bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Learning to Teach Online
Authors: Clark-Ibáñez Marisol , Scott Linda
Published: December 2009

The demand for online courses is growing. This paper offers suggestions on how to teach online courses that promote student engagement and learning. We discuss the benefits and challenges of teaching online. We share research-based strategies for designing an online course and draw upon our experience of developing fully online sociology courses. Practical suggestions include preparing students, promoting learning through the discussion board, managing communication, incorporating multimedia, and evaluating the course. Recommendations for modifying teaching strategies for the online environment are also included. Student comments from anonymous surveys convey the student perspective about taking online courses. Developing an online class is possible with early planning and an awareness of how to engage students.
Improving Pedagogy Through Action Learning and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Authors: Albers Cheryl
Published: December 2009

This ASA Teaching Workshop explored the potential of Action Learning to use teachers' tacit knowledge to collaboratively confront pedagogical issues. The Action Learning model grows out of industrial management and is based on the notion that peers are a valuable resource for learning about how to solve the problems encountered in the workplace. Action Learning groups (called sets) engage in reflection and collaboration with the goal of identifying and implementing strategies that address specific teaching problems. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning provides guidance for systematically documenting and disseminating the impact on student learning that results from changed classroom practice. Together Action Learning and SoTL promote the improvement of teaching through collaborative reflection on tacit knowledge, paired with formal knowledge as documented in the literature.
How Sociological Leaders Teach
Authors: Persell Caroline Hodges , Pfeiffer Kathryn M. , Syed Ali
Published: December 2009

This paper arose from a larger study designed to explore what leaders in the field of sociology think are the most important goals and principles for students to understand after taking a college-level introductory course and how they teach those principles. A population of scholarly leaders in sociology was defined by various forms of peer recognition and included elected presidents of national and regional professional associations, recipients of national awards, and recipients of competitive research funding. In 2005 and 2006 we interviewed a sample of 44 leaders to gain an understanding of key principles and how they are taught. We report their teaching strategies and compare their strategies to those of other teachers and the recommendations in McKinney et al. (2004). Although similar in many respects, leaders are considerably more likely than other sociologists to engage students in research and somewhat more likely to use simulations or games.
The Ethics of Observing
Authors: Meisel Joshua S.
Published: December 2009

In this article I explore the ethical terrain of experiential learning activities drawing on my experiences leading college students on field trips into criminal justice settings. Though there are numerous educational benefits to adopting experiential learning activities, the rewards must be evaluated in light of the potential harms to nonstudent participants. Student observations of criminal justice settings can reinforce common stereotypes of prisoners as scary and dangerous while reifying the legitimacy of state power exercised through agents of social control. More broadly, experiential learning activities can also highlight the shame and embarrassment of subordinate groups when such activities devolve into voyeuristic spectacles of human misery. In light of these potential harms to nonstudent groups, this article proposes guiding questions for educators to address in designing experiential activities. These questions draw attention to the following issues: the vulnerability of participants, the relative social power of nonstudent participants, whether participation is truly voluntary, the accessibility of the setting to outside observers, group size, benefits to nonstudent participants, duration of activity, protection of confidentiality, the role of students in the activity, and the curricular focus of the experience.
Sociology as Pedagogy
Authors: Halasz Judith R. , Kaufman Peter
Published: December 2009

As a discipline, sociology has produced a rich understanding of social processes, and yet the pedagogical implications of this scholarship remain largely untapped. In this paper, we employ a framework of sociology as pedagogy to show how sociology can enhance and inform teaching and learning. We select examples from a range of classical and contemporary social thought to highlight the connection between sociological theory and the practices of teaching and learning. We use these theories to demonstrate a broad application of our notion of sociology as pedagogy; however, we believe that all sociological knowledge can be mined for its pedagogical significance. Furthermore, recognizing how sociological phenomena shape the classroom experience is conducive to a more reflexive pedagogy in line with the tenets of the sociological imagination.
What is Critical About Sociology?
Authors: Buechler Steven
Published: December 2009

Critical thinking is often presented as a generic technique. This article develops an alternative that links critique more closely to the sociological perspective. I suggest three answers to the above question: that the sociological perspective is critical for comprehending complex issues, that all sociology is implicitly critical by virtue of its debunking tendency, and that some sociology is explicitly critical by virtue of value commitments that lead to a critique of domination. The article identifies some basic themes of what it means to think sociologically, discusses sociology's “double critique” in more detail, illustrates the critical potential of scientific, humanistic and critical approaches to sociology, and explores some implications of this approach for how we teach sociology. It concludes by suggesting that the goal of fostering critical thinking in our students might better be met by returning to the critical roots of our own discipline.
Last But Not Least
Authors: Kaufman Peter , Schoepflin Todd
Published: December 2009

