Sociology Commons^™

Data Note: Vr Outcomes For People With Spinal Cord Injury, Frank A. Smith, Dana Scott Gilmore, John Butterworth

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

An estimated 250,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Since 2000, the average age of injury has been 38, with almost 80% of new injuries affecting men. Approximately 7,154 persons with SCI entered the VR service system in 2004. In 2004, 2382 individuals with SCI achieved successful rehabilitation with the support of state vocational rehabilitation agencies.

Incidence Of Four-Generation Family Lineages: Is Timing Of Fertility Or Mortality A Better Explanation?, Sarah H. Matthews, Rongjun Sun

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Objectives. This article estimates the percentage of lineages that include four or more generations for a sample of the U.S. population and explores how social status and race are related to lineage depth.

Methods. We assembled data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households in order to estimate the proportion of adults in four or more generations for the Wave 2 sample (1992-1994). When necessary, we used various decision rules to overcome an absence of information about specific generations. We examine relationships between lineage depth and sociodemographic variables by using logistic regressions.

Results. The …

The Curious Feminist: Searching For Women In A New Age Of Empire. Cynthia Enloe., Michelle Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Cynthia Enloe, The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004. $50.00 hardcover, $19.95 papercover.

Review Of Fathers Under Fire: The Revolution In Child Support Enforcement, By Irwin Garfinkel, Sara S. Mclanahan, Daniel R. Meyer, And Judith A. Seltzer, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The title of this book adequately reflects its timely focus on nonresidential fathers facing increased child support enforcement, examining how child support contributions (or failure to meet child support obligations) affect the lives of children as well as the fathers themselves. As the authors suggest, nonresident fathers have generally been treated as financial resources, with little attention paid to their rights as parents or their needs as providers for their children. A particular focus of this collection of studies is the role of indigent nonresident fathers and their role as parents and providers. Consequently, the scope of study adopted by …

Youth Helping America - Educating For Active Citizenship: Service-Learning, School-Based Service And Youth Civic Engagement, Kimberly Spring, Nathan Dietz, Robert Grimm Jr.

Civic Engagement

This brief is the second in the Youth Helping America Series, a series of reports based on data from the Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey, a national survey of 3,178 American youth between the ages of 12 and 18 that was conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2005 in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and the nonprofit coalition Independent Sector.

The survey collected information on teen volunteering habits, experiences with school-based service-learning, and other forms of civic engagement. While the first brief in the Youth Helping America Series focused on youth volunteering and social …

Pathways In And Out Of Substance Use Among Homeless-Emerging Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler, Katherine Johnson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although high rates of alcohol and drug use have been found among homeless young people, less is known about who is responsible for their initiation, the reasons for their continued use, and why some individuals eventually transition out of using whereas others do not. Based on qualitative interviews with 40 homeless individuals 19 to 21 years of age in the Midwest, results revealed that the majority of respondents were initiated into substance use by friends and acquaintances, although family also played a significant role. Almost one half of respondents reported using substances to cope with early family abuse, stress, and …

Financial Knowledge Of The Low-Income Population: Effects Of A Financial Education Program, Min Zhan, Steven G. Anderson, Jeff Scott

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the effects of one large financial management training program for low-income people. The data are from tests of pre- and posttraining financial knowledge of 163 participants. The test was designed to measure basic knowledge of participants in five content areas: predatory lending practices, public and work-related benefits, banking practices, savings and investing strategies, and credit use and interest rates.

The findings demonstrate that substantial pre-training knowledge deficiencies existed on basic financial management issues, especially on public and work-related benefits and savings and investing. Results also indicate that the program was effective in improving the financial knowledge of …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 33, No. 1 (March 2006)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• SPECIAL ISSUE ON COPING WITH POVERTY THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT: A STUDY OF ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS VS. NON-PARTICIPANTS - Richard K. Caputo
• WHEN POLICY MEETS PRACTICE: THE UNTESTED EFFECTS OF WELFARE REFORM - Amy D'Andrade and Jill Duerr Berrick
• FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOW-INCOME POPULATION: EFFECTS OF A FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM - Min Zhan, Steven G. Anderson, and Jeff Scott
• PATIENT INSURANCE STATUS AND DO-NOTRESUSCITATE ORDERS: SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST? - Gigi Nordquist
• THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SANCTIONS AND TIME LIMITS ON RECIPIENTS OF TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES - Taryn Lindhorst and Ronald J. …

