Sociology Commons^™

Examining Research Issues Of Power And Privilege Within A Gender-Marginalized Community, Stacee L. Reicherzer, Sherece Shavel, Jason Patton

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

This research practice article presents the ethical dilemmas and decision-making of a White transgender researcher (Author A), who conducted a qualitative case study of resiliency among three transsexual women of Mexican origin who worked as entertainers in south and central Texas. The study, conducted within a community in which both the researcher and participants were a part and in which they had all experienced varying degrees of marginalization, presented a number of unique characteristics from the onset that became more embedded as the study developed and concluded. In the absence of a guiding body of literature from her own profession, …

The Road To “Severe Obesity”: Weight Loss Surgery Candidates Talk About Their Histories Of Weight Gain, Julia Temple Newhook, Deborah Gregory, Laurie Twells

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Much research focuses on the causes of weight gain, but few studies examine the perspectives of those who have been categorized as “severely obese.” This paper discusses the findings of 54 interviews with weight loss surgery candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We explore participants’ perspectives on their histories of weight gain, focusing on their explanations for weight gain as well as the emotions surrounding their weight gain experiences. We find that the dominant individualized, medicalized construction of obesity both (1) adds to the burden of blame for weight loss surgery candidates, with potential emotional health implications, and (2) overlooks …

Seeing Is Believing: The Csi Effect Among Jurors In Malicious Wounding Cases, Corey Call, Amy K. Cook, John D. Reitzel, Robyn D. Mcdougle

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

With the popularization of television crime shows that focus heavily on forensic science, such as CSI and its spin-offs, concerns about a new threat to jury trials have emerged in recent years. Dubbed the “CSI effect,” this phenomenon has reportedly come to influence the way jurors perceive forensic evidence at trials based on the way forensic evidence is presented on television. While the CSI effect has been the topic of much discussion throughout the popular press, the CSI effect has seldom been empirically tested. In this study, we present a selection of media accounts as well as criminological and …

Comparing Local Models Of Agrarian Transition In China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The development of markets and the penetration of capital into agriculture have started the agrarian transition in rural China, which is transforming smallholding, household-based agriculture into various forms of capitalistic production. This again raises in a new historical and social context the long-debated question in the agrarian transition literature: Can family farms survive the onslaught of capitalist agriculture based on wage labor and what shapes the confrontation between family farms and agro-capital? I argue that it is the local political economy—rather than some natural obstacles in agriculture to the penetration of capitalism—that shapes this confrontation and gives rise to a …

North American Indigenous Adolescent Substance Use, Melissa Walls, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn, Les B. Whitbeck

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives—To investigate growth in problem drinking and monthly marijuana use among North American Indigenous adolescents from the upper Midwest and Canada.

Methods—Panel data from a community-based participatory research project includes responses from 619 adolescents residing on or near 7 different reservations/reserves. All respondents were members of the same Indigenous cultural group.

Results—Rates of problem drinking and monthly marijuana use increased steadily across the adolescent years, with fastest growth occurring in early adolescence (before age 15). In general, female participants reported higher rates of substance use prior to age 15; however, male reports of use surpassed those of females in later …

The Importance Of Social Cues For Discretionary Health Services Utilization: The Case Of Infertility, Arthur L. Greil, Karina M. Shreffler, Katherine M. Johnson, Julia Mcquillan, Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Infertility is a discretionary health condition; although it carries with it important life course implications, treatment is rarely necessary for health reasons. Sociological theories of medical help-seeking emphasize demographic factors, perceived need, and enabling conditions in health services utilization, but we find that social cues are also strongly associated with health services utilization for infertility. Adjusted for conventional predictors of medical help-seeking, several social cue indicators have significant associations with utilization, including having friends and family with children, perceiving infertility stigma, and having a partner and/or family member who encourages treatment. Perceived need accounts for the largest portion of the …

Do Non-Response Follow-Ups Improve Or Reduce Data Quality?: A Review Of The Existing Literature, Kristen Olson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The paper systematically reviews existing literature on the relationship between the level of effort to recruit a sampled person and the measurement quality of survey data. Hypotheses proposed for this relationship are reviewed. Empirical findings for the relationship between level of effort as measured by paradata (the number of follow-up attempts, refusal conversion and time in the field) and question-specific item non-response rates, aggregate measures of item non-response rates, response accuracy and various measurement errors on attitudinal questions are examined through a qualitative review.