Although much has been written in the past 50 years about the pedagogical value of The Sociological Imagination, one section of Mills's book has been underutilized for far too long. Namely, the essay in the appendix, “On Intellectual Craftsmanship,” has been rarely invoked by sociologists discussing the significance of The Sociological Imagination for teaching and learning. Given that the appendix is explicitly about doing research and engaging in the scholarly process, this oversight may be understandable; however, we argue that there is much to be found in the appendix that serves the needs of teachers and learners alike. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the pedagogical insights that are implicit in Mills's recommendations for being intellectual craftspersons.
Teaching Mills in Tokyo
Authors: Storrs Debbie
Published: December 2009

Here I emphasize the applicability of the sociological imagination to an international audience by sharing my journey of teaching sociology in Japan. I found my own sociological imagination helpful in critically evaluating the literature on Japanese higher education and the construction of the Japanese student as a form of Orientalism. As I embraced international students' unique, context-specific capacities for learning, I relied on the illuminating power of C. Wright Mills's sociological imagination to heighten their understandings of themselves and others. Despite the characterization of Japanese students as passive learners, I discovered an engaged and responsive student body who developed a keen sociological imagination through storytelling. Employing a pedagogy of storytelling, I helped my students successfully explore gender and ethnic troubles as public issues in a global context. The insight gained abroad has led me to expand my pedagogy at home beyond active learning strategies to incorporate stories to enhance U.S. students' sociological imaginations.
Students' Lived Experiences as Text in Teaching the Sociological Imagination
Authors: Hoop Katrina C.
Published: December 2009

Although we may claim our students are developing a sociological imagination, it is quite another to realize this in our teaching and our students' performances. Through a professional move from teaching in Chicago to Maine, I was led to rethink how I teach the sociological imagination. I argue that if we are to teach the sociological imagination, we must consider our students' contextual backgrounds more carefully and use student's lived experiences as “text” from which they exercise and develop their sociological imaginations. I illustrate this approach with an assignment designed to use students' experiences from rural and small towns in Maine. The assignment challenges them to use their sociological perspective to look at the relationship between “private troubles” and “public issues,” and to demonstrate using a sociological imagination to reflect on their biographies.
The Sociological Imagination and Social Responsibility
Authors: Hironimus-Wendt Robert J. , Wallace Lora Ebert
Published: December 2009

In this paper, we maintain that sociologists should deliberately teach social responsibility as a means of fulfilling the promise that C. Wright Mills envisioned. A key aspect of the sociological imagination includes a sense of social responsibility, but that aspect is best learned through a combination of experience and academic knowledge. Students gain the fullest sense of the sociological imagination, one that includes social responsibility, when they are able to have encounters and experiences that challenge their pre-existing world-views and allow them to see first-hand the sociological concepts they learn in the classroom. Further, we argue that teaching social responsibility is appropriate because it has deep roots in the discipline. We identify the origins of the active learning model in sociological theory and provide examples of the ways in which social responsibility is realized through service learning experiences of our students.
Toward Teaching A Liberating Sociological Practicality
Authors: Finkelstein Marv
Published: December 2009

Though C. Wright Mills made a pivotal contribution to the discipline by raising sociologists' awareness of the ideological and bureaucratic content of sociological practicality, he may have placed unyielding limits on “the promise” he profoundly proclaimed in the “sociological imagination.” By defining types of practicality in such rigidly confining terms, as either “liberal” or “illiberal,” those wishing to practice sociology in broader and more expansive ways were left with few of the alternatives Mills himself wished to extol. Over the past generation, the field of applied sociology and teaching and learning sociological practice have struggled to develop in the discipline. This has posed huge challenges for teachers wishing to address the needs of students who have perennially been interested in finding practical possibilities for applying their sociology in jobs and careers. The purpose of this paper is to: 1) examine the concept of sociological practicality propounded by Mills; 2) critically assess the concept of sociological practicality in the historical context of American sociology; 3) identify and discuss a broad typology of models of research and practice from which types of practicality may emerge; 4) discuss the implications of this typology for teaching and learning sociological practice; and 5) conclude by discussing ways of teaching a liberating practicality for sociology.
Whom Does Service Learning Really Serve? Community-Based Organizations' Perspectives on Service Learning
Authors: Blouin David D. , Perry Evelyn M.
Published: December 2009

