Authors:Kosar Haghani et al. Abstract: This study explores the experiences of Iranian women in the divorce process, focusing on their perceptions of inequality from the viewpoints of women in Iranian family courts. Qualitative data were gathered from 10 interviews, including 10 women, and field observations in homes, workplaces, and courthouses. We focus on Iranian women's views on gender inequality during divorce, assessing legal, economic, and sociocultural factors. Thematic analysis identified three main areas of inequality: legal, economic, and sociocultural, revealing the complex obstacles women face during divorce. The study shows how family support, education, religiosity, and employment status shape women's experiences. The findings highlight the significant impact of legal biases and societal norms on women's well-being and empowerment. Despite legislative reforms aimed at gender parity, cultural misconceptions and religious expectations continue to obstruct women's access to their rights during divorce. Polygamy laws and patriarchal beliefs further exacerbate gender inequalities, restricting women's autonomy in economic and social realms. The study also underscores the crucial role of women's financial independence in transforming family dynamics and reducing the effects of gender inequality. Economic empowerment through education and employment is essential for achieving gender equality in divorce. The intersection of factors like education, employment, and religious beliefs complicates women's decision-making and access to rights. PubDate: Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:47:30 PST
Authors:Leonard A. Steverson et al. Abstract: AbstractMonroe Work was a Chicago School trained sociologist, criminologist, and researcher who, despite not being well-known in the social sciences, produced a body of research that is exemplified in what is now known as public sociology. Work was associated with prominent sociologist and activist W.E.B. Du Bois while working in Savannah, Georgia, and later with Booker T. Washington, with whom he worked at the Tuskegee Institute, heading the records and research department. Work was a talented researcher who worked behind the scenes with both Du Bois and Washington to provide needed research in a time of intense racial conflict. Work’s contributions to public sociology, notably his work on minority farm ownership, minority public health, and his lynching reports, are examined in this essay. PubDate: Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:47:24 PST
Authors:Larry D. Anthony Mr. Abstract: Social media has proven to be a powerful weapon shaping the opinions and actions of today's society. Police departments are unarmed in the battle of public opinion, and some feeble attempts to engage in social media have been disappointingly unsuccessful. Developing training for a social media team is the first step in positive interaction with the community by including educators, internet technology experts, community leaders, attorneys, experienced officers, and police leadership.The restrictions in police policies for using social media predestines the effort useless. The police must engage in every area of social media with trained personnel and state of the art equipment guided by polices establishing integrity, accuracy, and above all truth. Active and positive social media platforms provide a room for citizens to meet and discuss issues with the police. Policies and training syllabuses can be created simultaneously to ensure the social media team, and the public knows the program's goals and how it will be achieved. PubDate: Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:47:16 PST
Authors:Linda A. Treiber Abstract: Introduction by Editor In Chief"Even under ideal conditions, teaching sociology can be challenging; however, recent attacks on academic freedom involving core sociological tenets have brought a sense of urgency to the discipline..." PubDate: Mon, 20 May 2024 13:02:11 PDT
Authors:Roscoe Scarborough Abstract: This article applies Erving Goffman’s conceptual theory of the “nonperson treatment” to the empirical reality of contingent faculty in higher education. According to Goffman, the nonperson treatment is a technique of diminishing the social status of a person, often foregoing all acknowledgement of a person’s humanity beyond transactional civilities. Contingent faculty in higher education experience job insecurity, limited opportunities for advancement, low wages, insufficient benefits, a corporate style of management, curtailed academic freedom, alienation from faculty governance, ineligibility for professional development, limited schedule autonomy, invisibility on campus, and limited access to campus resources. The inequities and exclusionary practices faced by contingent faculty are a classic case of the nonperson treatment. Beyond illuminating how contingent faculty experience the nonperson treatment, this article proposes policy recommendations for making higher education more equitable. PubDate: Thu, 16 May 2024 11:48:11 PDT
Authors:Ellis S. Logan et al. Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated changes across social institutions, including education. This case study outlines specific innovations using five cases of pedagogical developments made by social science faculty members at a public university, and their utility for undergraduate students in a post-pandemic world. These innovations relate specifically to office hour scheduling, class assignment reminders, building informal class support groups, experiential learning, and virtual paper submission and evaluation. For each case, we outline the implementation procedure, evaluate its effectiveness, and discuss the benefits. We argue that these methods, forged during “challenging times”, will help improve students’ experiences and success during their time in college, and benefit instructors in higher education in a variety of ways. PubDate: Thu, 16 May 2024 11:47:59 PDT
Authors:Karen Young Ph.D. et al. Abstract: Numerous challenges confront higher education in post-pandemic America. Demographics, inflation, political conflict and technology have altered the environment of higher education. In particular, sociology has struggled to maintain enrollment, program appeal and relevance. In Georgia, sociology is at a crossroads for students, faculty and the future of the discipline. PubDate: Thu, 16 May 2024 11:47:51 PDT