The Severely-Distressed African American Family In The Crack Era: Empowerment Is Not Enough, Eloise Dunlap, Andrew Golub, Bruce D. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Numerous African American families have struggled for generations with persistent poverty, especially in the inner city. These conditions were further strained during the 1980s and 1990s by the widespread use of crack cocaine. For many, crack use became an obsession, dominated their lives, and superseded family responsibilities. This behavior placed additional pressure on already stressed kin support networks. This paper explores the processes prevailing in two households during this period. In the 2000s, children born to members of the Crack Generation are avoiding use of crack but face major deficits from their difficult childhoods. This presents both challenges and opportunities. …

From "Poor" To "Not Poor": Improved Understandings And The Advantage Of The Qualitative Approach, Eleanor Wint, Christine Frank

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Re-analysis of qualitative data generated in six Country Poverty Assessments in the Caribbean, suggests that traditional ways of seeing the poor might well lead to unfair categorisation of a people who are unwilling to be seen as living in poverty. Use of qualitative data software was able to bring out new understandings of the conceptual difference between being poor and living in poverty. Wint and Frank suggest that this is a distinction which those responsible for designing and implementing poverty intervention strategies would be wise to bear in mind as it would allow for creative and timely use of community-based …

Citizen Participation In Neighborhood Organizations In Poor Communities And Its Relationship To Neighborhood And Organizational Collective Efficacy, Mary Ohmer, Elizabeth Beck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Collective efficacy describes residents' perceptions regarding their ability to work with their neighbors to intervene in neighborhood issues to maintain social control and solve problems. This study examines whether citizen participation in neighborhood organizations located in poor communities is related to neighborhood and organizational collective efficacy among residents. The results indicate that the more residents participated in their neighborhood organization, the greater their level of organizational collective efficacy, but not neighborhood collective efficacy. The results of the current study will help support social workers and other community practitioners understand how to effectively facilitate citizen participation in ways that enhance collective …

The Sequential Costs Of Poverty: What Traditional Measures Overlook, Elizabeth A. Segal, Laura R. Peck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This research note proposes an addition to the poverty measurement debate. Motivated by dissatisfaction with the official poverty measure, which many scholars and practitioners share, we propose the use of sequential costs of poverty to enrich the poverty measure so that it might capture more closely the life-experiences of low-income families. After presenting some background on poverty measurement, this research note explores the conceptual framework that surrounds the notion of sequential costs. Drawing on our past research, we propose ways in which these sequential costs surface, with illustrative examples from health, employment, housing, and income maintenance.

Review Of The Politics Of Multiracialism: Challenging Racial Thinking. Heather M. Dalmage (Ed.). Reviewed By Wilma Peebles-Wilkins., Wilma Peebles-Wilkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Heather M. Dalmage (Ed.), The Politics of Multiracialism: Challenging Racial Thinking. Albany, NY.: State University of New York Press, 2004. $65.50 hardcover, $21.95 papercover.

Performance And Representation: Masculinity And Leadership At The Cairo Refugee Demonstration, Martin Rowe

Faculty Journal Articles

In the autumn of 2005, Sudanese refugees staged a protest of UNHCR in Cairo. Demonstration organizers were young, single men who confronted tasks of maintaining control and discipline and negotiating with an international agency. Their attainment of community authority would have been improbable in Sudan. Why did people listen to them, and why were they allowed to represent so many others? This paper evaluates the demonstration leadership in terms of preservation of masculine identity and status attainment. Their roles in the demonstration can be viewed as masculine “performance.” These considerations are developed through an examination of how leaders exercised authority, …

The Prospects Of Assisted Voluntary Return Among The Sudanese Population In Greater Cairo, Yasmine Ahmed

Faculty Journal Articles

This study looked at the prospects of assisted voluntary return among Sudanese migrants currently residing in Greater Cairo, Egypt. Its main objectives were to identify elements affecting the migration choices of Sudanese already residing in Egypt, especially their propensity to stay in Egypt, return to Sudan or move to a neighbouring country and to suggest components of a reinsertion programme that best suits the needs of potential returnees. This research project was commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and conducted by the Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies Program (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo. The project …

Survey Participation, Nonresponse Bias, Measurement Error Bias, And Total Bias, Kristen M. Olson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A common hypothesis about practices to reduce survey nonresponse is that those persons brought into the respondent pool through persuasive efforts may provide data filled with measurement error. Two questions flow from this hypothesis. First, does the mean square error of a statistic increase when sample persons who are less likely to be contacted or cooperate are incorporated into the respondent pool? Second, do nonresponse bias estimates made on the respondents, using survey reports instead of records, provide accurate information about nonresponse bias? Using a unique data set, the Wisconsin Divorce Study, with divorce records as the frame and questions …

