Sociology Commons^™

Weather, Climate, And The Economy: Explaining Risk Perceptions Of Global Warming, 2001-10, Wanyun Shao, Barry D. Keim, James C. Garand, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Sociology

Abstract

Two series of national survey datasets (2001-10), supplemented with monthly temperature and precipitation data and unemployment data, are used to examine how weather and climate, economic performance, and individuals' sociodemographic backgrounds and political orientations affect public perceptions of global warming. Consistent with previous studies, political orientations play a key rolein determining public perceptions of global warming. Democrats and liberals are more likely than Republicans and conservatives to see global warming as an immediate and serious problem. Sociodemographic characteristics are also shown to be significant factors, with young people, women, and racial minorities likely to show higher concern about global …

Gender Composition And Salary Gaps In Association Of Research Libraries (Arl) Institutions, Eleta Exline

Master's Theses and Capstones

While the presence of information technology (IT) work is ubiquitous in libraries, an increase in the number of male-dominated IT jobs has not increased the percentage of men (37%) working in female-dominated research libraries. Instead, the introduction of IT work may have resulted in a reorganization of librarians into gendered areas of specialization, changing the nature and degree of gender segregation within the occupation and potentially widening the overall pay gap between male and female librarians. Using data from the ARL Salary Survey, gender compositions and salary gaps of library positions between 1985 and 2010 were compared. Twelve of 17 …

Unequal Pay: The Role Of Gender, Kathleen M. Gillespie

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Variation Found In Rates Of Restraint And Seclusion Among Students With A Disability, Douglas J. Gagnon, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Vincent J. Connelly

Carsey Publications

The restraint and seclusion of individuals—practices usually associated with highly restrictive environments—are extreme responses to student behavior used in some public schools. In this brief, authors Douglas Gagnon, Marybeth Mattingly, and Vincent Connelly report that restraint and seclusion are used much more frequently on students with a disability than on students without a disability. In addition, the majority of U.S. school districts does not restrain or seclude students with a disability; 59.3 percent of districts report no instances of restraint, while 82.5 percent do not report a single instance of seclusion. However, a small proportion of districts report exceedingly high …

New Hampshire Children In Need Of Services: Impacts Of 2011 Legislative Changes To Chins, Lisa Speropolous, Barbara Wauchope

Carsey Publications

Using administrative data from state and local agencies and data from interviews with CHINS professionals, this brief provides an overview of participation in the Children in Need of Services (CHINS) program before and after the change in the law in September 2011 but before funding returned in 2013. Specifically, it examines changes in CHINS petitions filed, children served, and services provided to children and their families in the state. Authors Lisa Speropolous and Barbara Wauchope present the study as an example of the impact that state fiscal policy can have on the most vulnerable of New Hampshire’s populations.

Mental Health Among Northern New Hampshire Young Adults: Depression And Substance Problems Higher Than Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms from two surveys administered in 2011—the Coös Youth Study and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health—to compare mental health patterns among young adults in Coös County, New Hampshire, to patterns among rural young adults nationwide. The analyses focus on 214 Coös young adults and 1,477 young adult respondents, ages 18 to 21, who were living in non-metropolitan areas in 2011 and who provided usable data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms. Author Karen Van Gundy reports that Coös County young adults are more likely than rural young adults …

Snap Use Increased Slightly In 2012, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2012, track changes since the onset of the recession, and monitor receipt by region and place type. It also explores changes in SNAP receipt among households that may be at particular risk for food insecurity and considers rates among some less traditionally at-risk populations, exploring changes in their rates of receipt over time.

