Regional Sociology Commons^™

Data Analysis Made Easy: An Undergraduate Student's Guide To Choosing Appropriate Statistical Tests For Social Research, A. Olu Oyinlade

Great Plains Sociologist

This article is written as a guide for undergraduate students in using statistics in the social sciences. Some general guidelines are provided for deciding which statistic to use with different types of data (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio). Four sections are presented: identifying variables, choosing appropriate statistics, computation, and understanding results. This article is not written as a "nuts and bolts" guide to teaching all of statistics but instead is a guide to help students. Instructors of this material may also benefit from these discussions.

Front Matter

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter
Editorial Policy Statement
Table of Contents

Book Reviews

Great Plains Sociologist

Diane Kayongo-Male, reviewer
Gendered Fields: Rural Women, Agriculture, and Environment
Carolyn Sachs

Henry B. Sirgo, reviewer
Green Culture: Environmental Rhetoric in Contemporary America
Carl G. Herndl and Stuart C. Brown

Janet Kelly Moen, reviewer
New Government for Rural America: Creating Intergovernmental Partnerships
Beryl A. Radin, Robert Aganoff, Ann O'M Bowman, C. Gregory Buntz, Steven Ott, Barbara S. Romzek, and Robert H. Wilson

Jon Flanagin, reviewer
Wanted Dead or Alive: The American Westin Popular Culture
Richard Aquila, editor

Laura Colmenero, reviewer
Contented Among Strangers: Rural German-Speaking Women and Their Families in the Nineteenth-Century Midwest
Linda Schelbitzki Pickle

Elizabeth Evenson Williams, reviewer …

Ethnic Minorities In The People's Republic Of China, Mary Jo Benton Lee

Great Plains Sociologist

In the People's Republic of China, the term "minority nationality" denotes a member of one of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups. Minority nationalities have traditionally been regarded as those who have cultures (particularly languages and religions) that atv distinct from the Han Chine.ie majority. This article focuses on ethnic minorities in China-their significance to the PRC as a whole, the official classification system by which the government identifies them and the history of their interaction with the majority Han population. Higher education in the PRC is discussed with an emphasis on national minority institutes. Two macro issues relating …

Making A Living: Adaptation Strategies Of The Rural Underemployed, Curtis W. Stofferahn

Great Plains Sociologist

This paper examines the methods that underemployed families use to manage their resources to meet their needs. Data for the analysis is from survey and in-depth interviews of 33 respondents to the Rural Life Poll. It attempts to combine rural labor market analysis with anthropological field studies to describe the employment characteristics of the rural underemployed as well as the ways by which the underemployed household supports itself The under-employed worker's attitudes towards work, and how underemployed households combine resources to support a family are examined. These resources include the income from other family member's employment, domestic production for home …

Yes, But...Ruminations On Discounted Membership And Reference Group Rationalizations, Scott Magnuson-Martinson, Mouraine R. Baker

Great Plains Sociologist

Reference group theory posits that people attempt to identify themselves with groups that are esteemed in order to enhance their sense of self-worth. However, it is not uncommon that actors may find themselves being identified with, or identifying with, stigmatized groups or categories. In order to avoid the personally pejorative implications of these associations, these actors often engage in various strategies that take a form similar to accounts which attempt to neutralize possible stigma. Two fundamental normalizations, disidentification and deflected stigma are presented and compared to previous articulations in the literature of stigma management.

Infant Mortality On Northern Plains Reservations, Linda Neuerburg, Janet Kelly Moen

Great Plains Sociologist

The infant mortality among Indian people living on the Northern Plains reservations (18.4per 1,000) is nearly double that of the U.S. infant mortality rate (9.8per 1,000). Data were collected for 19 reservations through the Healthy Start Program established to combat this problem, using the reservation as the unit of analysis. Relationships were hypothesized between reservations with high infant mortality rates and high alcohol consumption, tobacco use, poverty levels, and low availability of certain social services. The analysis substantiated only one major variable—poverty. Further analysis suggested that mortality rates were higher on reservations that did not provide social support programs such …

'Who Am I?': Autophotography As A Teaching And Learning Tool, Morten G. Ender

Great Plains Sociologist

This paper describes a low cost, high student appeal technique for teaching and learning about the self concept via student produced photographs. Autophotography (AP) is a photographic approach to understanding the social world from the perspective of the respondent with reference to one's self concept. The technique's use is described relative to social psychology, the self, and the traditional symbolic interactionist measure -- the Twenty Statement Test (TST). The AP course assignment, evaluation, assessment, and limitations are presented Learnings for both the undergraduate student and sociology instructor are discussed.

