Inequality and Stratification Commons^™

Young And Unafraid: Queer Criminology's Unbounded Potential, Vanessa R. Panfil

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Queer criminology, a fairly young subfield, deals with matters of import for sexual and gender minorities, particularly LGBTQ+ populations. Areas of interest include reducing invisibility and inequity, though these pursuits can sometimes be accompanied with potential pitfalls or unintended consequences. This article provides an overview of the goals and considerations of queer criminology, while focusing on how to cultivate queer criminology's unbounded potential to help address pressing social problems. Several global issues of immediate concern for LGBTQ+ people are identified, such as criminalization and devaluation of their lives, which has resulted in their detainment and torture, persecution when they organize …

Clarifying The Social Roots Of The Disproportionate Classification Of Racial Minorities And Males With Learning Disabilities, Dara Shifrer

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The disproportionate placement of racial minorities and males into special education for learning disabilities (LDs) raises concerns that classifications occur inaccurately or inequitably. This study uses data from the Education Longitudinal Survey of 2002 to investigate the social etiology of LD classifications that persist into adolescence. Findings suggest the overclassification of racial minorities is largely consistent with (clinically relevant) differences in educational performance. Classifications may occur inconsistently or subjectively, with clinically irrelevant qualities like school characteristics and linguistic-immigration history independently predictive of disability classification. Finally, classifications may be partially biased, with male overclassification largely unexplained by this study’s measures and …

One Team: A Historical Analysis Of Inequalities Between Men's And Women's Professional Soccer, Allyson O. Braciska

Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Student Scholarship

The United States Soccer Federation (U.S.S.F.) governs the sport of soccer at the youth recreational, teen elite, and adult professional levels, and is one of the few organizations in the country that governs both the men’s and women’s sides of the respective sport. This paper examines differences between U.S. men's and women's soccer at the adult professional and identifies areas of discrimination based on gender. Inequalities experienced by women coaches and players include wage disparity, a lack of television broadcasting space, differences in sponsorships and media portrayal of players, unequal playing and living conditions, a shortage of women in positions …

Models Of Other-Regarding Preferences And Redistribution, Matthew Dimick, David Rueda, Daniel Stegmueller

Journal Articles

Despite the increasing popularity of comparative work on other-regarding preferences, the implications of different models of altruism are not always fully understood. This article analyzes different theoretical approaches to altruism and explores what empirical conclusions we should draw from them, paying particular attention to models of redistribution preferences where inequality explicitly triggers other-regarding motives for redistribution. While the main contribution of this article is to clarify the conclusions of these models, we also illustrate the importance of their distinct implications by analyzing Western European data to compare among them. We draw on individual-level data from the European Social Survey fielded …

Climate Change, Colonialism, And Second-Class Citizenry: A Case Study Of The Impacts Of Hurricane María In Puerto Rico, Aislyne Calianos

Senior Honors Projects

The hurricane season of 2017 was a historic one, with mammoth storms making landfall one after another, in what seemed like an unrelenting assault on our coastal cities and communities. Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, Irma plowed through Florida, and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but one of these storms was unlike the others. Why is it that the American citizens of our southern states were able to recover so much more quickly than our citizens in Puerto Rico? In the era of climate change, we will be forced to reckon with the modern legacy of colonialism, as vulnerable communities must face …

Evaluating Theories On Income Polarization In The U.S., Jocelyn Anderson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

This paper examines the relationship between technological change and income polarization within the United States. I examine and discuss the reshaping of the U.S. labor market via skill- biased technological change, possible effects of globalization, as well as institutional policies. My research also explored how aspects of corporate structure norms, and tax avoidance could be causes for increased income polarization related to top tier incomes. Using current literature and data to consider the top causes of an increasingly widening wage gap, one can see that advancements in technology and the changes it has had on the labor market, as well …

Exploring The Roots Of Chronic Underdevelopment: The Colonial Encomienda And Resguardo And Their Legacy To Modern Colombia, Pedro Bossio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Colombian society has been historically marked by socioeconomic inequality, restricted social mobility, and institutional weakness. In order to understand the reasons for the country´s continuous struggle to achieve inclusive economic progress and stability since its independence from Spain in 1819, it is necessary to understand its colonial history. Central to this were the two most important colonial economic institutions, the encomienda and the resguardo, both designed for the exploitation of unfree Indian labor. Even when these were slowly replaced by more modern haciendas worked by free farm workers, the economic and political life of the country continued to be …