Topological And Historical Considerations For Infectious Disease Transmission Among Injecting Drug Users In Bushwick, Brooklyn (Usa), Kirk Dombrowski, Richard Curtis, Samuel Friedman, Bilal Khan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Recent interest by physicists in social networks and disease transmission factors has prompted debate over the topology of degree distributions in sexual networks. Social network researchers have been critical of “scale-free” Barabasi-Albert approaches, and largely rejected the preferential attachment, “rich-get-richer” assumptions that underlie that model. Instead, research on sexual networks has pointed to the importance of homophily and local sexual norms in dictating degree distributions, and thus disease transmission thresholds. Injecting Drug User (IDU) network topologies may differ from the emerging models of sexual networks, however. Degree distribution analysis of a Brooklyn, NY, IDU network indicates a different topology than …

The Broken Safety Net: A Study Of Earned Income Tax Credit Recipients And A Proposal For Repair, Sara Sternberg Greene

Faculty Scholarship

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest federal antipoverty program in the United States and garners almost universal bipartisan support from politicians, legal scholars, and other commentators. However, assessments of the EITC missed an imperative perspective: that of EITC recipients themselves. Past work relies on largely unconfirmed assumptions about the behaviors and needs of low-income families. This Article provides a novel assessment of the EITC based on original data obtained directly from 194 EITC recipients through in-depth qualitative interviews. The findings are troubling: They show that while the EITC has important advantages over welfare, which it has largely …

Editor's Note, Brenda L. H. Marina

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Minority Women In Stem: A Valuable Resource In The Global Economy, Ezella Mcpherson, Diane R. Fuselier-Thompson

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

While there is an expected demographic shift of the ethnic minority population in the United States to become the majority population by 2020, few minority women successfully attain baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields. To address this gap, this article employs critical race feminism and narrative analysis methods to examine minority women’s challenges while pursuing undergraduate STEM degrees. Findings suggest that limited access to the field, isolation and alienation, and affordability create barriers that result in many minority women leaving STEM majors. Implications for practice include targeted institutional efforts to increase recruitment and retention efforts towards …

The Voices And Choices Of Women In The Academy, Ramona Ortega, Brenda L. H. Marina, Lena Boustani Darwich, Eunju Rho, Isa Rodriquez-Soto, Rajade Berry-James

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

While it is clear that gender inequity still exists, this situation is compounded by race, ethnicity and sexism. The daily experiences of women confirm that racism and sexism is alive and well. This article presents and examines the experiences of Latino, Black, Arab, and Asian professional women and the consequences of their career decisions. Synthesized with literature, conceptual patterns of significance are noted for young girls and women of color aspiring and pursuing professional careers in education. The strategies utilized by these diverse professional women to cope with the trials and tribulations of contemporary educational and professional challenges are reviewed. …

The Impact Of Religious Commitment And Motivation On African American Male Academic Achievement, Beverly Cabble Logan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method, pragmatic, research study was to determine, from successful African American college age students, what influences have contributed to their academic success. Quantitative data were collected using two survey instruments, the Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI-10) and a researcher created demographic instrument for data collection. Qualitative data were collected through five researcherconducted focus group discussions with 10 African American students enrolled in a four year university located in the southeast region of the United States. The guiding questions were: How does religious commitment impact academic achievement among minority male college students? What relationship exists between religious …

"A Song For You" As Tribute To The Daughters Of The South: Illuminating The Work Of Black Women Principals, Beverly Cox

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Curriculum can be understood as a place of both struggle and possibility, where curriculum workers engage in complicated conversations about self, society, and the purposes of education (Pinar, 2004). Although curriculum theorists have contributed much to discussions of how to improve the current state of education, little attention in the field is given to the role that leadership can play in educational transformation (Ylimaki, 2011). This study contributes to the field of curriculum studies by exploring the ethics of care of Black women public school principals in the South.

By exploring the life experiences of Black female principals from the …

Housing Patterns, Academic Performance And School Choice: An Inquiry Into The Relocation Experiences Of African-American Families, Courtney Jones-Hall

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry explored the educational relocation experiences of AfricanAmerican families residing in predominately-White and northern Gwinnett County, Georgia, who relocated to pursue improved educational opportunities for their children. For poor families or African- American families with limited resources, school choice is determined largely by where one lives. Historical oppression at the local, state and federal level has encouraged the concentration of African-American families into segregated communities and segregated housing patterns (Massey & Denton, 1998; Rice, 2009; Squires & Kim, 1995), which are often associated with educational inequality (Royce, 2009). The historical oppression and racial injustices in society challenges us …

Title Page

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Climbing The Ladder To Leadership And Other (Un) Told Stories Of Black Women Administrators In Higher Education, Marian Muldrow

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

This narrative reflection presented vacillates between an exploration of the historical journey of the Black women and a modern day Black women who is “persisting in the journey toward self-definition…” (Collins, 2000, p. 121). This history eludes to the underrepresentation of Black women that originates in colleges and universities, which results in the underrepresentation in higher education administration. This narrative and interpretative review considers race and highlights factors and barriers that perpetuate the glass ceiling in higher education for Black women.