Community Economic Change And Depression Evidence From The 1980'S Farm Crisis, David R. Johnson, Suzanne T. Ortega, Betty J. Craft

Great Plains Sociologist

This paper examines the effect of aggregate economic conditions in communities on individual levels of depression. While the effect of economic conditions on mental health has been examined at the aggregate level and at the individual level, models including both individual and aggregate processes are necessary to differentiate contextual from individual processes impacting mental health status. Both cross-sectional and panel data from a sample of respondents representative of a Great Plains state on which data were available in 1981,1986, and1989 were used in the analysis. The cross-sectional analysis in 1989 consisted of2,485 respondents. Panel data from 916 respondents in1981-1986 and …

Front Matter

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter
Editorial Policy Statement
Table of Contents

Book Reviews

Great Plains Sociologist

Janet Kelly Moen, reviewer
The Changing American Countryside: Rural People and Places
Emery N. Castle, editor

Diane Kayongo-Male, reviewer
Harvest of Hope: Family Farming/Farming Families
Lorraine Garkovich, Janet L. Bokemeier, and Barbara Foote

Carl J. Cumber, reviewer
Beyond the Amber Waves of Grain: An Examination of Social and Economic Restructuring in the Heartland
Paul Lasley, F. Larry Leistritz, Linda M. Lobao, and Katherine Meyer

Geoffrey Grant, reviewer
Any Way You Cut It: Meat Processing in Small-Town America
edited by Donald D. Stull, Michael J. Broadway, and David Griffith

Elizabeth Evenson Williams, reviewer
The Prairie Winnows Out Its Own: The West …

Native American Return Migration To Reservation Areas, Patricia A. Joffer, Mary K. Wagner

Great Plains Sociologist

This research investigates the question, using qualitative methodology, why Native Americans return to reservation areas in South Dakota after living elsewhere. Rational choice theory helps explain this return migration more successfully than other orientations. Interviews were conducted with 36 return migrants using a key informant and snowball sampling techniques.

Research Integration In Social Science Using Meta-Analysis, James G. Leibert

Great Plains Sociologist

As a rigorous literature review meta-analysis allows researchers to look for relationships between the results of studies and the characteristics of those studies. This article examines some advantages of meta-analysis for social science such as the identification of: interactions, treatment effects, and the effect of research design as well as the problem of poor accumulation of evidence. A policies study example and a hypothetical voting study are used to highlight the value of meta-analysis to social scientists.

The Art Of Applied Sociology Constructing An Applied Paradigm, William Du Bois

Great Plains Sociologist

Applied Sociology requires a different paradigm than traditional scientific sociology. A framework for doing applied sociology can be formulated from a synthesis of available sociological traditions. Science is simply an agreement of people who have studied a given body of knowledge. The question becomes: where do we stake our agreement? Synergy provides the ideal core agreement for an applied sociology. Synergy is an operational definition of the Good and should become our evaluative mechanism. It is a win-win situation, between individuals, and between the person and the community. We need to re-discover the vision of sociology as social action designed …

Intergenerational Continuity Of The Family Farm: Influence Of Parental Aspirations And Expectations For Their Children, Tonya R. Haigh, Ronald G. Stover, Mary Kay Helling

Great Plains Sociologist

The decline in the number of young people entering the farming occupation was investigated. Specifically, whether parents are encouraging their children to farm, and the links between encouragement and parental experience on the farm were explored. In-depth interviews with adult junior members of farming families were conducted regarding their experiences with farming, their attitudes about farming, and their goals for their own children. Results give preliminary support for the hypothesis that parental aspirations and expectations for their children are linked to parents' experiences and attitudes towards farming.