Poverty And Inequality, Yana Kucheva

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Queer University: An Ethnographic Case Study Of The Trans Student Experience Of College Campus Space, Madeline Johnson

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Operating from the premise that physical space becomes a gendered reality through social interaction, this study examines the social formation of self for gender nonconforming college students. Through ethnographic observations of an LGBTQ+ student organization and interviews with self-identified trans students, this research highlights the negotiation of campus space from a queer participant perspective. First, I present the trans student description of cisnormative space, the process of queering space through forming a queer community, and the experience of perceived safe space. This study finds that students experience all on-campus space as pervasively and fundamentally cisnormative, but upon the erasure of …

Analyzing The Role Of Income Inequality In American Political Polarization, Jake Wheeler

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Income inequality and political polarization have been thought to be connected for centuries, as it was first proposed, formally, in the 10th Federalist Paper, by James Madison, in 1787. Madison proposed the notion that when citizens become politically polarized, one must look towards individual ownership of property, or income. Political scientists have heeded Madison’s claim, and have continued studying how income inequality and political polarization interact, yielding a wide spectrum of results. While some studies have lacked conclusive evidence to show correlation or causation, some have found statistical significance when examining the effect of income disparities on political polarization.

Where Do Women Stand? Attitudes Towards Female Political Participation In India And The Us, Grace Anne Carlson

Audre Lorde Prize

This paper aimed to study attitudes towards gender inequalities in politics, both in the United States and India. Using original survey research and World Values Survey data, American and Indian attitudes towards women in politics were analyzed and compared. Ultimately, the project found that respondents in both countries still hold distinctly unequal views on women in the political sphere.

Demographic Profile, Geographic Distribution, Disability Prevalence, And Likelihood Of Being In-Poverty Amongst Grandparents Responsible For Grandchildren, Carlos Siordia, Mary E. Rauktis

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Evidence-based research on Grandparents Responsible for Grandchildren (GRfG) continues to grow in recent decades. This brief report expands global knowledge on custodial grandparents by making use of a large data resource in the United States (US). The specific aim was to delineate the demographic profile, geographic distribution, and prevalence of specific-disabilities for the GRFG population in the US mainland. We also explore how demographic factors are associated with likelihood of being in-poverty. The analysis used data from the 2009-2013 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) file. The ACS is a nationally representative, yearly, statistical survey administered …

Policy Brief No. 23 - Health Inequalities Among Older Adults: Reconciling Theories And Policy Approaches, Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Andrea Willson, Sandra Reiter-Campeau

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Despite universal access to healthcare, there are disparities in older people’s health status in developed countries. These inequalities are rooted in lifelong differences in social and economic status. Government policies to assist older people may end up reinforcing these inequalities if they fail to create a buffer against their effects. However, best case practices and WHO guidance show that policies can also mitigate against the effects of lifelong disadvantage in older age. There is opportunity to design initiatives for older people in Canada that lessen the disparities in health outcomes that we currently see.

Policy Brief No. 18 - The Dynamics Of Inequality Among Canadian Children, Peter Burton, Shelley Phipps, Lihui Zhang

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

This study characterizes income inequality and mobility of Canadian children between the ages of 4/5 and 14/15. There is considerable inequality of family income. Moreover, income position is especially persistent for children at the bottom and top of the distribution; this is unfair and may be perpetuated into adulthood. Finally, family structure is very important for children’s material well-being; for example, they experience a considerable drop in income position upon parental separation/ divorce. It is recommended that such children be protected, perhaps through advance maintenance payments.

