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Brazen (Fall 2008), Hollins University

Brazen - Gender & Women's Studies Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Ua1b5 New Faculty 2008-2009, Western Kentucky University

WKU Administration Documents

List of new WKU faculty.

Catalog, 2008-2009, Anderson University - South Carolina

Catalogs

The 2008-2009 undergraduate academic catalog and introduction to the university.

The Influence Of Risk Perception, Vulnerability And Community Level Processes On Human-Wildlife Conflict In Southeastern Kenya, Jerry K. Daday, Douglas C. Smith, Michael K. Stokes, Charles Kimwele

Sociology Faculty Presentations

The prior literature on the sociology of disasters has primarily examined community responses to large-scale episodic disasters, such as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. However, the study of persistent and chronic disasters in developing countries represents an area that has largely been ignored in prior studies. Flint and Luloff’s (2005) Inter-actional theory as a framework, our research examines the influence of perceived risk, vulnerability and community characteristics on human-wildlife conflict among 275 subsistence-based farmers living in four small villages in Southeastern Kenya. These farmers rely on a horticultural and pastoral economy for survival and …

Family Variables As Predictors Of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Outcome, Gina R. Sillo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The current study sought to investigate the importance of family variables as they potentially predict treatment outcome for adolescents at two intensive outpatient drug treatment programs. A growing body of research has demonstrated that family dynamics serve to influence drug using behaviors and substance abuse treatment. More specifically, empirical support has suggested that the quality of family relationships is an important factor serving to influence affective treatment. The current investigation considered two primary domains of family influence: family cohesion and family conflict. Results revealed that the study variables comprising these domains were not found to be associated with adolescent treatment …

The Use Of Complex Adaptive Systems As A Generative Metaphor In An Action Research Study Of An Organisation, Callum Brown

The Qualitative Report

Understanding the dynamic behaviour of organisations is challenging and this study uses a model of complex adaptive systems as a generative metaphor to address this challenge. The research question addressed is: How might a conceptual model of complex adaptive systems be used to assist in understanding the dynamic nature of organisations? Using an action research methodology, 6 Ai r Force internal management consulting teams were exposed to overlapping attributes of complex adaptive systems. The study shows that participants found the attributes valuable in understanding the dynamic nature of organisations; however they did present challenges for understanding. Despite being challenging to …

Arginine Vasopressin And Male Attachment: A Marital And Family Therapy Perspective, Calvin James Thomsen

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Social neuroscience offers a promising way to understand some dimensions of adult attachment. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a neuropeptide with significant implications for human social behavior and it provides an important testing ground to explore links between social/interpersonal neurobiology and attachment. It has a distinctive impact on the social/relational behavior of certain male animals, most notably prairie voles. It fosters monogamy, creates attachment to both mate and offspring, and increases affiliation and a desire for physical proximity with other animals of the species. There has been much speculation that it might play a similar role with human males. This study …

Breast Cancer Screening Disparities In Japanese-American Women, Theodora Stratis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Cancer screening disparities in ethnic minority women have received much research attention in the last several years due to a marked increase in ethnic minority cancer incidence and poor survival rates (Miller, Kollnel, Bernstein, Young Swanson, West et ah, 1996). Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian American women (Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research & Training, 2002) and, although their incidence and mortality rates are lower than Caucasian women, these rates continue to increase every year. This increasing mortality rate is likely due to the underutilization of breast cancer screening by Asian American women. Asian …

Agribusiness Concentration, Intellectual Property, And The Prospects For Rural Economic Benefits From The Emerging Biofuel Economy, Leland L. Glenna, Daniel R. Cahoy

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

United States policy makers are promoting bio-fuels as an economic development opportunity, especially for rural America. A USDA study claims that developments in energy production from biomass could increase profits for agricultural commodity producers. However, as William Heffernan and his colleagues have demonstrated, concentration in the agrifood sector limits the economic benefits going to the commodity producers. Relying on Heffernan’s framework, we compare the distribution of intellectual property of corn and other genetically modified crops with that of the emerging biomass technologies. We find that patent ownership in the emerging biofuel sector is not yet as concentrated as in the …

Dmitri Shalin Interview With Gary T. Marx About Erving Goffman Entitled "Marx-Shalin Exchange On The Goffman Project", Gary T. Marx, Dmitri N. Shalin

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

The following email exchange between Dmitri Shalin and Gary T. Marx, Professor Emeritus of sociology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, took place between August 27, 2008, and October 16, 2008. The exchange was occasioned by Shalin’s paper “Goffman’s Biography and Interaction Order: A Study in Biocritical Hermeneutics.” The original text is in black, Marx’s comments are marked red, and Shalin’s response is in blue.