Front Matter

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter
Editorial Policy Statement
Table of Contents

Book Reviews

Great Plains Sociologist

Janet Kelly Moen, reviewer
Against All Odds: Rural Community in the Information Age
John C. Allen and Don A. Dillman

H. Elaine Landgren, reviewer
The Farm Labor Movement in the Midwest: Social Change and Adaptation Among Migrant Farmworkers
W.K. Barger and Ernesto M. Reza

Elizabeth Evenson Williams, reviewer
American Agriculture: A Brief History
Douglas Hurt

Harlowe Hatle, reviewer
From Columbus to Conagra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food
edited by Alessandro Bonanno, Lawrence Busch, William Friedland, Lourdes Gouveia, and Enzo Mingione

Thomas C. Langham, reviewer
Getting By: Women Homeworkers and Rural Economic Development
Christina E. Gringeri

Donna J. Hess, reviewer …

A Case Study Of Eight Slain Police Officers In Rural America, Paul E. Lawson, Ted Huber

Great Plains Sociologist

Homicides are not random. Our research suggests that police officers killed while on-duty are not random samples of their departments. Using in-depth interviews with fellow officers and family members, we reconstructed the lives of eight slain officers in one rural state. The findings show that these officers exhibited personal characteristics, family difficulties and occupational dynamics quite different from average members of their departments. While no individual fit the emerging profile perfectly, these slain officers generally were: (1) verbally and physically aggressive, (2) meticulous and rigid, (3) preoccupied with handguns and competitive shooting, (4) having marital problems or divorced, (5) experiencing …

The Effectiveness Of Criminal Mediation: An Alternative To Court Proceedings In A Canadian City, Denis G. Stead

Great Plains Sociologist

This study examines a criminal diversion program. Of principle interest is the diversion program's effect on specific deterrence. This investigation utilizes a case study design. Individuals were selected from court dockets and mediation-diversion files. The cases were divided into three groups: diverted cases, cases that qualified but were processed by the court system, and cases handled by the court system. A follow-up looking for recidivism was performed. Additionally, personal data were gathered and the effects of age, education, occupation and ethnic group were controlled for in an analysis of covariance.

Legal And Extra-Legal Determinants Of Detention Sentences In A Juvenile Court: A Research Note, Randall R. Beger, Harry Hoffman

Great Plains Sociologist

A major limitation of research concerning juvenile detention commitments is the over-riding focus on pre-adjudicatory detention. This period of confinement applies only to youths held in secure custody pending court appearance. The purpose of this investigation was tp broaden the understanding of detention by focusing on post-adjudicatory detention commitment, which is a court sentence, and the factors influencing the decision. Data were derived from the records of a random sample of 394 youths processed by a juvenile court between 1990 and 1991. Preliminary results show that a combination of legal and extra-Iegal factors play a significant role in post-adjudicatory detention …

Assessing Fit Between Informal And Formal Support For Dependent Elderly: How Families Have Managed Elder-Care In North Dakota, Andrew Scott Ziner

Great Plains Sociologist

The South Dakota Eldercare Study was conducted to provide specialized data on caregivers (i.e., a spouse or an adult child) and their dependent elderly relatives based on a probability sample of rural communities throughout the State of South Dakota. Based on the study's data, this paper will document (!) the availability and utilization of health and social services and (2)family caregivers as a resource in the care of elderly relatives. This paper will also discuss how useful the formal service deliver system is in meeting the needs of family members.

Measures Of Student Effort As Predictors Of Student's Grades, Donald E. Arwood

Great Plains Sociologist

Astin (1984) has argued that college students' academic successes vary positively with the quality and quantity of their academic efforts. Despite this claim, empirical research has demonstrated that time spent studying-a prime example of student effort-is only a weak predictor of grades. It is argued in this article that this finding does not refute Astin's claim that effort and grades are related, because academic effort is more than just studying for exams; it is multidimensional. A cross- sectional, correlational research design was used in this study to test the relationship between academic success and the many dimensions of student effort. …

Front Matter

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter
Editorial Policy Statement
Table of Contents

Book Reviews

Great Plains Sociologist

Thomas C. Langham
Contemporary Rural Systems in Transition
edited by Ian R. Bowler

