Sociology Commons^™

Violent Youth Arrests Continue To Fall Nationwide, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

FBI crime data show that the number of violent youth arrests declined between 2012 and 2013, with aggravated assaults dropping significantly. Youth arrests peaked in the nineties, began to decline sharply before rebounding in 2006, and dropped again in 2008. This databit looks at violent youth arrest rates based on crime offenses from 1980 to 2013.

Gettysburg’S Faustian Bargain, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

A question to the reader: have you ever visited Gettysburg? Presumably most of the Gettysburg Compiler’s audience will answer in the affirmative. A follow-up question: have you ever purchased a souvenir from one of the town’s abundant gift shops? Perhaps it was a kepi or a cork gun for your child? Or maybe a bottle of “Rebel Red” wine? Or some tacky trinket or faux antique?

Let’s face it: we live in a consumer society in which there is nothing too sacred to profit from. And, sadly, the Battle of Gettysburg is no exception. [excerpt]

The Other N Word, Emma R. Okell

SURGE

As we waited for a ride, I noticed my friend’s shirt. It looked strange and disjointed. It was white and black and looked like cut up picture of a contorted woman. Taken aback, I asked what it was.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I like it because it looks Nazi.” [excerpt]

Opinion: Too Many Veterans With Children Are Still Homeless, Christopher R. Fee, Joshua L. Stewart

English Faculty Publications

Don’t ignore homeless veterans.

As we pause this Veterans Day to reflect on those who have sacrificed in the service of our country, let us not neglect to address the plight of those who have returned to a civilian life with far less promise than they have every right to expect. [excerpt]

Water And Sanitation In Mumbai's Slums: Education Through Inquiry Based Learning In Social Work, Ronald Yesudhas, Patil Lalit, Antony Josy, Shenoy Impana

The Qualitative Report

Water and sanitation are the most important services necessary for life and dignity of citizens. But slum dwellers are excluded from these services, resulting in environmental degradation, marginalization and poor health. Through inquiry based learning, the first author has attempted to give his students an first hand and innovative learning experience by helping them to explore water and sanitation issues in the Ambujwadi slum of Mumbai (India) on their own. The paper highlights the pedagogical approach and by the way of illustrations helps the reader to understand its usefulness in teaching students of social work.

An Exploration Of Collective Meaning-Making Among Migrant Workers, Patturaja Selvaraj

The Qualitative Report

I engaged with workers in India who have migrated from rural districts in the southern state of Karnataka to work in the mess of an academic institute located in a western state of India. These workers faced significant challenges and vulnerabilities due to being part of the unorganised sector. The primary question for my inquiry was to understand how migrant workers negotiated these vulnerabilities and whether they could succeed in processes of informal collectivisation based on shared bonds of language and ethnicity. I interviewed six migrant workers to understand their experiences and difficulties they face. I analysed the data by …

Out Of Our Comfort Zones: Reflections About Teaching Qualitative Research At A Distance, Cheyl A. Hunter, Debora Hinderliter Ortloff, Rachelle Winkle-Wagner

The Qualitative Report

How does an increase in distance technology alter the teaching of qualitative research? This article uses a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (McKinney, 2007) framework in which each author collected data in the form of personal narrative essays about teaching qualitative research from a distance, course products, teaching evaluations, and student comments. Individually we created a narrative reflection on the teaching and learning of qualitative methodology; particularly comparing our individual experiences with both distance and in-person teaching formats. Through these reflective essays, we provide ideas about our teaching of qualitative research via distance technology as a conceptual conversation about the …

“…With Liberty And Justice Equitably And Efficiently Allocated For All”, Jake K. Bates

CrissCross

The American pledge of allegiance and Constitution indicate that liberty and justice are provided for all citizens and that we are guaranteed equal protection under the law. Understanding the state of nature as Thomas Hobbes did, it is clear that liberty and justice are not efficiently allocated and there is no protection under law. Therefore, these ethical concepts are provided in civil society tangibly through civil services including policing. This essay views local police resources as an economic good, limited in its supply, in need of both equitable and efficient allocation. The ethical implications of inequitable or inefficient policing are …

It's Not Unusual: Glee And The Mainstream Acceptance Of Spontaneous Public Performance, Elizabeth M. Downey

UL Publications

When Glee debuted in 2009, the genre of the television musical series had a shaky history. Traditional episodic programs had previously aired musical episodes but these were seen as rare absurdities; the genre was an oddity to exploit on occasion, not something that could sustain an entire series (a belief proven when previous attempts had failed). The flash mob culture that emerged in the mid-2000s alongside the groundswell of social media changed this environment. The absurdity of people “bursting into song” in a public place was no longer a completely unrealistic scenario, and this reopened the door for the musical …

Becoming An Educator, Naveen Jonathan

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Discusses employment options for Marriage & Family Therapists.