Family Structure And The Criminal Behavior Of Juveniles In Tennessee., Ronald D. Pickard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between family type and criminal behavior of juveniles in Tennessee who were referred to Juvenile Court in 2006. The population used in the study comprised the juveniles who were referred to the Tennessee Juvenile Courts as reported by the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in 2006.

This investigation focused on the criminal behavior as indicated by number and type of referrals to the Juvenile and Family Court system in Tennessee. The data were analyzed by family-of-origin type, age group, and geographic region in Tennessee.

The findings of …

Patterns Of Social Participation: Assessing The Long-Term Effects Of Creating Social Capital, Camille Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Given the numerous benefits noted in academic research from having social capital, investigators may now turn to looking at what makes a person likely to create it. In this study I examine whether building social capital in high school through participation in religious, athletic, and volunteer activities makes individuals more likely to continue to create it as adults through participation in similar activities. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, I employ both multilevel and seemingly unrelated regression models. I find that early participation in religious and athletic activities increases the likelihood of doing two out of three social …

Ten Years Of Community Profiles In New Hampshire, Charlie A. French, Fabienne Lord-Fonesca

Natural Resources & the Environment

Through a program called Community Profiles, the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension has helped 57 New Hampshire communities develop a vision for their future and mobilize local residents to act on that vision. The Community Profile process is based on the premise that communities must engage members in identifying and documenting common and deeply held values from which to craft a vision for the future if they are to build and sustain community vitality. The process also helps communities find new and creative ways to pursue that vision by leveraging resources within and outside of the community. These resources …

Drug Use Sequencing And Kandel's Gateway Hypothesis, John Reid

All Theses

This thesis tests the hypothesis by Kandel (1975) that there is a specific sequence of drug use that users follow. Using the same scalogram analysis technique utilized by Kandel in her original Gateway Hypothesis study, a distinct sequence of use was discovered. This thesis is based on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005). This study confirmed Kandel's earlier findings in that this study determined that there is a sequence of drug use. The current study also confirms Kandel's position that licit drugs precede the use of illicit drugs. This study's findings differ from those of Kandel, however, …

Determining The Accepability Of Menus And Recipes That Meet The 2005 Dietary Guidelines For Americans By Low Socioeconomic Status Individuals In South Louisiana Using Focus Group Discussions, Anna L. Mullenix

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Theory And Practice Of Drug Courts: Wolves In Sheep Clothing?, Kristen E. Devall

Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of an adult drug court in a medium-size Midwestern city. The primary impetus behind the creation of the drug court model was the partial recognition that the "get tough" approach to crime and the "war on drugs" was ineffective in "solving the United States' drug problem. Drug courts represent an integration of a public-health approach and a public-safety strategy of fighting crime and administering "justice." The bulk of the extant research regarding drug courts addresses one central question: "Do drug courts work?" Researchers and evaluators alike have attempted to answer this question over the …

Emotion Recognition And The Propensity To Engage In Sexually Coercive Behaviors: A Study With College Males, Beth J. Dietzel

Dissertations

Several variables have been investigated over the past years as risk factors for sexual aggression. Among them, substance use/abuse, family environment, attitudes towards women, and lack of empathy. Although researchers have identified several risk factors, predicting aggressive behaviors continues to be a difficult task. One variable that has received less attention in the literature is men's emotion recognition skills. Do men's emotion recognition skills affect their propensity to aggress?