Carol J. Cumber
Information and Organization
Arthur L. Stinchcombe

Donna J. Hess
Analyzing Qualitative Data
edited by Alan Bryman and Robert G. Burgess

Stewart E. Kelly
Consciousness Reconsidered
Owen Flanagan

Stephen R. Shorb
Vocabularies of Public Life: Empirical Essays in Symbolic Structure
edited by Robert Wuthnow

Texas Sabine Swanjord
The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality
Sandra Lipsitz Bem

Mary Warner
Rabbis, Lawyers, Immigrants, Thieves: Exploring Women's Roles
Rita J. Simon

Diane Kayongo-Male
World Changes in Divorce Patterns
William Goode

Kathleen A. Tiemann
Constructing …

The Relationship Of Marriage Type To Fertility: The Case Of Ghana, Robert W. Y. Klomegah

Great Plains Sociologist

The study investigates the influence of marriage type (monogamous and polygynous marriages) on the fertility of married women in Ghana using a sample of 1797.wives from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) data (1988). Regression analysis indicates that when marital age, marital duration, and length of postpartum abstinence are controlled for, there is no statistically significant relationship between marriage type and fertility. The most important determinants of differential fertility by marriage type, from the Ghanaian sample, appears to be marital age, marital duration, and abstinence.

A Comparison Of Four Professional Groups' Support For A Strengthened Dui Law, George A. Youngs Jr., Thomas D. Mcdonald, Robert A. Wood, Richard W. Rathge

Great Plains Sociologist

This study examined support patterns among criminal justice professionals for an enhanced DUI law. We surveyed North Dakota's police, prosecutors, judges, and addiction counselors to measure their personal support and their perceptions of the support of others for the law. Respondents generally favored the strengthened law, but consistent with role theory, there were significant between group differences. There also were significant differences in personal versus perceived peer support and in perceived peer support versus the perceived support of other groups. Groups tended to agree in the differential levels of support they attributed to other groups. Implications for a coordinated system …

Social Claims, Ownership, Metaphor And Cross-Sex Relations: Why Women Are Property, Mark Hansel

Great Plains Sociologist

Property is a pervasive metaphor in our society that is the source of the social meaning of social claims to such wide ranging social objects as traffic lanes and restaurant tables. These claims are attempts to appropriate temporary control of the objects. Similarly, claims to a persons' attention and claims for services are attempts to appropriate control of resources of an individual. Successful appropriation transforms resources into the temporary (metaphoric) property of the claim maker. Some claims to social resources are legitimate and others deviant. The legitimacy of social claims is in part dependent upon authority relations between persons.

The Juvenile Court: A Case In Organization Behavior, Dennis G. Stead

Great Plains Sociologist

Most of the research in juvenile justice decision making has focused on outcomes, the criteria on which outcomes are based, the doctrine of parens patriae or the concept of "individualized justice." Both of these approaches lose much of the richness of organizational behavior and organizational processes to an empirical calculus that does not portray an accurate image of how juvenile justice decisions are made. These perspectives blur our vision because they conceal that decisions in juvenile court are socially produced by the varied actors and agencies in the juvenile judicial system. This report adopts a gestalt perspective of juvenile justice …

Front Matter

Great Plains Sociologist

Front Matter
Editorial Policy Statement
Table of Contents

Book Reviews

Great Plains Sociologist

Geoffrey Grant
The Poverty Debate: Politics and the Poor in America
C. Emory Burton

Stewart E. Kelly
Beyond Individualism
Jack Crittenden

Thomas C. Langham
Rural Communities: Legacy and Change
Cornelia Butler Flora, Jan L. Flora, Jacqueline D. Spears, and Louis E. Swanson

Patricia Ann Wasely Lomire
Next of Kin: An International Reader on Changing Families
Lorne Tepperman and Susannah J. Wilson (eds.)

B. Diane Miller
The Human Difference: Animals, Computers, and the Necessity of Social Science
Alan Wolfe

Janet Kelly Moen
The Cultures of Work Organizations
Harrison M. Trice and Janice M. Beyer

George Nielson
Emergent Issues in Education: Comparative …