Research Brief No. 4 - An International Comparison Of Lifetime Inequality: How Continental Europe Resembles North America, Audra Bowlus, Jean-Marc Robin

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Is earnings inequality in North America as high as previous research has suggested? And how does North America compare to Europe? Previous studies on this topic have found a higher level of earnings inequality in North America than in Continental Europe. However, these studies have focused largely on earnings in a single year. In their forthcoming study on earnings inequality, authors Audra Bowlus and Jean-Marc Robin develop a new methodology for investigating and comparing earnings inequality in North America and Europe. The methodology developed by Bowlus and Robin constructs a measure of lifetime earnings in order to compare lifetime earnings …

Personal Responsibility For Systemic Inequality, Martha T. Mccluskey

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 15 in Research Handbook on Political Economy and Law, Ugo Mattei & John D. Haskell, eds.

Equality has faded as a guiding ideal for legal theory and policy. An updated message of personal responsibility has helped rationalize economic policies fostering increased inequality and insecurity. In this revised message, economic “losers” should take personal responsibility not only for the harmful effects of their individual economic decisions, but also for the harmful effects of systemic failures beyond their individual control or action. In response to the 2008 financial crisis, this re-tooled message of personal responsibility promoted mass austerity in …

Reproductive Rights In Latin America: A Case Study Of Guatemala And Nicaragua, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

A lack of access to contraceptives and legal abortion for women throughout the nations of Nicaragua and Guatemala creates critical health care problems. Moreover, rural and underprivileged women in Guatemala and Nicaragua are facing greater limitations to birth control access, demonstrating a classist aspect in the global struggle for female reproductive rights. Although some efforts have been made over the past half-century to initiate a dialogue on the failure of medical care in these nations to adequately address issues of maternal mortality and reproductive rights, the women's reproductive health movements of Nicaragua and Guatemala have struggled to reach an effective …

Who Cares About Inequality Of Opportunity And Why?, James Trocme

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Inequality is one of the most pressing economic issues in today’s world. High levels of economic inequality are associated with a large number of negative economic side effects and with correspondingly high levels of political inequality. This results in the voices of the few being heard more loudly than the voices of the many and a disruption of democracy. However, in the United States there seems to be very little political will to take action that might curb the problem of inequality. Many scholars agree that the defining aspect of a person’s opinion on the subject is their own self-interest, …

The Federal Reserve And A Cascade Of Failures: Inequality, Cognitive Narrowness And Financial Network Theory, Emma Coleman Jordan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The recent financial crisis hollowed out the core of American middle-class financial stability. In the wake of the financial crisis, household net worth in the U.S. fell by 24%, for a loss of $16 trillion. Moreover, retirement accounts, the largest class of financial assets, took a steep drop in value, as did house prices, and these two classes of assets alone represent approximately 43% of all household wealth. The losses during the principal crisis years, 2007–2009, were devastating, “erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity,” in the words of a 2013 report. By the Federal Reserve. Beyond these direct household …

On The Divide: Examining Residential Segregation In Marin County, California, Felicia Burgess

Senior Theses

Today, segregation is a term rarely used or heard in public discourse, as it has been illegal in the U.S for the past 50 years. However, despite its illegalization, scholars and sociologists have noted that patterns of segregation are still a prominent feature of many U.S counties, cities and suburbs. Reflecting upon my experiences as a black woman living in an all-white community, this paper offers a critical analysis of the causes and consequences of residential segregation in Marin County, California: a county of urban and suburban communities just 20 minutes north of San Francisco. Despite its liberal image, Marin …

Surveillance, Knowledge And Inequality: Understanding Power Through Foucault And Beyond., Simon Purdy

The Hilltop Review

Understanding a concept as complex as power, in the social sciences, can often be a daunting task. In order to fully comprehend power, it is therefore necessary to examine it through the lens of other issues and theoretical devices. In this paper, power is approached through an examination of surveillance and associated technologies. Utilizing the theoretical work of Michel Foucault, and stepping beyond this basic groundwork, we explore the contentions surrounding the study of power within sociology, the ways in which surveillance constitutes and even threatens structures of power. The paper concludes with an analysis of inequality, welfare and the …

The Fair And Laissez-Faire Markets: From A Neoliberal Laissez-Faire Baseline To A Fair Market, Eric L. Dixon

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

The essay begins with a brief overview of the role of the neoliberal conception of the laissez-faire market in modern political economy. The essay then goes on to defend three claims: 1) the laissez-faire version of a market should not be considered the economic ideal or baseline version of a market because often the fundamental conditions required to reach a genuine equilibrium are unfulfilled under a laissez-faire environment, 2) a distribution resultant from a laissez-faire market should not be considered the ultima facie just distributive baseline because an unregulated market may allocate commodities according to morally arbitrary factors and requires …