The purpose of this study was to investigate emotion recognition skills/deficits and how such skills predict propensity to engage in sexually coercive behavior. There were two main goals of this study. …

Diagnostic Prevalence Rates From Early To Mid Adolescence Among Indigenous Adolescents: First Results From A Longitudinal Study, Les B. Whitbeck, Mansoo Yu, Kurt Johnson, Dan R. Hoyt, Melissa L. Walls

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To investigate change in prevalence rates for mental and substance abuse disorders between early and mid-adolescence among a cohort of indigenous adolescents.

Method: The data are from a lagged, sequential study of 651 indigenous adolescents from a single culture in the northern Midwest United States and Canada. At waves 1 (ages 10-12 years) and 4 (ages 13-15 years), one adult caretaker and one tribally enrolled adolescent completed a computer-assisted personal interview that included Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children- Revised assessment for 11 diagnoses. Multivariate analyses investigate effects of wave 1 adolescent diagnosis and wave 1 biological mother diagnosis (University …

Goffman Told Me, "It Is Really Hard To Do That Kind Of Thing Well," And That Was About All The Advice I Ever Got From Him, Joel Best

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This interview with Joel Best was recorded on August 13, 2007, during the ASA Annual meeting in New York. Dmitri Shalin transcribed the audio recording and Joel Best edited the text and gave his approval for posting the present version in the Erving Goffman Archives. Breaks in the conversation flow are indicated by ellipses. Supplementary information appears in square brackets. Undecipherable words and unclear passages are identified in the text as “[?]”. The interviewer’s questions are shortened a bit in several places.

Disparities In Self-Reported Activities Of Daily Living And Instrumental Activities Of Daily Living Disability Among Asian American Subgroups In The United States: Results From The National Health Interview Survey 2001-2003, Alberto Coustasse, Sejong Bae, Cody J. Arvidson, Karan P. Singh

Management Faculty Research

Background

The purpose of this study was to compare disability and functional limitations among elderly Asian American subgroups using datasets from the National Health Interview Survey 2001−2003.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed whether activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) disabilities were different among Asian American subgroups in the United States using data retrieved from the 2001−2003 National Health Interview Survey. For comparing all Asian American subgroups, χ² analysis was applied for the bivariate comparisons.

Results

Rates of 7.1% and 12.2% for ADL and IADL disability, respectively, within Asian American group were found. The elder Chinese …

Sociology Of Islam & Muslim Societies, Newsletter No. 2, Tugrul Keskin, Gary Wood

Sociology of Islam & Muslim Societies Newsletter

Table of Contents:

• Feminism in Kuwait by Meredith Katz
• Research Abstracts and Updates: Babak Rahimi on Public Islam in Iraq; Thomas Pierret on Ulema in Modern Islam; CESS 2008 Islam Panel Neo-Imperialism and the Promotion of Democracy in Central Asia; and ASA 2008, Boston Islam and Muslim Societies Panels and Roundtables

Motivations For Participating In Community-Supported Agriculture And Their Relationship With Community Attachment And Social Capital, Joan M. Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The social fabric of rural communities is continuing to change as we move toward a more globalized society and food economy, and the vitality of rural agricultural communities in particular may be declining (Berry 1999). In response to these changes, efforts are underway in many parts of the United States to counteract this global, industrial food system and by implication, increase the vitality and sustainability of rural communities. One effort that is gaining momentum is the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement, which involves local farmers and community members working together as partners to create a sustainable local food system. It …

Slow Food Lessons In The Fast Food Midwest, Heather Mcilvaine-Newsad, Christopher D. Merrett, William Maakestad, Patrick Mclaughlin

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

During the latter half of the twentieth century, the American food system was transformed by a technological revolution in American agriculture. While these changes provided benefits such as lower-cost food, it also generated concerns that the unconditional embrace of technology would harm rural communities and the environment. Additional concerns were raised about food quality and food safety. Through a case study of a rural Midwestern farming community, this paper examines how direct consumer to producer marketing strategies such as community supported agriculture (CSA) and the public’s current fascination with the heritage of farming may offer a subset of producers and …

Sustainable Agriculture And The Social Sciences: Getting Beyond Best Management Practices And Into Food Systems, Jeffrey L. Jordan, Douglas H. Constance