One of the major selling points of service-learning courses is their potential to mutually benefit communities, universities, and students. Although a great deal of research reports numerous pedagogical and personal benefits for students—from improved grades and increased civic engagement to increased understanding and appreciation of diversity—there is relatively little research on the impact of service learning on the community. To understand when and how service-learning courses benefit the community, we conducted in-depth interviews with representatives of local community-based organizations that have worked with service learners. We report on the primary benefits and costs associated with service-learning courses. We identify three types of obstacles to successful service-learning courses: issues related to student conduct, poor fit between course and organizational objectives, and lack of communication between instructors and organizations. We develop practical guidelines for addressing these obstacles and for ensuring that service learning fulfills teaching and learning goals and provides valuable service to community-based organizations.
Responding to the Quantitative Literacy Gap Among Students in Sociology Courses
Authors: Wilder Esther Isabelle
Published: December 2009

The Integrating Data Analysis (IDA) approach to undergraduate education developed by the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) has been embedded in the undergraduate sociology curriculum at Lehman College, The City University of New York (CUNY), since 2003. This study draws on student and faculty assessment data from the fall 2004 and spring 2006 semesters to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative. The results show that students in courses with an IDA component significantly improved their performance on quantitative skills tests. Efforts to engage students in active learning through the use of computers were associated with increased student comfort and greater interest in working with data. In turn, students who were comfortable working with data exhibited especially high levels of quantitative skill. Although students who were taught a wide variety of data analysis skills reported greater interest in working with data, those who were taught a more limited range of skills achieved higher performance scores. Likewise, students who were required to complete assignments and undertake graded examinations that tested a wide range of quantitative skills had less interest in working with data but achieved greater improvements in their test scores.
The Classroom as Stage
Authors: Preves Sharon , Stephenson Denise
Published: December 2009

This article explores the social-psychological process of identity negotiation in collaborative teaching, using Erving Goffman's (1959) theoretical tradition of dramaturgy to analyze the classroom itself as a performance venue. A dramaturgical analysis of collaborative teaching is especially significant given this growing pedagogical trend because identity negotiation in team teaching has the potential to impact one's teaching, one's career, and students' learning. We demonstrate that despite the positive outcomes of collaborative teaching for both teachers and learners, building a successful team is a process that takes time, effective communication, risk taking, and trust. Most significantly, sustaining a clear definition of the situation in the classroom is a challenge when a teaching team is engaged in the ongoing negotiation of roles, power, and course structure—in front of students. We argue that making identity claims in a collaborative team teaching situation is both more challenging and rewarding than acting alone on the classroom stage.
Teaching
Authors: Albers Cheryl
Published: December 2009

Unintended outcomes can derail the best of intentions in the classroom. Designing a new course for Honors students provided an opportunity to change my traditional teaching style. I envisioned a classroom where students enthusiastically became more self-directed learners. I was perplexed with mixed reactions from students; while some joined me and adopted the model of teaching and learning I proposed, far more than I expected resisted this change. Using a sociological framework helped me understand that I had overlooked the powerful influence of the larger institutional context for shaping and maintaining expectations for teacher/student role enactment. I argue that when students' comfort is disrupted and their normative role expectations are rendered unpredictable or misunderstood, some respond with resistance. Honors students, in particular, may be the most resistant to pedagogical innovation because they are the most skilled at, and invested in, enacting and maintaining the institutionally normative roles.
Denying Social Harm
Authors: Kleinman Sherryl , Copp Martha
Published: December 2009

Students share folk beliefs that make it difficult for them to understand inequality, especially the harmful consequences of social practices they routinely engage in, are attached to, and take for granted. Four of these beliefs include: (a) harm is direct, extreme, and the product of an individual's intentions; (2) harm is the product of the psyche; (3) for harm to occur, there must be an individual to blame; (4) beliefs and practices that students cherish or enjoy cannot be harmful. We offer sociological ideas that counter students' individualistic understanding of social harm.
“Laughing Matters”: The Comedian as Social Observer, Teacher, and Conduit of the Sociological Perspective
Authors: Bingham Shawn Chandler , Hernandez Alexander A.
Published: December 2009

Much of the sociological curriculum often represents society as tragedy. This article explores the incorporation of a society as comedy component in introductory courses at two institutions using the sociological insight and social critique of comedians. A general discussion of parallels between the comedic eye and the sociological imagination is followed by specific steps for locating, selecting and incorporating comedic clips into various courses. Through comparisons between experimental and control groups, as well as student questionnaires, we found that the use of comedians to model sociological perspectives increased student ability to apply course concepts, decreased student anxiety when tackling new concepts, and engaged a broader number of students during class discussion. We conclude with discussion of challenges specific to these methods—language use and controversial comedians—as well as the broader need to learn from figures who have been historically successful at engaging the public on issues of social importance.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Authors: Fritschi Cynthia , Quinn Laurie , Penckofer Sue , Surdyk Patricia M.
Published: December 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this descriptive study was to document the experience of wearing a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device in women with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The availability of CGM has provided patients and clinicians with the opportunity to describe the immediate effects of diet, exercise, and medications on blood glucose levels; however, there are few data examining patients’ experiences and acceptability of using CGM.

