Sociology Commons^™

Needle Acquisition Patterns, Network Risk And Social Capital Among Rural Pwid In Puerto Rico, Ian Duncan, Patrick Habecker, Roberto Abadie, Ric Curtis, Bilal Khan, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) take on significant risks of contracting blood-borne infection, including injecting with a large number of partners and acquiring needles from unsafe sources. When combined, risk of infection can be magnified.

Methods: Using a sample of PWID in rural Puerto Rico, we model the relationship between a subject’s number of injection partners and the likelihood of having used an unsafe source of injection syringes. Data collection with 315 current injectors identified six sources of needles.

Results: Of the six possible sources, only acquisition from a seller (paid or free), or using syringes found on the …

Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey [2017], Paulin Straughan, Mathews Mathew

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The authors undertook the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey. The survey was completed in March 2017 and was made possible through funds from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. The survey was carried out by the research company, Blackbox Research. The survey sample is representative of the demographics of the Singapore population. In particular, we sought the views of 2000 Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents aged 21 years and above. A response rate of about 70% of eligible households was obtained. In general, we found that there was a high level of satisfaction on the cleanliness of public spaces …

Asian Americans During The Cold War, Richard Baldoz

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Queries To Google Search As Predictors Of Migration Flows From Latin America To Spain, Dawid K. Wladyka

Sociology Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the relationship between the changes in proportion of migration-related queries reported by Google Trends and changes in volume of migration flows between origin and destination countries. The study assesses if cost-free Google Trends improves the prediction of international migratory flows, and whether it could be proposed as a tool for organizations and policymakers. Previous research has used the activity of email users and other online services to track human mobility. At the same time, IP geolocation linked to Google Search has proven to be efficient in geographically tracking outbreaks of illnesses, as well as predicting changes in …

Surviving In Cairo As A Closed-File Refugee: Socio-Economic And Protection Challenges, Nourhan Abdel Aziz

Faculty Journal Articles

Using data generated from twenty-nine focus groups with 186 closed-file and rejected asylum seekers residing in Cairo, as well as interviews with community leaders and service providers, this report explores their livelihood experiences by focusing on their socioeconomic conditions and protection challenges. Discussions focused on the important aspects of livelihoods which include: housing, education, health and employment. Their legal status, access to justice, and experiences of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) were also explored. In spite of the barriers that many of them routinely face, the target groups communicated their coping strategies that help them survive in Egypt and overcome …

Responding To Infertility: Lessons From A Growing Body Of Research And Suggested Guidelines For Practice, Karina M. Shreffler, Arthur L. Greil, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Infertility is a common, yet often misunderstood, experience. Infertility is an important topic for family scientists because of its effects on families; its relevance to research in related areas, such as fertility trends and reproductive health; and its implications for practitioners who work with individuals and couples experiencing infertility. In this review, we focus on common misperceptions in knowledge and treatment of infertility and highlight insights from recent research that includes men, couples, and people with infertility who are not in treatment. The meaning of parenthood, childlessness, awareness of a fertility problem, and access to resources are particularly relevant for …

Hillary Clinton And The Media: From Expected Roles To The Critique Of Feminism, Martina Topic, Etajha C. Gilmer

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we analysed Hillary Clinton’s relationship with the media starting from her first appointment at a US First Lady to her being the Democratic nominee for the US presidential elections in 2016. Thus, we analysed academic literature demonstrating Clinton’s problems with the media bias, and then added our own discourse analysis of articles on Clinton and feminism in two main national newspapers that have consistently demonstrated the power of setting the agenda and forming public opinion in the U.S. – The Washington Post and The New York Times. Discourse analysis has been used to analyse 20 selected articles …

Physicians' Moral Dispositions, Role Perceptions, And Patient Interactions: Exploratory Findings From Physicians In The Midwestern United States, Aaron B. Franzen

Faculty Publications

We know that patients and their well-being is important to physicians, but what this means in terms of their practice is not always as clear. One potentially fruitful approach to understanding this variation is to look to physicians' value dispositions and moral foundations. Prior work within the general population has highlighted the place and importance of religion/spirituality, but very little is known about physicians and how moral foundations matter for medicine more broadly. The purpose of this research note is to explore these issues with a sample of physicians in Michigan. We find that individual characteristics are related to physicians' …