Author Jessica Carson writes that reports of SNAP receipt in 2012 increased among populations at particular risk for food insecurity, including households with children, seniors, the poor, …

Internet-Facilitated Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children., Kimberly J. Mitchell, Lisa M. Jones

Crimes Against Children Research Center

This bulletin summarizes findings from the Internet‐Facilitated Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (IF‐CSEC) component of the 2006 Second National Juvenile Online Victimization study. Following are some key findings from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention‐sponsored study: • An estimated 569 arrests for IF‐CSEC were made in the United States in 2006; more than half of the arrests involved the offender marketing and selling child pornography. • Most offenders (83%) purchased child pornography or sex with a minor, but an important minority (17%) profited from the exploitation. Profiteers appeared to be more seasoned offenders who were involved in larger, …

Sex Trafficking Cases Involving Minors., Kimberly J. Mitchell, David Finkelhor, Janis Wolak

Crimes Against Children Research Center

This bulletin summarizes findings from the National Juvenile Prostitution Study (N‐JPS). It describes the prevalence and types of sex trafficking cases that ended in arrests or detentions by U.S. law enforcement agencies in 2005 and explores the characteristics of youth involved in sex trafficking, the characteristics of the cases themselves, and how police view these juveniles—as victims or as delinquents. The bulletin also covers policy and practice implica‐ tions and recommends several next steps for advancing the handling of these cases. Some findings include the fol‐ lowing: • There were an estimated 1,450 arrests and detentions for sex trafficking crimes …

Children's Exposure To Violence And The Intersection Between Delinquency And Victimization., Carlos A. Cuevas, David Finkelhor, Anne M. Shattuck, Heather Turner, Sherry L. Hamby

Crimes Against Children Research Center

Presents survey results from the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) regarding the co-occurrence of victimization and delinquency among children who are exposed to violence. The survey confirms findings of earlier studies that identified three groups of youth: delinquent-victims, primarily delinquent youth, and primarily victim youth. The survey found that the youth identified as delinquent-victims had higher levels of both delinquency and victimization than youth who fell into the other two categories. In addition, youth who had higher levels of delinquency and victimization suffered more adversities, including more mental health symptoms, more inconsistent/harsh parenting and less parental supervision, …

Coös Youth With Mentors More Likely To Perceive Future Success, Kent Scovill, Corinna J. Tucker

Carsey Publications

This fact sheet explores whether Coös youths’ mentor experiences and their academic attitudes and well-being are linked. Authors Kent Scovill and Corinna Jenkins Tucker analyze data from the Coös Youth Study collected in 2008, focusing on seventh and eleventh grade students from all public schools in Coös County, New Hampshire.

Of the Coös youth surveyed, 82 percent with a mentor relationship reported believing that they were likely to graduate college, compared to 72 percent of those without a mentor, and 63 percent of Coös youth with a mentor agreed that they could do anything they set their minds to, while …

2012 National Child Poverty Rate Stagnates At 22.6 Percent, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jess Carson, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparing Teen Substance Use In Northern New Hampshire To Rural Use Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy

Carsey Publications

Using data administered in 2011 from the Carsey Institute’s Coös Youth Study and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this brief compares teen substance use patterns in New Hampshire’s most rural county to patterns among rural youth nationwide. Author Karen Van Gundy reports that about half of the teens in Coös County and in rural areas nationwide reported using any substance in the previous year. Alcohol use was reported most often, followed by tobacco or marijuana, and other illicit substances. Rural boys nationwide reported using tobacco at significantly higher rates than Coös boys and girls and rural girls …

Arctic Warming And Your Weather: Public Belief In The Connection, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Mary D. Lemcke-Stampone

Sociology

Will Arctic warming affect mid-latitude weather? Many researchers think so, and have addressed this question through scientific articles and news media. Much of the public accepts such a connection as well. Across three New Hampshire surveys with more than 1500 interviews, 60% of respondents say they think future Arctic warming would have major effects on their weather. Arctic/weather responses changed little after Superstorm Sandy brushed the region, but exhibit consistently strong partisan divisions that grow wider with education. Belief in an Arctic/weather connection also varies, in a nonlinear pattern, with the temperature anomaly around day of interview. Interviewed on unseasonably …

Wanting More But Working Less: Involuntary Part-Time Employment And Economic Vulnerability, Rebecca K. Glauber

Carsey Publications

Using data from the Current Population Survey, a national survey of U.S. households, this brief outlines a strong association between involuntary part-time employment and economic vulnerability. Author Rebecca Glauber reports that the involuntary part-time employment rate more than doubled between 2007 and 2012. For women, it rose from 3.6 percent to 7.8 percent and, for men, the rate increased from 2.4 percent in 2007 to 5.9 percent in 2012. Involuntary part-time employment is a key factor in poverty. In 2012, one in four involuntary part-time workers lived in poverty, whereas just one in twenty full-time workers lived in poverty. In …