Understanding The Differences Between Defined Benefit Pension And Defined Contribution, Emily G. Brown Jd, Jeanne Medeiros Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

In recent years, more and more employers are offering employees defined contribution plans instead of defined benefit plans. Although, there has been a shift away from the defined benefit pension plan, it is important for employees to understand the difference and value of both pension plans.

Each type of pension plan has both advantages and disadvantages. What may appear as an advantage to one person might seem to be a disadvantage to another person. For example, a person who spends all or most of her career with a single employer will have very different concerns from someone who changes jobs …

Understanding The Specialized Language Of Retirement Plans, Emily G. Brown Jd, Jeanne Medeiros Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

Whether you are a participant in a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan, the realm of pension benefits can be tricky and confusing to navigate. Some of the terminology used might be unfamiliar to the average person. This glossary of common terms associated with retirement plans is meant to serve as a helpful resource for plan participants.

Get It Girl, Anna H, Lauren F, Kelly M

Women’s Studies, Feminist Zine Archive

Writings and art about female (mostly teen and young women) sensations and role models and female stereotyping in mass media outlets.

Sex: The Zine, Chapman University

Women’s Studies, Feminist Zine Archive

Writings and art about sexuality and gender identity, including sexual fluidity, bisexuality, masturbation and self-care, sex-positive feminism, and gender stereotyping.

Women At A Glance, Vanessa B., Lori B., Laura K.

Women’s Studies, Feminist Zine Archive

Writings and art about female condoms, parenting, purity balls, marriage, abusive relationships, and rape culture.

Rethinking Coalitions: Anti-Pornography Feminists, Conservatives, And Relationships Between Collaborative Adversarial Movements, Nancy Whittier

Sociology: Faculty Publications

Social movements interact in a wide range of ways, yet we have only a few concepts for thinking about these interactions: coalition, spillover, and opposition. Many social movements interact with each other as neither coalition partners nor opposing movements. In this article, I argue that we need to think more broadly and precisely about the relationships between movements and suggest a framework for conceptualizing noncoalitional interaction between movements. Although social movements scholars have not theorized such interactions, “strange bedfellows” are not uncommon. They differ from coalitions in form, dynamics, relationship to larger movements, and consequences. I first distinguish types of …

Experimentally Evaluating Statistical Patterns Of Offending Typology For Burglary: A Replication Study, Lance Edwin Gilmore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used a quasi-experiment in order to evaluate the effect the SPOT-burglary profile on burglary arrest rates. A single police agency split into three different districts was used for the quasi-experiment. The SPOT-burglary profile was implemented in one district, while leaving the other two as control groups. The differences between the districts were controlled for using a statistical analysis. Burglary arrest rates were collected each month for all three districts for a period of one year before the implementation, and for six months after the implementation. Results show that the district who received the SPOT-burglary profile raised their burglary …

A Sensitive Question: Asking About Race In A Research Interview, Laura O'Hare

The Qualitative Report

Conversations are significant, but often overlooked cultural sites where attitudes, beliefs, and values about race are both reified and challenged. As such, these sites deserve increased scholarly attention (Allen, 2007). We employed Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory as a framework to examine the discursive strategies used by 11 interviewers in a research context as they asked 115 patient participants (taking part in a larger study of patients at a community-based family medicine residency clinic) to identify their race, as well as to identify the discursive strategies used by patient participants who answered this question. Our analysis revealed that in their …

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Personal Mastery Among Sexual Minority African-American Female Sex Workers, Mance E. Buttram, Hilary L. Surratt, Steven P. Kurtz

CAHSS Faculty Articles

Research among sexual minorities has traditionally examined problems such as substance use, HIV risk, mental health problems, and victimization. Among sexual minority street-based female sex workers, these vulnerabilities can be magnified. Grounded in theories of resilience, this study examines risk and protective factors associated with a high level of personal mastery among a vulnerable population of women. Data are drawn from baseline interviews from street-based African American female sex workers enrolled in a randomized intervention trial in Miami, Florida. We compare sexual minority (N=197) and heterosexual (N=365) women on measures of risk and protective factors; among sexual minority women we …

Mothers Of Sons With Substance Use Disorders: A Grounded Theory Approach Revealing Maternal Expectations And Three Stages Of Change, Judith A. Nelson, Richard C. Henriksen, Roseanne S. Keathley