Methods

Thirty-five women with T2DM wore a CGM for 3 days. Semistructured interviews were conducted to capture the self-described experience of wearing a CGM. Three open-ended questions were used to guide the participants’ self-reflection. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed.

Results

The women verbalized both positive and negative aspects of needing to check their blood glucose more frequently and wearing the monitor. After viewing the results, most women were surprised by the magnitude and frequency of blood glucose excursions. They immediately examined their behaviors during the time they wore the CGM. Independent problem-solving skills became apparent as they attempted to identify reasons for hyperglycemia by retracing food intake, physical activity, and stress experiences during the period of CGM. Most important, the majority of women stated they were interested in changing their diabetes-related self-care behaviors, especially eating and exercise behaviors, after reviewing their CGM results.

Conclusions

CGM is generally acceptable to women with T2DM and offers patients and their health care practitioners a possible alternative to routine glucose monitoring for assessing the effects of real-life events on blood glucose levels.
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: SDO Asymmetrically Predicts Perceived Ethnic Victimization Among White and Latino Students Across Three Years
Authors: Thomsen Lotte , Green Eva G. T. , Ho Arnold K. , Levin Shana , van Laar Colette , Sinclair Stacey , Sidanius Jim
Published: December 2009

Dominant groups have claimed to be the targets of discrimination on several historical occasions during violent intergroup conflict and genocide.The authors argue that perceptions of ethnic victimization among members of dominant groups express social dominance motives and thus may be recruited for the enforcement of group hierarchy. They examine the antecedents of perceived ethnic victimization among dominants, following 561 college students over 3 years from freshman year to graduation year. Using longitudinal, cross-lagged structural equation modeling, the authors show that social dominance orientation (SDO) positively predicts perceived ethnic victimization among Whites but not among Latinos, whereas victimization does not predict SDO over time. In contrast, ethnic identity and victimization reciprocally predicted each other longitudinally with equal strength among White and Latino students. SDO is not merely a reflection of contextualized social identity concerns but a psychological, relational motivation that undergirds intergroup attitudes across extended periods of time and interacts with the context of group dominance.
The Secret of Her Success: Oprah Winfrey and the Seductions of Self-Transformation
Authors: Peck Janice
Published: December 2009

This essay considers Oprah Winfrey’s rise from mere TV talk show host to global cultural icon in relationship to the rise in the 1980s and triumph in the 1990s of the neoliberal political-economic project. It argues that the expansion of Winfrey’s media enterprise and her ascent to iconic status are a product of the complex historical relationship between capitalism and the distinctly American fusion of psychology and religion captured by the term “mind cure.” Drawing on Raymond Williams’s sociology of culture approach, which looks for the “indissoluble connections between material production, political and cultural institutions and activity, and consciousness” (1977, 80) and Douglas Kellner’s (2003) method of “diagnostic critique,” the essay argues that situating Winfrey’s enterprise in relation to major currents in American political, economic and cultural history provides a means to critically examine the intersection of American politics and culture over the past quarter century. The essay explores tensions inherent in Oprah Winfrey’s professed mission to “empower” her followers — in which she routinely favors private initiatives and individual self-improvement over public funding and collective responsibility for societal needs, and thereby deflects attention from larger issues of social inequality and distributional politics — and considers the class and gender basis of the appeal of this project for her predominantly white, middle- and upper-middle class female following.
Family communication patterns as mediators of communication competence in the parent—child relationship
Authors: Schrodt Paul , Ledbetter Andrew M. , Jernberg Kodiane A. , Larson Lara , Brown Nicole , Glonek Katie
Published: December 2009

In this study we examined family conversation and conformity orientations as mediators of the association between young adults’ perceptions of their parents’ communication competence and their own self-reported communication competence. Participants included 417 young adult children from the United States. Although measurement invariance was established for both sons and daughters, separate models were tested to account for significant differences in correlations between both groups. For daughters, the association between perceptions of parents’ communication competence and their own competence was fully mediated by conversation orientations. For sons, conversation orientations only partially mediated the effects of parental communication competence. Conformity orientations did not emerge as a significant predictor of young adults’ competence, although perceptions of mothers’ competence were an inverse predictor of family conformity.
Cross-category friendship patterns: Comparison of heterosexual and sexual minority adults
Authors: Galupo M. Paz
Published: December 2009

