who argue that open adoption is a grave mistake and those who assert that it is a long-overdue innovation. This ankle defines open adoption, summarizes the open adoption controversy, and presents a qualitative descriptive study of adoptive parents' reactions to the recent open adoptions of their infants. Findings indicate overwhelmingly positive feelings about open adoption and some issues and concerns unique to the open adoption experience. The ankle concludes that social workers involved in adoptions should move from their traditional stance in directing and defining the …

Open Adoption Of Infants, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

Adoptions today increasingly include contact between adoptive and birth families. What do these "open adoptions" look like? How do the participants feel about them? This article, based on part of a longitudinal study that first examined adoptive parents' perceptions of their infants' open adoptions seven years ago, explores the parents' reactions now that their children are school age. This qualitative descriptive research revealed changes in the openness in the adoptions over time and identified four dimensions along which open adoptions vary. Findings showed parents' enthusiasm for the openness in their adoptions, regardless of the type and extent of openness. Implications …

Occupational Therapy In Criminal Justice, Jane Dressler

Jane Dressler

Great Recession, Martin Orr

Martin Orr

The “Great Recession” refers to the most significant global economic crisis since the Great Depression. The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research dates the downturn from the fourth quarter of 2007 (Business Cycle Dating Committee 2008), but the Great Recession will probably be remembered as beginning with the liquidity crisis on Wall Street that culminated in the crash of October 2008. Although an international crisis resulting from the systemic contradictions of neoliberal globalization, the proximate causes of this recession were centered in the United States.

Introductory Essay: Traditional Knowledge, Spirituality And Lands, Marc Fonda

Marc Fonda

In times like ours, when people are inundated with notions of consumerist identities, culture is often seen mainly as a resource to be tapped into for economic development. This certainly is true of blatant consumerist culture produced by such economic behemoths as Hollywood, but it is a narrow view on the importance and functions of culture. The objective of this issue of the International Indigenous Policy Journal is to demonstrate the radical importance of culture and spirituality in not only defining a people and their society but also in affecting their well-being and how these things are all interrelated.

What Culture Teaches Us About Grief, Kenneth Doka

Kenneth J. Doka

Access, Boundaries And Cooperation: The Abcs Of North American Security (Abc Colloquium Agenda, Feb), Emma Norman, Gaspare Genna, David Mayer

Emma R. Norman

Regional integration promised to open up borders, expand the mobility of persons and resources, institutionalize multilateral cooperation fostering security and prosperity, and multiply arenas of belonging, encouraging more inclusive collective identities. In the North American case that promise has rung increasingly hollow. Unequal relationships between states were built into regional agreements and the priority of national interests, especially security, often confounds cooperation leading to harsh attempts to re-solidify borders. In consequence, large groups remain excluded, are becoming progressively marginalized, or find themselves caught in a web of tensions created by the confrontation between transnational forces and reassertions of local or …

The Latino Immigrant Labor Experience As Depicted In Film, Duane Wright

Duane E Wright II

The author argues that traditional macro-level methods of gathering data on populations create an impersonal depiction of the group. A useful pedagogical tool for teachers to counter this is to use fictional accounts in film and literature to put a more human face on the subjects being studied. Two films, Bread and Roses and El Norte, are used in this way to enhance or add another dimension to studies of the labor experience of Latino immigrants in the United States. The films are looked at through various sociological theories, Assimilation, Competition, and Neo-Marxist. The author concludes that Neo-Marxist theory best …

“No Free Rides, No Excuses”: Film Stereotypes Of Urban Working Class Students, Richard Mora, Mary Christianakis

Richard Mora

No abstract provided.

Learning From “Female Genital Mutilation”: Lessons From 30 Years Of Academic Discourse, Lisa Wade

Lisa Wade

No abstract provided.

Maintaining Friendships In Early Stage Dementia: Factors To Consider, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Friendships and the importance of social connectiveness play a critical role in aging well, regardless of gender, race, social class, or impairment. Yet, dementia takes its toll on social relationships, and many friends withdraw and ‘disappear’, because they can no longer bear to see the changes that are taking place in their diagnosed friend. The dementia care literature documents this abandonment; however, this study examines the opposite occurrence. In order to understand more clearly the role of long-term friendships and how such friendships remain and continue, despite the diagnosis of dementia, this qualitative study examines in depth eight people in …