Health-Related Quality Of Life Variations By Sociodemographic Factors And Chronic Conditions In Three Metropolitan Cities Of South Asia: The Carrs Study, Kavita Singh, Dimple Kondal, Roopa Shivashankar, Mohammed K. Ali, Rajendra Pradeepa, Vamadevan S. Ajay, Viswanathan Mohan, Muhammad Masood Kadir, Mark Daniel Sullivan, Nikhil Tandon, K M Venkat Narayan, Dorairaj Prabhakaran

Community Health Sciences

Objectives: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a key indicator of health. However, HRQOL data from representative populations in South Asia are lacking. This study aims to describe HRQOL overall, by age, gender and socioeconomic status, and examine the associations between selected chronic conditions and HRQOL in adults from three urban cities in South Asia.
Methods: We used data from 16 287 adults aged ≥20 years from the baseline survey of the Centre for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia cohort (2010-2011). HRQOL was measured using the European Quality of Life Five Dimension-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ5D-VAS), which measures health status …

Citizenship Education In A Fragile State: Ngo Programs For Democratic Development And Youth Participation In Haiti, Gary W.J. Pluim

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This research centres on NGO citizenship education programs in Haiti to better understand youth experiences, outcomes, and perceptions of democracy. The findings from this study illustrate how programs from Western-based NGOs with liberal democratic traditions typically construct citizenship education in relation to the individual agency of the learners, whereas youth living in the context of fragility note the prerequisite for stable social structures as a foundation for citizenship. Through multi-dimensional analyses, this article highlights the importance of historical perspectives, the value of comparing disparate societies, and the necessity to explicate social locations in cross-cultural research. The concluding proposition states that …

Keberhasilan Kelompok Tani Sekar Mulyo Dalam Memengaruhi Kebijakan Pemerintah Kota Batu Tahun 2009-2016, Hisab Akbar Regaty

Jurnal Politik

This article will outline the factors that can drive the success of a civil society orga¬nization at the village level in influencing decisions by local governments, with case study of the Sekar Mulyo farmer group in Batu City. The question raised is why the Sekar Mulyo farmer group influences the local agriculture and infrastructure policy more successfully in Batu City in 2009-2016. This article uses qualitative approach by using primary and secondary data. The research found that there are determinants of success are collaborative strategies of civil society organizations, social capital, and clientelistic relation.

Hatred Simmering In The Melting Pot: Hate Crime In New York City, 1995-2010, Colleen E. Mills

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Hate crime proves prevalent in American society, inflicting a variety of harms on victims as well as society at large. Scholars have long sought to understand the motivations and conditions behind hate crime offending. Green and his colleagues conducted the classic neighborhood studies examining the conditions that foster hate crime (Green, Glaser, & Rich, 1998; Green, Strolovich, & Wong, 1998; Green, Strolovitch, Wong, & Bailey). Using data from the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force, the current study replicates and extends Green's neighborhood studies by investigating hate crime in New York City from 1995 to 2010. This study …

Preventing Sexual Violence Where It Most Often Occurs: An Investigation Of The Situational And Structural Components Of Child Sexual Abuse In Residential Settings, Nicole Colombino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Given that sex offenders tend to perpetrate crimes against people they know (e.g., Greenfield, 1997) and first encounter victims in residential locations (Colombino, Mercado, Levenson, & Jeglic, 2011), it is important that research examine the circumstances of sexual offenses within residential settings. Although previous research has examined the perpetration patterns of sexual offenses against children, especially related to grooming tactics (e.g., Conte, Wolf, & Smith, 1989) and situational factors (e.g., Wortley & Smallbone, 2006), there are few studies that specifically examine the correlates of child sexual abuse within residential settings. This type of data would allow for the development of …

Essays On Economics Of Inequality, Aboozar Hadavand

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters all around the subject of inequality. The first chapter provides a novel analysis of the trend in income inequality in the United States between 1979--2013. There are two ways in which this chapter contributes to the literature. First, I analyze how much of the existing inequality in the U.S. is due to the demographic changes that happened over this period. Using microdata from Luxembourg Income Study and after decomposing inequality into within- and between-age group components, I find that the within-group share of overall inequality in the U.S. is high and steady compared to …

Patriarchy And Varieties Of Violence Against Women: A Contextual Analysis, Margaret Schmuhl

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Violence against women (VAW) is a widespread social problem affecting nearly two million women in the United States each year (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). In recent years, feminist criminologists have called for the ‘resurrection’ of patriarchy as a theoretical explanation of VAW women (Hunnicutt, 2009) suggesting that the prior literature’s focus on gender inequality in social institutions must be broadened to include patriarchy’s ideological element. The empirical literature on VAW mostly examines the effects of gender inequality on rape and femicide often neglecting more common forms of violence that women experience. In addition, while there are some exceptions, this literature …

Ua12/2/1 Wkuherald321, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter recapping the top stories of the week.