Using comparative methodology, Galupo’s analyses with sexual minorities were replicated with heterosexual participants allowing for a comparison of close friendship patterns across sexual orientation, sex, and race. Participants completed a questionnaire reporting basic demographic information about themselves and their close friends. Heterosexual women and men primarily developed friendships of similarity, with relatively few friendships experienced in a cross-orientation (5.50%), cross-sex (28.06%), or cross-race (17.11%) context. In contrast, bisexual women and men reported more cross-orientation (79.55%), cross-sex (32.99%), and cross-race (23.13%) friendships. Likewise, lesbians and gay men reported cross-orientation (53.03%) cross-sex (23.73%), and cross-race (25.77%) friendships. Sexual orientation, sex, and race interacted in complex ways in shaping friendship patterns. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of feminist intersectional theory.
The transition from infertility to adoption: Perceptions of lesbian and heterosexual couples
Authors: Goldberg Abbie E. , Downing Jordan B. , Richardson Hannah B.
Published: December 2009

This study explores how lesbian and heterosexual pre-adoptive couples experience and construct the transition from infertility to adoption as a means to becoming parents. Thirty lesbian couples and 30 heterosexual couples were interviewed about the challenges and benefits they perceived in attempting conception and then later choosing adoption. Although similarities in perspectives emerged between heterosexual and lesbian participants (e.g., regarding the factors that led couples to pursue adoption), lesbians often felt less committed to having a biological child and perceived an easier transition from trying to conceive to adopting. Findings support the notion that, due to their unique relational context, lesbian women may embody more expansive notions about how to create a family that are not predicated on biological relations.
Helping hands: Neighborhood diversity, deprivation, and reciprocity of support in non-kin networks
Authors: Phan Mai B. , Blumer Nadine , Demaiter Erin I.
Published: December 2009

Theories of social exchange have generally ignored the effect of neighborhood contexts on the ways in which help is informally given and received among individuals. This paper examines the relative influence of racial composition and socio-economic disadvantage of neighborhoods on reciprocity within non-kin networks. Using data from the National (US) Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), the findings refute hypotheses that predict neighborhood racial composition has an effect on practical helping among unrelated individuals. Neighborhood deprivation is found to exacerbate the exclusion of poorer individuals from informal helping; it also makes it harder for residents to reciprocate when they do participate in helping activities. The face-to-face nature of practical helping adds a layer of vulnerability to neighborhood conditions for enacting support.
Payback: The parameters of revenge in romantic relationships
Authors: Boon Susan D. , Deveau Vicki L. , Alibhai Alishia M.
Published: December 2009

This investigation explored the provocations that spark intimates’ desires for revenge, the kinds of vengeful responses they enact, and the motives that underlie decisions to retaliate. Eighty-five undergraduates were interviewed about incidents in which they “got even” with a current or former romantic partner. Both provocations and revenge responses predominately involved relationship rules violations, and most revenge responses were mild to moderate in severity and mundane in nature. In addition, most participants attributed their decisions to retaliate to the desire to bring about desired change in their partners (e.g., suffering, correction, or empathy), to redress their own unpleasant feelings, or to rectify injustice. Implications for research on revenge in romantic relationships are discussed.
Attachment correlates of resource-control strategies: Possible origins of social dominance and interpersonal power differentials
Authors: Hawley Patricia H. , Shorey Hal S. , Alderman Paul M.
Published: December 2009

The current study investigates whether adults’ attachment orientations are related to involvement of others in goal strategies in social contexts (e.g., peer relationships). Resource-control Theory identifies strategies that either include (prosocial) or exclude (coercive) others in material goal pursuit. We expect that attachment confidence will predict prosocial strategies (e.g., reciprocation, cooperation), while avoidance will predict use of coercive strategies (e.g., instrumental aggression). Two hundred and sixty-one women and 263 men completed a questionnaire battery that included the Attachment Styles Questionnaire for adults and items addressing critical aspects of their material goal pursuit. The results clearly indicate that attachment orientations are related to resource-control strategies with peers in meaningful ways. Implications for social dominance and power are discussed.
Birth order and adult family relationships: Firstborns have better sibling relationships than laterborns
Authors: Pollet Thomas V. , Nettle Daniel
Published: December 2009