Some Guiding Assumptions And A Theoretical Model For Developing Culturally Specific Preventions With Native American People, Les B. Whitbeck

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This essay proposes six basic assumptions to guide the development of prevention research partnerships between Native American communities and non-Native American prevention researchers. It also presents a five-stage theoretical model for the development of culturally specific prevention research. The theoretical model addresses the need for: (a) the cultural translation of key prevention constructs pertaining to risk and protective factors and (b) the development of measures of culturally specific risk and protective factors that will contribute to explained variance over and above that explained by traditional European models. “Cultural translation” refers to the process of adapting key variables to reflect their …

Sudanese Demonstration In Cairo: Different Stands And Different Opinions, Assad Khalid Salih

Faculty Journal Articles

The historical relationship between Sudan and Egypt harkens back to Pharonic and Nubian civilizations. As a consequence of both Turkish and British occupation, Sudan and Egypt have a shared experience of colonial rule and therefore share commonalities. During the period of occupation, many Sudanese and Egyptians settled in each others countries and many became citizens of both countries or intermarried. The relationship was, for many decades, peaceful and harmonious. However, the tranquility was disrupted in the 1980s when, as a consequence of the seizure of power by Pro-Islamists in Sudan, the relationship between the countries became one of tension. Relations …

Nothing Left To Lose? An Examination Of The Dynamics And Recent History Of Refugee Resistance And Protest, Matthew Themba Lewis

Faculty Journal Articles

Refugee protest is some of the most desperate, dramatic and spectacular. Instances of self-immolation, slow public starvation, and riotous violence are not rare, but public response and research has been limited at best. Simultaneously, it can be quiet, unnoticed, isolated, lonely - late night solitary suicides and disappearance from institutional routine. Coping with the harsh conditions of life in exile, institutional and otherwise, is an inherent component of the refugee experience - and a component that, as trends toward restrictive asylum policy grow, increasingly incorporates protest. Resistance in exile has become a tool of refugee identity, a vehicle through which …

Family, Community, And School Influences On Resilience Among American Indian Adolescents In The Upper Midwest, Teresa D. Lafromboise, Dan R. Hoyt, Lisa Oliver, Les B. Whitbeck

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examines resilience among a sample of American Indian adolescents living on or near reservations in the upper Midwest. Data are from a baseline survey of 212 youth (115 boys and 97 girls) who were enrolled in the fifth through eighth grades. Based upon the definition of resilience, latent class analyses were conducted to identify youth who displayed prosocial outcomes (60.5%) as opposed to problem behavior outcomes. A measure of family adversity was also developed that indicated only 38.4% of the youth lived in low-adversity households. Defining resilience in the context of positive outcomes in the face of adversity, …

You Can’T Be Serious, That Ball Was In: An Investigation Of Junior Tennis Cheating Behavior, Jonathan Casper

The Qualitative Report

Because junior tennis players have to enforce the rules of the game against each other, cheating to give a player an unfair advantage is common. While this deviant behavior is found to be commonplace in the sport, there is little research to investigate its cause or influences. Results indicated that junior players felt that personal and parental pressures were the most common sources of perceived pressure to win that resulted in cheating behavior. The prevalence of parents who cheat was also cited as a major issue with the participants. Implications as to how the current study adds to the literature …

Sex Similarities And Differences In Preferences For Short-Term Mates: What, Whether, And Why, Norman P. Li, Douglas T. Kenrick

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Are there sex differences in criteria for sexual relationships? The answer depends on what question a researcher asks. Data suggest that, whereas the sexes differ in whether they will enter short-term sexual relationships, they are more similar in what they prioritize in partners for such relationships. However, additional data and context of other findings and theory suggest different underlying reasons. In Studies 1 and 2, men and women were given varying "mate budgets" to design short-term mates and were asked whether they would actually mate with constructed partners. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm. Whereas women have been found to …

Impact Of War And Military Service On Income Inequality In Northern Vietnam, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

During the 1940s-1970s Vietnam experienced nearly continuous wars. Military service was almost a rite of passage for young men growing up during these decades. Evidence indicates that families during wartime viewed military service as a locus for upward mobility, as the socialist regime promised veterans various incentives, including educational benefits, employment preference, and Communist Party membership. While this series of wars over the span of three decades has left a profound imprint on the early life course trajectories of men in Vietnam, there is surprisingly little research detailing the long-term consequences of military service. Based on the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, …

Moving From Separate Subject To Interdisciplinary 1 Teaching: The Complexity Of Change In A Preservice Teacher K-1 Early Field Experience, Janet C. Richards, Kim T. Shea