Framing Homelessness As Crisis: A Comparative Content Analysis Of Local Media Reports On Portland's Tent Cities, Katrien Cokeley

Dissertations and Theses

This content analysis of mainstream and alternative news narratives interprets the use of the crisis media frame, and describes the relationship between local policy initiatives, media discourse and public opinion on tent cities, organized by people experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon. Framing homelessness and housing as a crisis intensified the public debate, attested by an increase in mainstream media reports on tent cities, and by controversial policy changes that addressed the individually-experienced traumatic impacts of the City's anti-camping ordinance, as well as the systemic lack of affordable housing and emergency shelter. Media discourse related to city-sanctioned tent cities blurs the …

Smartphones: Addiction, Or Way Of Life?, William E. Thompson 8865136, Mica L. Thompson

Journal of Ideology

Due to the widespread popularity and seeming dependence on smartphones, especially by millennials and post-millennials, many parents, teachers, and even medical professionals have expressed concern that an entire generation may be addicted to these devices and the various social media to which they provide access. Sociologically, however, it may be more insightful to apply some of the well-established theories related to social change and adaptation to technology, to describe, analyze, and better explain the massive popularity and widespread use of this particular phenomenon as a way of life and its impact on human behavior, social interaction, culture, and society.

The Shifting Discourse On Third Places: Ideological Implications, Mark N. Wexler, Judy Oberlander

Journal of Ideology

Within the social sciences, literature on third places attempts to assist in the construction of a social concept of “place”. This notion of a place is an idealization of the bridging space with home and family on one side, and work with the rule-based impersonality of life in mass society, on the other. Like the idea of work-life balance—as seen through the vocabulary of placemaking—third places provide people with a place in which there is a balance between the emotive attachments of home and family and the challenge striving for merit and reward in the marketplace. To date, third places …

A Father's Lament: Uva Law Professor A. Benjamin Spencer On Charlottesville, A. Benjamin Spencer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 93, No. 12, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Moore, Noah. Students Reflect on Death of Fresh Worker – Debra Wiley-Mitchell
• Harsh, Spencer. Making the Cut – JC’s Barbershop
• Fletcher, Griffin. Campus Commemorates Banned Books Week
• Deppen, Laurel. WKU Student Nick Lawson Releases EP
• Hovell, Nolan. Exploring Bowling Green’s Music Scene
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Retirement Pensions
• The Pension Crisis
• Hormel, David. Don’t Prioritize Patriotic Iconography Over People
• Mathews, Carly. Faculty Expresses Low Morale in Survey
• Alvey, Rebekah. Attorney General Approves New Requirements for Gatton Academy of Math & Science
• Ziege, Nicole. Student …

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Temporal Stability Of Crime Hot Spots And The Criminology Of Place, Michael J. Deckard

Dissertations

It is widely recognized that the distribution of crime in urban areas is not randomly distributed, but is highly concentrated in small pockets of space known as crime “hot spots”. While the empirical evidence supporting the law of crime concentration is strong, most studies that have examined the stability of crime hot spots over time have aggregated crime across years. This dissertation seeks to expand our understanding of the temporal stability of micro-geographic crime hot spots by addressing three research questions: (1) How are high-crime micro-places distributed at the monthly level? How much variation exists in the distribution of crime …

Child Sexual Abuse And Depression In Late Life For Men: A Population-Based, Longitudinal Analysis, Scott D. Easton, Jooyoung Kong, Matt C. Gregas, Ce Shen, Kevin Shafer

Faculty Publications

Objective: Research investigating long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on mental health for men is vastly underdeveloped. This study strengthened the knowledge base by examining: (a) long-term trajectories of depressive symptoms for men with and without a history of CSA, and (b) moderating effects of social support over time.

Method: We analyzed multiple waves of data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The sample (N = 2,451) consisted of men with histories of CSA and a stratified, randomly sampled comparison group. Growth curve modeling was employed for analyses.