Although middleborn college students commonly report worse family relationships than other birth orders, it is unknown whether this effect persists into adulthood. Therefore, we investigated the effect of birth order on self-reported family and friend relationships among a large sample of Dutch adults (n = 794). Middleborns did not differ from other birth orders in relationships with their father, mother, sibling or close friend. Middleborns do not prefer a friend over their father, mother or sibling more than other birth orders. Evidence for a “neglected middleborn effect” appeared only in a within-family design for siblings. Firstborns were more likely to report very good sibling relationships and preferred a sibling over a friend. The results are discussed in terms of kin competition and inclusive fitness.
Sex differences in jealousy: The case of Internet infidelity
Authors: Groothof Hinke A. K. , Dijkstra Pieternel , Barelds Dick P. H.
Published: December 2009

Studies investigating the events that elicit men’s and women’s jealousy consistently show that men’s jealousy, more than women’s jealousy, is triggered by a mate’s sexual infidelity, and women’s jealousy, more than men’s jealousy, is triggered by a mate’s emotional infidelity. Internet infidelity poses new challenges for modern couples. Therefore, the present study investigated men’s and women’s responses to emotional and sexual infidelity over the Internet. Results from both a student sample (n = 254), and a sample from the general population (n = 483) showed that sex differences in response to Internet infidelity parallels those for offline infidelity. Implications and explanations for this finding, as well as different results between both samples, are discussed.
Exploring differences in referrals to a hospice at home service in two socio-economically distinct areas of Manchester, UK
Authors: Campbell Malcolm , Grande Gunn , Wilson Charlotte , Caress Ann-Louise , Roberts Dai
Published: December 2009

In order to provide equitable access to hospice at home palliative care services, it is important to identify the socio-economic factors associated with poorer access. In this population-based study we aimed to test the inverse care law by exploring how socio-economic status and other key demographic indicators were associated with referral rates in two distinct areas (Salford and Trafford) served by the same service. Secondary data from the UK National Census 2001, North West Cancer Intelligence Service (2004) and hospice at home service referral data (2004—06) was collated for both areas. Descriptive analysis profiled electoral ward characteristics whilst simple correlations and regression modelling estimated associations with referral rates. Referral rates were lower and cancer mortality higher in the most deprived areas (Salford). Referral rates were significantly associated with deprivation, particularly multiple deprivation, but not significantly associated with cancer mortality (service model and resources available were held constant). At the population level, the socio-economic characteristics of those referred to hospice at home rather than service provision strongly predicted referral rates. This has implications for the allocation and targeting of resources and contributes important findings to future work exploring equitable access at organizational and professional levels.
Vermicomposting of olive oil mill wastewaters
Authors: Macci Cristina , Masciandaro Grazia , Ceccanti Brunello
Published: December 2009

The disposal of olive oil mill wastewaters (OMW) represents a substantial environmental problem in Italy. A vermicompost process could be an alternative and valid method for the management of OMW. In a laboratory experiment, the OMW were absorbed onto a ligno-cellulosic solid matrix and 30 adult earthworms of Eisenia fetida specie were added. The experiment was carried out for 13 weeks. The number of earthworms increased throughout the experimental period and after 2 weeks about 90% of the earthworms had become sexually mature. The decrease in total organic carbon (about 35%), C : N ratio (from 31.2 to 12.3) and biochemical parameters (hydrolytic enzymes averagely 40% and dehydrogenase 23%), and the increase in humification rate (pyrophosphate extractable carbon (PEC) from 17.6 to 33.3 mg g—1, and PEC : water-soluble carbon from 1.76 to 2.97) indicated the mineralization and the stabilization of organic matter at the end of the vermicomposting process. At the end of the experiment, the extracellular β-glucosidase, phosphatase, urease and protease activities, measured in the pyrophosphate extract of the vermicompost, were found to be always higher or equal to that measured at the beginning of the vermicomposting process, suggesting that the enzymes bound to humic matter resisted biological attack and environmental stress. Moreover, the results obtained from the phyto-test showed that the OMW lose their toxicity and stimulate plant germination and growth.
Colour, turbidity and COD removal from old landfill leachate by coagulation-flocculation treatment
Authors: Marañón E. , Castrillón L. , Fernández-Nava Y. , Fernández-Méndez A. , Fernández-Sánchez A.
Published: December 2009

The application of different coagulants and flocculants to leachate from an old landfill to determine the optimum conditions for removal of organic matter, colour and turbidity is studied. Ferric chloride, aluminium sulphate, aluminium polychloride (PAX) and polyacrylamide polyelectrolytes were tested. Higher pollutant removals (73% COD, 98% colour and 100% turbidity) were obtained using ferric chloride at pH 5.0—5.5 and for a dosage of 0.6 g Fe l— 1. The volume of sludge generated after centrifugation represents about 4.0—4.6% when ferric chloride or aluminium sulphate is used, and 10% when employing aluminium polychloride. When flocculants were also added, the results obtained were similar to those found when adding only coagulants, although a considerable increase in the settling rate was obtained.
Why Did This Happen to Me? Cognitive Schema Disruption and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Victims of Sexual Trauma
Authors: Vaile Wright Caroline , Collinsworth Linda L. , Fitzgerald Louise F.
Published: December 2009