The Qualitative Report

Addiction problems in a family present challenges in coping with the addicted family member's behaviors are often described in terms of the psychopathology of the interactions of the family members. The present article describes a qualitative study of the lived experiences of mothers whose male children have struggled or currently are struggling with chemical dependence. Our overall aim in the study was to explore critical stages or events in the experiences of these mothers relevant to their chemically dependent sons. As such, our research question was: What are the lived experiences of mothers of substance abusing sons who are either …

Critical Approach To Reflexivity In Grounded Theory, Stephen J. Gentles, Susan M. Jack, David B. Nicholas, K. Ann Mckibbon

The Qualitative Report

A problem with the popular desire to legitimate one’s research through the inclusion of reflexivity is its increasingly uncritical adoption and practice, with most researchers failing to define their understandings, specific positions, and approaches. Considering the relative recentness with which reflexivity has been explicitly described in the context of grounded theory, guidance for incorporating it within this research approach is currently in the early stages. In this article, we illustrate a three-stage approach used in a grounded theory study of how parents of children with autism navigate intervention. Within this approach, different understandings of reflexivity are first explored and mapped, …

Understanding The Role Of Technology In The Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children: The Perspective Of Law Enforcement., Kimberly J. Mitchell, Dana Boyd

Crimes Against Children Research Center

This exploratory study was conducted to better assess how technology can be used in criminal investigations; it is important to get a better understanding of how technology is currently employed in child sex trafficking as well as the approaches and needs of law enforcement. 144 investigators from Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces and affiliate agencies responded to an online semi‐structured survey, including 45 investigators with experience conducting investigations of the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) that involved technology. Participants included investigators working in local, county, and state law enforcement agencies in the United States. The discussion suggested …

Place Events Fall 2014, Place

PLACE Historical Documents

This document describes PLACE events at Linfield College for fall 2014.

"The World's Fair, Pruitt-Igoe, And The Myths Of Modernism", Timothy J. Fox

The Confluence (2009-2020)

The 1904 World 's Fair and Pruitt-Igoe, a public housing project, are clearly defined in St. Louis history, one as being possibly the best event to take place in St. Louis and the other as the most epic of failures for the city. Here they are examined and the mythical promises of civic growth they both displayed.

"Where We Stand", John Posey, Mary Ricchio

The Confluence (2009-2020)

ln the wake of the summer's events, the discussion about race in American cities has accelerated. In this important article, Posey and Ricchio present their findings on how St. Louis stands in relation to other cities on key issues surrounding race.

"Creative Destruction In The Antebellum Marketplace: St. Louis Merchants And The Railroad Boom Of The 1850s", Mike Snodgrass

The Confluence (2009-2020)

The 1850s was a time of great change for merchants in St. Louis. Railroads were moving in and with them came greater business competition. Commercial organizations such as the St. Louis Merchants Exchange came about to try to stabilize the marketplace. However, even these groups were unable to protect the market from the qualms and tribulations it would face .

Fall/Winter 2014, Full Issue

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

Social Desire Paths: A New Theoretical Concept To Increase The Usability Of Social Science Research In Society, Laura Nichols

Sociology

Social scientists are well-trained to observe and chart social trends, but less experienced at presenting scientific findings in formats that can inform social change work. In this article, I propose a new theoretical concept that provides a mechanism by which social science research can be more effectively applied for proactive policy, organizational, and program development. The approach is to use the metaphor of “desire paths” from landscape architecture to show how social scientists can identify and analyze social desire paths that appear on the social structural landscape. Social desire paths usually emerge because existing formal structures do not meet individual …

Research Digest Number 10: Parents And Teachers: Working Together To Foster Children’S Learning, Kate Perkins, Pat Knight, Marion Meiers

Research Digest

This edition of the Research Digest focuses primarily on parent-teacher collaboration, considering what research can tell us about:

• why parental engagement is important
• key features of effective collaborations
• critical challenges and issues that teachers and parents may face
• strategies that have helped teachers and parents build effective relationships

Some examples of activities undertaken as part of whole-school programs are also included. These illustrate the kind of scaffolding that helps teachers, parents and children establish the foundations for effective interactions.

The Digest draws on searches of data bases and bibliographic resources including the Australian Education Index, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), …

Missing Data And The Statistical Modeling Of Adolescent Pregnancy, Dudley L. Poston Dr., Eugenia Conde Dr.

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Missing data is a pervasive problem in social science research. Many techniques have been developed to handle the problem. Different ways of handling missing data were shown to lead to different results in statistical models. A demonstration was given based on statistical modeling of the likelihood of a woman reporting having had an adolescent pregnancy by handling missing data with several different approaches. Results indicate that many of the independent variables in the model vary in whether they are, or are not, statistically significant in predicting the log odds of a woman having a teen pregnancy, and in the ranking …