Results: After controlling for demographic, parental, and health factors, men with …

The Potential Of Virtual Environments To Support Soft-Skill Acquisition For Individuals With Autism, Jennifer Gallup, Mary E. Little, Barbara Serianni, Onur Kocaoz

The Qualitative Report

This study examined the phenomenon of online gaming to describe the social interactions of young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they socialize and develop relationships within virtual environments. This research built upon previous literature related to the identification of alternate modes of developing social skills and interpersonal relationships of adolescents with ASD by exploring the social implications of virtual environments. Young adults with autism experience grim outcomes such as low enrollment in postsecondary education, low wages, few living independently, and few maintaining full time employment as a result of poor social skills. Given the availability of online …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 93, No. 11, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Kast, Monica. Interim Title IX Guidelines Announced
• Mohr, Olivia. Kidding Around – Goat Yoga
• DeLetter, Emily. Protestors Gather Against Proposed Health Care Bill – Affordable Care Act
• Alvey, Rebekah. Board of Regents Discuss Diversity Plan, Budget
• Alvey, Rebekah. New Leadership & Goals Set for Budget Council
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Football Players Protests
• Burgess, Kelly. Diets: Fact or Fad?
• Leonard, Nicole. Fleeting Feminist – Television
• Gabhart, Ebonee. Dual Responsibility of Media & Its Consumers
• Pritchett, Grace. Behind the Curtain – Theatre & Dance
• Collins, …

Evaluating The Term ‘Disorders Of Sex Development’: A Multidisciplinary Debate, Natalie Delimata Phd, Margaret Simmonds Phd, Michelle O'Brien Msc, Georgiann Davis Phd, Richard Auchus Md, Phd, Karen Lin-Su Md

Sociology Faculty Research

In 2014, almost 10 years after the 2005 International Consensus Conference on Intersex in Chicago,1 one of the conference co-organisers, under the auspices of a number of international paediatric endocrinology societies, launched the Global DSD Update to assess progress. A consortium of fourteen work groups conducted online/email discussions to explore each of the fourteen key topics, one of which was use of the controversial medical umbrella term ‘Disorders of Sex Development (DSD)’. The initial key question for Work Group 1 (referred to hereafter as WG1) was to reconsider the nomenclature. Nineteen individuals from a variety of professional backgrounds, including medical …

Learning And Changing: The Shaping Of A Teacher’S Identity Through Time, Across Spaces And In Different Contexts, Nikolaos Bogiannidis, Jane Southcott, Maria Gindidis

The Qualitative Report

This research paper explores the confluence of significant events in my life that shaped my identity as a teacher and researcher. I employed autoethnography to explore my personal life journey across time, space and context, in order to identify and to analyse the significant moments of epiphany that impacted on my decision to become a teacher. The findings of this study reveal a number of universal qualities of good teachers across three continents who, independently and unbeknown to each other, acted as role models in shaping my identity and my desire to become a teacher in order to serve the …

Age Drives Distortion Of Brain Metabolic, Vascular And Cognitive Functions, And The Gut Microbiome, Jared D. Hoffman, Ishita Parikh, Stefan J. Green, George Chlipala, Robert P. Mohney, Mignon Keaton, Bjoern Bauer, Anika M. S. Hartz, Ai-Ling Lin

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Advancing age is the top risk factor for the development of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the contribution of aging processes to AD etiology remains unclear. Emerging evidence shows that reduced brain metabolic and vascular functions occur decades before the onset of cognitive impairments, and these reductions are highly associated with low-grade, chronic inflammation developed in the brain over time. Interestingly, recent findings suggest that the gut microbiota may also play a critical role in modulating immune responses in the brain via the brain-gut axis. In this study, our goal was to identify associations between deleterious changes in …

Decision Domains And Teacher Participation: A Qualitative Investigation Of Decision-Making In Egyptian Schools, Waheed Hammad

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to explore the gap between actual and desired decision domains as a potential factor affecting teacher participation in decision-making in Egyptian schools. In order to explore this gap, the study sets out to answer three questions: (1) what would a typology of school decisions look like in Egypt’s secondary schools? (2) How do Egyptian teachers perceive actual decisions made in their schools? (3) What decision domains are most desired by Egyptian teachers? The study employed a qualitative, descriptive research approach based on individual, semi-structured interviews with a sample of 85 school teachers and senior …

Editor's Introduction, Michael D.; Pante

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.