Many trauma researchers have proposed cognitive schemas as a heuristic device to understand the elusive process of integrating traumatic events. We examined the schemas of a sample ( N = 257) of female participants classified by exposure to sexual trauma, nonsexual trauma, and no trauma experience. Cognitive schema was assessed with the Traumatic Stress Institute Belief Scale. As hypothesized, six schema subscales were significantly related to trauma group membership: Self-Intimacy, Self-Safety, Self-Trust, Other Intimacy, Other Safety, and Other Trust. Moreover, cognitive schema operated as a partial mediator in the relationship between sexual trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for current theories of trauma and etiology of PTSD, and treatment interventions.
Sex Differences in Intimate Partner Violence and the Use of Coercive Control as a Motivational Factor for Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Tanha Marieh , Beck Connie J. A. , Figueredo Aurelio José , Raghavan Chitra
Published: December 2009

Research argues that coercive control (CC) is a special case of intimate partner violence (IPV). The present study hypothesized that instead CC is the motivator for other types of IPV, with control of the victim as the goal. When CC fails, physical types of IPV are used. This hypothesized relationship was tested using a large matched sample of 762 divorcing couples participating in divorce mediation. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data with CC predicting two latent common factors of the overall level of victimization separately for men and women. Significant causal relationships between CC and the latent construct of victimization for both members of the couples were found. In addition, CC, psychological abuse, sexual assault/intimidation/coercion, threats of and severe physical violence were disproportionately reported as perpetrated by men against women whereas reports of physical abuse (e.g., pushing, shoving, scratching) were not.
The Relationship Between Breastfeeding Test Weights and Postpartum Breastfeeding Rates
Authors: Wilhelm Susan , Rodehorst-Weber T. Kim , Flanders Stepans Mary Beth , Hertzog Melody
Published: December 2009

This secondary analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between test weights and days of breastfeeding. Test weights were performed with a scale (accurate to 2 grams) before and after feeding. Days of breastfeeding was measured by self-reporting. All test weights were interrelated and were associated with higher days of breastfeeding. Test weights at day 2 to 4 and at 2 weeks were not correlated significantly with either intention or self-efficacy at any time. However, 6-week test weights were correlated with intention at all 3 times, and self-efficacy at 6 weeks. Women with higher breastfeeding self-efficacy scores tended to report higher intention to breastfeed for 6 months.
Oleic Acid-based Polyurethane and its Biocomposites with Oil Palm Trunk Fiber Dust
Authors: Yaakob Z. , Min Min A. , Satheesh Kumar M.N. , Kamarudin S.S.K. , Hilmi M.M. , Khairul Zaman H.M.
Published: December 2009

The main objectives of the present research are (i) to obtain a monoglyceride from oleic acid through a direct esterification process, (ii) utilization of the obtained monoglycerides to prepare polyurethane (PU) sheet, and (iii) the preparation of a series of biocomposites using prepared PU and different amounts of oil palm trunk (OPT) fiber dust. The tensile strength of OPT fiber dust incorporated PU biocomposites is found to be increased with the increase in the OPT fiber dust content up to 20% in the composites. The tensile strengths of PU and its biocomposites with 20% OPT fiber dust were 0.6 and 2.15 MPa, respectively. The thermal properties of PU and its biocomposites having varied amounts of OPT fiber dust of 0—40% have been investigated using dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). TGA studies revealed that PU and its biocomposites have undergone two- and three-step degradation, respectively. From DMA studies, a shift in the tan δ value was noticed for the biocomposites containing 30 and 40% OPT fiber dust. The morphology of the tensile fractured composite specimens was analyzed using scanning electron microscope.
European Bloc Imperialism
Authors: Canterbury Dennis C.
Published: December 2009

This article extends the thesis that globalization is imperialism by arguing that the actions taken by US banana multinationals and ruling elites to force open the European Union’s (EU) banana market to bananas grown in Latin America, ‘dollar bananas’, played a significant role in the emergence of what I term ‘European bloc imperialism’ through the implementation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States. Ten theses on EU bloc imperialism are presented and the role of US hegemony in its emergence is examined to support the idea that it is a by-product of neoliberal globalization. Developing the argument, I examine the rise of the EU and ACP blocs, the EU bloc imperialist stranglehold over the ACP states, the CARIFORUM-EU EPA, and conclude by focusing on the pushback against the EPAs.
Public Discourse in an Age of Deception: Forging the Iraq War
Authors: Paolucci Paul
Published: December 2009