The Qualitative Report

This phenomenological inquiry looked at 28 preservice teachers as they participated in a field-based curricula restructuring initiative that connected the disciplines of creative arts, science, and reading. The preservice teachers offered weekly interdisciplinary lessons to kindergarten and first grade students . A survey, teaching cases, and a group exit interview informed the study. Throughout most of the semester, the preservice teachers struggled with procedural and pedagogical content knowledge, concerns directly related to effective teaching. By the end of the semester, they felt comfortable teaching interdisciplinary lessons. Results suggest that preservice teacher curricular restructuring efforts are complex and that teacher educators …

Post Modern Image-Based Research: An Innovative Data Collection Method For Illuminating Preservice Teachers’ Developing Perceptions In Field-Based Courses, Janet C. Richards

The Qualitative Report

As part of course requirements twenty -eight preservice teachers in a field- based content reading course create d a series of se lf-portraits that illustrated their concerns and perceptions about teaching content reading. They accompanied their drawings with dialogue. Analysis of the portraits indicates that arts-based techniques have the potential to provide insights about preservice teachers’ perceived realities and understandings that narrative data alone might not reveal. The preservice teachers experienced high levels of stress as they prepared to teach their first lesson and their anxieties continued pas t mid-semester. By the end of the course the majority developed confidence …

Community Research Mythology, Barabara Walden

The Qualitative Report

This article is dedicated to an in-depth discussion of the theme “community” and the implications the multiple meanings of community hold for the field of qualitative research. This theme surfaced from Waldern’s 2003 study entitled Resistance to Research in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which dealt with participant resistance to joining research efforts, and deserves the attention of all social researchers. In this article, the politics of the rese arch process are discussed to evaluate and suggest improvements for reflexive methods of inquiry. Determining that the idea of “community research ” is a myth, this work is concerned about making qualitative methods …

Comparison Of Methods And Interdisciplinary Possibilities. The Case Of Literature Reviews In Social Work And In Nursing Sciences, Yves Couturier, Christian Dumas-Laverdière

The Qualitative Report

The reflections on interdisciplinarity cover several dimensions. One, among them, concerns the nature of what occurs between two disciplines. Does inter-disciplinarity relate to an intention, to a metatheory, to the object, or to a method? It is this ultimate space that we propose to study, supported by Resweber’s (2000) proposition, putting the study of the homology of forms forward as a promising way to better understand the interdisciplinarity. Therefore, we have modelled the literature review methods for social work and nursing in order to clarify what expresses, on the plan of the method, either some form homologies or else some …

A Necessary Evil: The Experiences Of Managers Implementing Downsizing Programmes, Ernesto Noronha, Premilla D'Cruz

The Qualitative Report

This paper presents the findings of a phenomenological study, which describes the experiences of human resource (HR) managers implementing a downsizing programme in a steel manufacturing organisation in India. Data were collected through conversational interviews. Following van Manens sententious analytic approach, the core theme of a necessary evil, emerged, which indicates that while participants were pained by their task of having to terminate workers and deprive them of their livelihood, they believed that they had no choice in the matter if they had to ensure the competitive position of the organisation and their own survival as employees. The findings of …

Designing And Implementing A Qualitative Evaluation Protocol For Non-Credit Life Long Learning Programs 1, Dennis L. Mcelhoe, George Kamberelis, Jerry L. Peters

The Qualitative Report

This study was undertaken to determine whether an evaluation model employing multiple methods of data collection and analysis might yield more useful information for improving lifelong learning courses than existing models. Major findings included: (1) learning satisfaction appears to be dependent on the instructional environment adults may be most comfortable with and; (2) the confidence gained in using computers, rather than skills acquisition, was the greatest benefit students derived from their participation. Findings from this study suggest the value of mixed methods evaluation designs for generating information that is useful for improving lifelong learning courses. Findings also suggest the need …

College Student Mentors And Latino Youth: A Qualitative Study Of The Mentoring Relationship, Lisa L. Knoche, Byron L. Zamboanga

The Qualitative Report

This phenomenological study describes the meaning of mentoring relationships from the perspectives of six purposefully selected mentors involved in the Latino Achievement Mentoring Program (LAMP), and investigates underlying themes regarding the mentors’ relationships. Clusters of themes pertaining to the mentors’ relationship with the mentee, the relationship of the mentor with the mentee’s family, and the mentors’ personal and professional development contributed to the meaning of the mentoring relationship for LAMP mentors. Mentors highlighted challenges that characterized the mentoring relationships at various points in time: However, relations hip strengths outweighed potential obstacles. Findings are useful for programs that target Latino youth, …