Authors:Nathan S. Palmer Abstract: This critical essay argues the events of the last few years have made sociology more relevant to students’ lives and increased their need for and the utility of a well-developed sociological imagination. To meet the opportunities created by this moment, sociology educators need well-designed and highly effective pedagogical interventions that develop their students' sociological imaginations. Unfortunately, much of the available scholarship on developing students' sociological imaginations lacks the conceptual clarity and empirical rigor needed to discern which pedagogical interventions are most effective. After a detailed review of the scholarly problems surrounding the sociological imagination, recommendations for expanding the field are provided. PubDate: Thu, 16 May 2024 11:47:42 PDT
Authors:Elizabeth Rivera et al. Abstract: “Childfree” is a chosen identity, reflecting an individual or couple’s decision to not procreate or parent. This paper explores how individuals who identify as childfree exhibit a high degree of agency while navigating external cultural expectations and social sanctions. We use the online discussion forum, Reddit, to unobtrusively examine how individuals negotiate a childfree identity within an online collective identity group. Analysis was performed on 278 user generated Reddit posts under the “childfree” subreddit in March, 2021 and are coded based on the primary emotional tone individuals express in discussing their decision to remain childfree. We describe the identity construction/management using symbolic language found in the qualitative text of these posts. Our findings show that the most common emotion displayed in regards to the childfree identity is frustration or anger, with “rants” being the predominant user-identified post type at 44%. Reddit users are not asked to give any identifying information but 18% either provided their age or provided telling information. The average age for this group was 25.6 years. This exploratory research documents key socio-cultural factors which frame the decisions of the childfree advocates and the individual narratives that are negotiated in an online community. PubDate: Tue, 13 Feb 2024 07:57:19 PST
Authors:Mellisa Holtzman Abstract: Although numerous studies have explored the factors that impact bystander intervention in sexual assault situations, findings have been inconsistent and all prior studies have depicted sexual violence as an exclusively female and heterosexual issue. This study explores the many individual-level and assault-level characteristics that can impact bystander intervention while also accounting for non-heteronormativity in sexual assault situations. Based on a content analysis of interview data with college students, the findings suggest that assault ambiguity, severity, and timing, as well as the gender and friendship statuses of the individuals involved, impact who bystanders intervene with and how they do so. Importantly, the introduction of scenarios with male victims, female perpetrators, and LGBTQ individuals is associated with findings that diverge from prior research. This suggests that in order to fully understand the factors that impact bystander intervention, non-heteronormative scenarios need to be included in future research. PubDate: Tue, 13 Feb 2024 07:57:12 PST
Authors:Billy R. Brocato Abstract: The relevance of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the current educational climate remain a critical issue. A mixed-methods case study was used to examine the conflicting concerns among faculty at a private HBCU in northeast Texas that has in recent years faced financial distress, declining enrollment, and administrative leadership turnover. The research design incorporated a two-step, critical race process that examined ‘faculty concerns’ on two hypothesized dimensions: academic capitalism versus academic autonomy. Relying on the meta-theory of institutional logics, the study examined the embedded racial structure of market-based metrics associated with HBCU faculty caught in a wave of ‘academic capitalism’ and the consequent paradox of trying to maintain their traditional role as scholastic gatekeepers. The findings suggest two institutional logics—neoliberalism at the administrative level and faculty autonomy at the academic level—were in conflict. It is recommend that HBCU stakeholders recognize the differences in institutional logics affecting faculty perceptions to mitigate the ongoing crises associated with administrators, finances, accreditation, and academic standards. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed. PubDate: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:01:15 PDT
Authors:John M. Marks Jr. et al. Abstract: This study operationalized quantitative measures of crime and deviance through the categorization of coding narrative violations as a specific section of the law. The aggregate number of violations in the game and fish, waters of the state, ports, and watercraft, and conservation and natural resources categories, which make up the majority of the total violations, suggests that these laws may be a priority for law enforcement or that there are many people violating these rules. However, without more information it is difficult to say what is significant about the data without more context. The difference in citations and warnings between the crimes and offenses category and the motor vehicles and traffic category may be due to various factors such as the complexity of offenses, enforcement priorities, and ease of enforcing specific rules. Moreover, the relatively low percentage of violations in the alcoholic beverages, criminal procedure, health, and insurance categories suggests that these codes are not as heavily enforced or may be less relevant to the studied population. Therefore, this study highlights the need for detailed incident-based data to measure the extent of game warden work overlap with routine law enforcement, and for a nuanced understanding of the factors that influence enforcement priorities and strategies. PubDate: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 07:01:03 PDT
Authors:Kelley Christopher et al. Abstract: While there have been numerous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of moral rehabilitation prison educational programs, few have focused on the effectiveness of these programs for incarcerated women. The current research is an exploratory study based upon eight participants’ initial perceptions of a four-year bachelor’s program in theology, taught through the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS). Our preliminary results are consistent with the previous literature about NOBTS students’ histories of abuse and tragedy, straying from faith, negotiation of identity, and programming challenges the students face. These women’s narratives provide an initial exploration into the ways in which the NOBTS program has impacted these women within the carceral setting. PubDate: Fri, 11 Mar 2022 11:35:22 PST