Granite Staters Weigh In On Renewable Energy Versus Drilling: Environmental Quality Of Life Ranks High Across Party Lines, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Cameron P. Wake

Carsey Publications

Since the fall of 2001, the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center has been conducting the Granite State Poll—a statewide, scientific survey of public opinion and behavior concerning policy issues—via telephone interviews with random samples of New Hampshire residents about four times each year. Starting in 2010, the poll began regularly including environmental topics among its mix of survey questions. In 2012, the environmental questions expanded to include non-climate topics, in connection with a new five-year project on Ecosystems and Society under the New Hampshire Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. In this brief, authors Lawrence Hamilton and Cameron Wake …

I'M A Patient, Not A Problem: An Exploration Into The Roles Assigned In The Doctor-Patient Relationship, Monica C. Stewart

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Who Would Be Affected By A New Minimum Wage Policy?, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

This brief describes the population who would be directly affected by the President’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour: workers earning between $7.25 and $9.00 per hour. Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, author Jessica Carson details the characteristics of these potentially affected earners and compares them with the hourly workforce more broadly, paying particular attention to rural-urban differences. She reports that nearly 17 percent of hourly paid workers earn between $7.25 and $9.00 per hour and would see a pay increase under the proposed …

Middle-Skill Jobs Remain More Common Among Rural Workers, Justin R. Young

Carsey Publications

This issue brief uses data from the Current Population Survey collected from 2003 to 2012 to assess trends in employment in middle-skill jobs and the Great Recession’s impact on middle-skill workers, with particular attention paid to differences between those in rural and urban places. Author Justin Young reports that roughly half (51 percent) of American workers living in rural areas held middle-skill jobs in 2012—positions requiring at least some on-the-job training, an apprenticeship-type experience, or postsecondary education but no more than a two-year degree. This figure is well above the national average of 43 percent and the urban average of …

Child Care Subsidies Critical For Low-Income Families Amid Rising Child Care Expenses, Kristin Smith, Nicholas Adams

Carsey Publications

The high cost of child care is a barrier to employment among low-income families with young children. Child care subsidies are designed to support both parental employment and child development by lowering the cost of child care and making high-quality child care affordable to low-income families. This policy brief compares the shares of income spent on child care in 2005 and 2011 using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Authors Kristin Smith and Nicholas Adams report that child care expenditures were higher on average in 2011 than in 2005 (in constant 2011 dollars) and that employed, poor mothers with …

Sixty Percent Of Coös Youth Report Having A Mentor In Their Lives, Kent Scovill, Corinna J. Tucker

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Kent Scovill and Corinna Jenkins Tucker describe Coös youths’ mentor relationships using data from the Carsey Institute’s Coös Youth Study collected in 2007. They report that, in 2007, a majority of Coös youth in seventh and eleventh grade (60.2 percent) report having a mentor. In addition, 68 percent of Coös youths’ mentors are extended family members, and females are more likely than males to report a mentor relationship. Considering how mentoring relationships can play a crucial role in adolescents’ lives, they conclude that efforts to strengthen the capacity for arranged and naturally occurring mentor relationships in …

2012 New Hampshire Civic Health Index, Bruce L. Mallory, Quixada Moore-Vissing

Carsey Publications

The 2012 New Hampshire Civic Health Index follows earlier studies, including the New Hampshire Civic Index compiled by the NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in 2006 and the 2009 Civic Health Index published by the Carsey Institute in collaboration with the National Conference on Citizenship and Knowledge Networks. This report begins with key findings, a general description of the Granite State, followed by detailed findings from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey and other surveys that illustrate patterns of volunteering and giving, voting and voter registration, civic engagement (both informal and formal), and confidence in public institutions …

Age And Lifecycle Patterns Driving U.S. Migration Shifts, Kenneth M. Johnson, Richelle Winkler, Luke T. Rogers