Income, Program Participation, Poverty, And Financial Vulnerability: Research And Data Needs, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The aim of this paper is to assess the adequacy of the data infrastructure in the United States to meet future research and policy evaluation needs as it pertains to income, program participation, poverty, and financial vulnerability. I first discuss some major research themes that are likely to dominate policy and scientific discussions in the coming decade. This list includes research on the long-term consequences of income inequality and mobility, issues of transfer-program participation and intergenerational dependence, challenges with poverty measurement and poverty persistence, and material deprivation. I then summarize what information we currently collect in the U.S. that is …

Fearless Friday: Annamarie Houlis, Annamarie Houlis

SURGE

Constantly working to make open and safe spaces on campus for women to speak up and receive support, using her writing and journalism skills to find and spread the word about social injustices affecting women, and taking the initiative to start her own women’s justice blog, AnnaMarie Houlis ’14 uses her creativity and passion to help those not just on campus, but globally.

Why Is That Even A Question?, Naima Scott

SURGE

“Are you the only white Africana Studies Major?” I overheard another student ask a friend.

I reacted. “Why is that even a question?”

I'Ve Seen The Promised Land: A Letter To Amelia Boynton Robinson, Mauricio E. Novoa

SURGE

You asked if I had any thoughts or comments at the end of our visit, and I stood and said nothing. I opened my mouth, but instead of giving you words my throat was sealed by a dam of speechlessness while my eyes wept out all the emotions and heartache that I wanted to share with you. The others in my group were able to express their admiration, so I wanted to do the same. [excerpt]

Transnational Marriage: Modern Imaginings, Relational Realignments, And Persistent Inequalities, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Journal Articles

In the context of shifting cultural anchors as well as unstable global economic conditions, new practices of intimacy and sexuality may become tactics in an individual’s negotiation of conflicting desires and potentials. This article offers reflection on the interface between global forces, powerful transcultural narratives, and state policies, on the one hand, and local, even individual, constructions and tactics in regard to sexuality, marriage, migration, and work, on the other. The article focuses on the life trajectory of Gudiya, an ambitious young Hindu woman who started out life with little social capital and few economic resources in a dusty corner …

Rust-Belt Recovery: The Cleveland Model As Economic Development In An Age Of Economic Stagnation And Climate Change, Ross Lenihan

Pepperdine Policy Review

The economic outlook of the United States is dire. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, poverty has not lessened even as U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has rebounded following the Great Recession. This paper explores the development potential of joint worker-community cooperative structures during the current economic downturn by analyzing the “Cleveland model,” a network of worker-owned cooperatives supported by local education/healthcare "anchor" institutions and financed and organized by a non-profit community development corporation. I find that while worker and community-owned enterprises hold significant promise for both workers and communities in times of economic stagnation and ecological danger, existing market …

Challenging Inequality: Professor Fernando De Maio Explores The Statistics Behind Health Disparities

DePaul Magazine

According to the World Health Organization's commission on the social determinants of health, "reducing health inequalities is ... an ethical imperative. Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale." Fernando De Maio, associate professor of sociology at DePaul University, explores this concept by examining avoidable health inequalities in the global sphere. He uses sociological methods to analyze empirical data and hopes statistics can be used to bring about policy change.

Meta-Analysis Of The Book: "Privilege, Power And Difference" -- A Review Of The Dimensions Of Institutional Segregation As Psychological Paradox, Alexej Savreux

Sociology Student Papers and Presentations

This paper analyzes and synthesizes concepts and alternative perspectives of sociologist and author Allan G. Johnson’s book “Privilege, Power and Difference” through the lens of the sociological imagination. The first phase of the review addresses the different chapter dimensions of the concept (or purported abstraction) of ‘inequality’ as social, economic and historical concretion. The model is later elaborated upon and the work extrapolated into a meta-theoretical analysis of the first seven chapters of the textbook. By identifying and reviewing the principal points within the book, we present a multitude of vantage points by which continuation and assimilation of material in …