Authors:Thibault Deneve et al. Abstract: Our research focuses on self-rated general health and access to healthcare among veterans. We used data collected by the 2010 National Survey of Veterans, a nationally representative survey of veterans in the U.S. The purpose is to identify and assess aspects of military experiences which could be responsible for differences in veterans’ health and their access to healthcare. Specifically, we investigate how exposure to combat, as well as exposure to specific traumas, can have a lasting impact on the health of veterans. We utilized two nested regression models around our focal variables; a logistic regression model was used to assess the access to mental healthcare, while an ordinal regression model was used to assess self-rated general health. We were also able to infer that a structural change in policies for veterans’ healthcare might have provided significant benefits among the population. Findings show unique effects on health patterns for combat and trauma in the field. Paradoxically, we also observe that many of the socio-economic indicators operated quite differently than they do for the general population in the United States in terms of their links to health differences. PubDate: Fri, 11 Mar 2022 11:35:14 PST
Authors:Rita B. Thomson Abstract: Studies generally show higher rates of food insecurity among the immigrant population in the U.S. than among the native born, but often no distinction regarding citizenship and birthplace is made. Nor is the fact that households are often a mixture of foreign born and native born considered. Here data from years 2014-2017 of the Current Population Survey are used to examine household food insecurity in association with household citizenship type and receipt of food assistance. Foreign birth is not always associated with greater risk of food insecurity. Of households including foreign born individuals, only households composed entirely of noncitizens are more likely to be food insecure than households of U.S. mainland born citizens. Households composed entirely of birth citizens, with at least one born in U.S. territories, are also more likely to be food insecure. In contrast, households composed entirely of naturalized citizens are less likely to be food insecure. Also households containing a noncitizen, no adult citizen, and a child citizen are less likely to be food insecure. PubDate: Fri, 11 Mar 2022 11:35:07 PST
Authors:Jennifer E. Melvin et al. Abstract: This paper describes a public sociology project in which students at Flagler College will be enlisted to conduct research on the gentrifying community of Lincolnville in St. Augustine, Florida. The theoretical and research perspectives that will be used to guide the project are supplied by the urban sociological methodology of the Chicago School of Sociology from the early twentieth century. The objectives of the Lincolnville project are to recruit and train interested students in producing new knowledge in the phenomena of gentrification on a local level, to enrich student knowledge of theory and research, to use service learning to explain the subfield known as public sociology, and to disseminate this information to various publics such as community leaders, in the hope of informing planning and policy that seeks to revitalize neighborhoods without displacing marginalized subpopulations. PubDate: Mon, 27 Sep 2021 12:44:03 PDT
Authors:Jason Milne Abstract: The sport referee is an integral part of the sporting experience. This paper explores the experience of the sport official, focusing on developing themes related to how an individual got into the refereeing, current issues sport officials experience both on and off the field, and relationships between the official and other sporting roles. Through interviews (N=10) with referees from a variety of team sports, I use the grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin 1990) method to develop a series of themes that emerged from the data focusing on the sport referee experience. I developed initial themes that focus on the different questions from the surveys. Out of these initial themes, I used theoretical coding to develop theories that focus on the referee role that is in conflict with other sporting roles as well as the referee identity in and of itself, the importance of social and cultural capital for improvement and advancement of the referee, and the role of safety and fairness for the sport official. Future research should focus on the application of these ideas for the improvement of referee organizations, particularly increasing the number of referees who have an opportunity to advance. Future research should also focus on examining the refereeing system from other role-perspectives, focusing particularly on the difference between those involved in the actual game (players, coaches, and spectators), and those involved in the administration of the game (league administrators, etc.). PubDate: Tue, 08 Jun 2021 06:27:43 PDT
Authors:Philip Q. Yang et al. Abstract: In recent years, many media reports have claimed that older people are happier than younger people. We question the total validity of this claim. Analyzing data from General Social Surveys 1972-2016, this study reveals that the happiness of older adults depends on their health status and economic status, and it also detects a significant J-shaped relationship between age and happiness over a lifetime. Additionally, we find significant differences in happiness across generations and over time. Our findings challenge the popular claim in the media reports and the U-shaped and inverted U-shaped patterns detected in the academic literature and provide a more complete picture of the relationship between age and happiness. PubDate: Tue, 08 Jun 2021 06:27:35 PDT
Authors:Margaret Williamson Abstract: AbstractAs the higher education landscape changes, faculty need to change with it. This paper outlines various pedagogies that are being used to increase student learning in an Introduction to Sociology course. The pedagogies discussed in this paper include Transparency in Learning (TiLT) (Winkelmes, 2013), Flipped Classroom (Walvoord and Anderson, 1998), “Make It Stick” note taking format (Brown, Roediget, McDaniel, 2014; Alby, 2020), Kahoot! (Kahoot!, 2020), and Quizzlets (Quizzlet.com, 2020). In addition, this paper discusses the need for student responsibility in learning and provides suggestions for this including “Accomplishing Your Goals” suggestions (Alby, 2020), and “Study Suggestions”. Although the goal of this paper is to provide successful examples of these practices in an Introduction to Sociology course, the hope is also to encourage faculty to use any or all of these in their courses. PubDate: Tue, 08 Jun 2021 06:27:30 PDT
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