Carsey Publications

Migration—people moving between locations—is now driving much of the demographic change occurring in the United States. In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson, Richelle Winkler, and Luke Rogers share new research on age-related migration patterns to provide a fuller understanding of the complex patterns of demographic change in the United States. Examining four migration age groups, including emerging adults, young adults, family age, and older adults, their analysis of trends over time shows evidence that certain age groups migrate in similar ways. For example, young adult migrants are flowing to large metropolitan areas, while family age migrants are leaving large urban …

Blowin' In The Wind: Short-Term Weather And Belief In Anthropogenic Climate Change., Lawrence C. Hamilton, Mary D. Stampone

Sociology

Abstract

A series of polls provides new tests for how weather influences public beliefs about climate change. Statewide data from 5000 random-sample telephone interviews conducted on 99 days over 2.5 yr (2010-12) are merged with temperature and precipitation indicators derived from U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) station records. The surveys carry a question designed around scientific consensus statements that climate change is happening now, caused mainly by human activities. Alternatively, respondents can state that climate change is not happening, or that it is happening but mainly for natural reasons. Belief that humans are changing the climate is predicted by temperature …

Assessing The Impacts Of Federal Farm Bill Programs On Rural Communities, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Curt D. Grimm, Douglas Jackson-Smith

Sociology

This report summarizes the state of scientific knowledge on the impact of federal farm and food programs on rural communities in the United States. We focus on the impacts of five specific programs of what is commonly referred to as the “farm bill.” These five include farm commodity programs; farm risk management, insurance, and disaster programs; agricultural conservation programs; food and nutrition programs; and rural development programs. Although there is extensive research on the relative merits and effectiveness of specific rural development programs and policies on rural community outcomes, the impacts of the other four main farm bill programs on …

Demystifying “Pornography”: Tailoring Special Release Conditions Concerning Pornography And Sexually Oriented Expression, Laura A. Napoli

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “This article examines the design of special release conditions and the problems that arise when such conditions do not comport with constitutional standards. Part I provides a general overview of the First Amendment issues that often arise with respect to special release conditions. Part II discusses the current state of the law and classifies the types of bans defendants have encountered in supervised release conditions. Part III explains the factors that are frequently considered in assessing the validity of special release conditions, and Part IV suggests a new approach for evaluating the constitutionality of special release conditions. The article …

Abnormal Sexual Assault Situations And Its Influence On Rape Myth Acceptance, Amber Carlson

Honors Theses and Capstones

The crime of rape, unwanted sexual contact, is a heavily researched topic in the sociological field. The majority of research, however, has revolved around incidences of stranger rape and the typical gender combination of male offender and female victim. The updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale was created to measure the level of participants agree with the typical rape myths of: she asked for it, he didn’t mean to, it wasn’t really rape, and she lied. This research study was designed to test the influence of gender in rape situations and how this affects the acceptance of rape myths. In …

Deaths Exceed Births In Record Number Of U.S. Counties, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this fact sheet, author Kenneth Johnson examines new data released by the Census Bureau which provide insights into the continuing influence of the Great Recession on U.S. demographic trends. He reports that, for the first time in U.S. history, deaths exceeded births in two entire states: Maine and West Virginia, and a record 36 percent of all U.S. counties experienced natural decrease in 2012. Natural decrease occurs when more deaths than births occur in an area in a given year. The growing incidence of natural decrease in America has gone largely unnoticed, but the new data demonstrate that natural …

Political Bias Meets Climate Bias: Overcoming Science Denial In A Politically Polarized World, Minda Berbeco, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Sociology

No abstract provided.

Rural Natives’ Perceptions Of Strengths And Challenges In Their Communities, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Carsey Publications

This brief uses two sources of data to explore how Native Americans view the current socioeconomic and environmental state of their communities and their future within them—the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) surveys and focus groups with Native leaders in one rural state. The data help to illustrate how the Native experience is both similar to, and unique from, that of other rural Americans. While the findings reported by author Jessica Ulrich-Schad illustrate that there are significant challenges facing Native people, they also show that strengths and opportunities continue to exist in Indian Country and that Natives remain …