Dismantling Glass Ceilings: Ethical Challenges To Impasse In The Academy, Debora Y. Fonteneau

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

This article uses numeric and qualitative data to interrogate the impact of affirmative action policies on shattering glass ceilings and resolving impasse in the academic lives of African Americans. This work takes its trajectory from previous research on glass ceilings (Marina and Fonteneau, 2012). Two brief case studies from both PWIs and HBCUs are mentioned to ponder complex attitudes toward race, gender and power. In extracting meaning from the policies, practices, and cases, it became clear that attitudes toward power and authority are influenced by context, but even more, by an individual’s sense of right and wrong. This work is …

Submission Requirements

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Women Faculty Of Color: Success Stories From The Margins, Bridget Turner Kelly, Kristin Mccann

Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Global Achievement Gap (Archived)

Based on data from a larger, longitudinal study of 22 women faculty on the tenure track, this qualitative study examines the socialization experiences of four women faculty of color (WFOC) who earned tenure at two public, research extensive, predominantly White institutions (PWIs) in the U.S. This study gives voice to WFOC who broke through the glass ceiling of tenure and were promoted to associate professor. Although these women earned tenure, their adjustment as newcomers to the academy was fraught with marginalization for being both women and persons of color. Specifically, the WFOC experienced challenges to their role clarity, self-efficacy and …

Intersectionality: Mapping The Movements Of A Theory, Devon Carbado, Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, Vicki M. Mays, Barbara Tomlinson

Faculty Scholarship

Very few theories have generated the kind of interdisciplinary and global engagement that marks the intellectual history of intersectionality. Yet, there has been very little effort to reflect upon precisely how intersectionality has moved across time, disciplines, issues, and geographic and national boundaries. Our failure to attend to intersectionality’s movement has limited our ability to see the theory in places in which it is already doing work and to imagine other places to which the theory might be taken. Addressing these questions, this special issue reflects upon the genesis of intersectionality, engages some of the debates about its scope and …

Contributors

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

On Danish-American Cultural Identity, Signe Sloth

The Bridge

In 1967 an article was published which kick-started a discussion that is still going on among sociologists today. The subject of the article is American civil religion and the writer is the American sociologist Robert Bellah who claims that every nation and every people has a religious self-understanding. He advocates an American civil religion that is separated from other denominations and established religious institutions, but just like them demands recognition and understanding. Bellah defines this Civil Religion as " ... A genuine apprehension of universal and transcendental religious reality as seen in or . . . as revealed through the …

Evaluation Of The Early Years Programme Of The Childhood Development Initiative: Full Report, Noirin Hayes, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Siobhán Keegan, Eimer Goulding

Reports

Please note this is the full report

Re-Theorizing The “Structure–Agency” Relationship: Figurational Theory, Organizational Change And The Gaelic Athletic Association, John Connolly, Paddy Dolan

Articles

This article illustrates how the figurational sociology associated with Norbert Elias provides an alternative theoretical framework for explaining the relationship between, ‘individualorganization- society’ and organizational change, and in so doing transverses what is conceived as a false dichotomy between structure and agency. Through an historical case study of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland, the ‘individual-organization-society’ relationship is conceptualized as overlapping figurations and organizational change is explained as figurational dynamics—the shifting social interdependencies between the individuals and groups comprising an organization, between that organization and other organizations, between social groups on a higher level of integration and competition. In tandem …

Emotions, Violence And Social Belonging: An Eliasian Analysis Of Sports Spectatorship, Paddy Dolan, John Connolly

Articles

This paper examines the development of different forms of spectator violence in terms of the socio-temporal structure of situational dynamics at Gaelic football matches in Ireland. The nature of violent encounters has shifted from a collective form based on local solidarity and a reciprocal code of honour, through a transitional collective form based on deferred emotional satisfaction and group pride, towards increasing individualization of spectator violence. This occurs due to the shifting objects of emotional involvement. As the functional specialization of the various roles in the game is partially accepted by spectators, the referee becomes the target of anger. Violence …

Exploring The Motivations For Cooperation Among Rural Tourism Entrepreneurs, Ziene Mottiar

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of The Motivations Behind Committee Membership In Food Networks, Denise O'Leary, Mary Rose Stafford

Conference papers

Food Tourism has been recognised as a fast growing niche area where Ireland can gain competitive advantage. In recognition of the importance of collaboration among diverse stakeholders in the development of food tourism, networks have been identified as essential. This article presents findings from research conducted with three networks and reveals the motivations for committee membership. Data was gathered in 2012 through participant observation and interviews with steering committee members on three food networks using an action research approach.

A framework for examining motivations for collaboration is offered in this article which will contribute to effective network management. Motivations are …