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper introduces the special issue of Southern Rural Sociology and lays the groundwork for the rest of the papers. The genesis of this special issue flows from the efforts of the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (S-SARE) program to bring more social science research into its portfolio of projects. Our concern is that by providing best management practices (Band-Aids) to a fundamentally unsustainable agricultural system, the sustainable agriculture movement (and SARE’s granting program) favors the environmental component at the expense of economic and social “legs” of the sustainable stool. While focusing on the history and work of …

The Role Of Southern Sare Projects In Enhancing The Quality Of Life In Rural Communities In The South, Keiko Tanaka, Victoria Mundy Bhavsar

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

As an institutional mechanism, funding agencies play a key role in actualizing perspectives about sustainable agriculture by funding research, education, and outreach activities. This paper examines trends in sustainable agriculture research and education projects funded by the Southern SARE program in the last 15 years. First, it analyzes key trends in the research foci of 174 projects, which demonstrate two main threads of thought and research in sustainability: one oriented toward addressing production issues and the other toward community issues. The paper then examines projects that use “quality-of-life measures” to guide their research processes and discusses common challenges that these …

The Importance Of Motherhood Among Women In The Contemporary United States, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Karina M. Scheffler, Veronica Tichenor

Bureau of Sociological Research: Faculty Publications

We contribute to feminist and gender scholarship on cultural notions of motherhood by analyzing the importance of motherhood among mothers and non-mothers. Using a national probability sample (N = 2,519) of U.S. women ages 25-45, we find a continuous distribution of scores measuring perceptions of the importance of motherhood among both groups. Employing OLS multiple regression, we examine why some women place more importance on motherhood, focusing on interests that could compete with valuing motherhood (e.g., education, work success, leisure), and controlling for characteristics associated with becoming a mother. Contrary to cultural schemas that view mother and worker identities …

Is Talking Online To Unknown People Always Risky? Distinguishing Online Interaction Styles In A National Sample Of Youth Internet Users., Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell

Sociology

Abstract

We examined the risk of unwanted online sexual solicitations and characteristics associated with four online interaction styles among youth Internet users. The interaction styles took into account the people with whom youth interacted online (people known in person only, unknown people met through face-to-face friends, unknown people met in chatroom, and other places online) and high- and low-risk patterns of online behavior. The aim was to provide a basis for identifying which youth may be most at risk from interacting online with unknown people.

Transforming Caregiving: African American Custodial Grandmothers And The Child Welfare System, S. Yvette Murphy, Andrea G. Hunter, Deborah J. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Growing numbers of African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren under the auspices of the child welfare system; however, little is known about the manner in which child welfare policies and practices impact custodial grandparenting. Based on focus groups with African American grandmothers who are raising grandchildren as formal kinship caregivers, this study explored the ways in which the new formalized relationship between the child welfare system and African American custodial grandmothers is transforming the meanings and practices related to intergenerational caregiving in African American families. Drawing on cultural and historical traditions, grandmothers forge a transformative partnership with child welfare that …

Rural Life Census Data Center Newsletter: South Dakota's Child Poverty Change, Trevor Brooks, Saileza Khatiwada, Donna Hess

Census Data Center Newsletter Archive: 2007-2010

When people think of poverty in the United States, many picture inner-city ghettos with homeless men begging for money on a street corner. Yet poverty is often more severe in rural areas and affects children more than any other group (Tickameyer and Duncan 1990). In 2005, nearly all of the United States counties with the highest percentage of children in poverty were rural (O’Hare and Mather 2008).

Ptsd Symptoms And Self-Rated Recovery Among Adult Sexual Assault Survivors: The Effects Of Traumatic Life Events And Psychosocial Variables, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Prior research has demonstrated that self-blame is predictive of more PTSD symptoms and poorer recovery (Frazier, 2003; Koss, Figueredo, & Prince, 2002), and perceived control over recovery is associated with less distress (Frazier, 2003) in adult sexual assault (ASA) survivors. A structural equation model was tested to examine the role of traumatic events, self-blame, perceived control over recovery, and coping strategies on PTSD symptoms and self-rated recovery in women ASA survivors. Adaptive coping partially mediated the effects of other traumas, self-blame, and perceived control over recovery on PTSD symptoms, and showed a small positive association with increased PTSD symptoms. As …