This article combines political-economic and dramaturgical frameworks to examine techniques the Bush administration used to sell the Iraq War to the public, the propaganda role of mass media, and the roots of the war. Discussion also includes the influence of oil on foreign policy, the USA’s historical interest in the Middle East, and the quest of rearranging geo-political realities in that region.
Whose skill is it anyway?
Authors: Grugulis Irena , Vincent Steven
Published: December 2009

The skills that employers require are changing, with soft skills replacing technical ones. This article draws on two detailed case studies of outsourced public sector work, where these changes were particularly marked. Here, the new skills polarized the workforces. Highly skilled IT professionals were advantaged as soft skills gave them an additional dimension to their work, while benefit caseworkers with intermediate skills were disadvantaged since soft skills were presented as an alternative to technical competences. Women caseworkers suffered a double penalty, as not only were their technical skills devalued but many were confined to traditionally ‘feminine’ and unskilled work at the reception desk. Soft skills certainly aided the acknowledgement of women’s skills but they did nothing to increase their value.
Workplace incivilities: the role of interest conflicts, social closure and organizational chaos
Authors: Roscigno Vincent J. , Hodson Randy , Lopez Steven H.
Published: December 2009

Workplace incivility — that is, negative relational dimensions of employment with consequences for worker integrity and dignity — affects millions every year. In this article, the ‘organizational misbehaviour’ and ‘workplace chaos’ literatures offer building blocks for a conception wherein workplace incivility is viewed as emanating from the joint and sometimes interconnected influence of organizational processes and status-based social closure. The resulting multi-method analyses draw on coded information on incivility, organizational context, and relational and status dynamics from a large population of organizational ethnographies (N=204). Analyses reveal that all forms of incivility except sexual harassment are rooted in organizational chaos. Qualitative re-immersion into these ethnographic accounts provides further insights into how conflicts endemic to paid employment and broader social closure projects surrounding class, race, and gender play a role as well, albeit often in distinct ways.
The mobile phone, perpetual contact and time pressure
Authors: Bittman Michael , Brown Judith E. , Wajcman Judy
Published: December 2009

Mobile phone services are now universally diffused, creating the possibility of perpetual contact, regardless of time and location. Many think the impossibility of being ‘out of touch’ leads to increased time pressure. In addition to claims that the mobile phone has led to harried leisure, others have argued that perpetual contact extends work into the home or intensifies work in other ways. In this article, these issues are explored using survey data employing some novel methodologies — combining a questionnaire with logs of phone traffic recovered from respondents’ handsets and a purpose-designed time-diary of technology use. Overall, results show that mobile phone use is not associated with more harried leisure. Fears of work intruding into home life appear to be exaggerated. However, there is some evidence that frequent use of mobiles during working hours is associated with work intensification, at least among men.
Magnus Hirschfeld, his biographies and the possibilities and boundaries of ‘biography’ as ‘doing history’
Authors: Brennan Toni , Hegarty Peter
Published: December 2009

This article considers the two major biographies of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, MD (1868—1935), an early campaigner for ‘gay rights’ avant la lettre. Like him, his first biographer Charlotte Wolff (1897—1986) was a Jewish doctor who lived and worked in Weimar Republic Berlin and fled Germany when the Nazi regime came to power. When researching Hirschfeld’s biography (published in English in 1986) Wolff met a librarian and gay activist, Manfred Herzer, who would eventually be a cofounder of the Gay Museum in Berlin and publish (in German, in 1992) the other major Hirschfeld biography currently available. Using, inter alia, the correspondence between Wolff and Herzer, the article aims to explore and interrogate the boundaries and possibilities of ‘biography’ as a form of ‘doing history’.
Not as natural as it seems: the social history of the environment in American sociology
Authors: Alexandrescu Filip M.
Published: December 2009

This article argues against Catton and Dunlap’s claims that the natural environment has been ignored or downplayed in American sociology before the emergence of environmental sociology in the 1970s. By reviewing a collection of 86 sociology textbooks between 1894 and 1980, the article provides quantitative evidence regarding the scope and types of references to the natural environment in mainstream sociology. The bulk of the article is based on an interpretive-historical analysis of the different representations of the environment in the textbook literature. This analysis is carried out from the perspective of the sociology of knowledge, whereby sociological ideas about nature are interpreted in terms of their intellectual milieu and social context. The main finding is that the ‘natural environment’ has been interpreted in different ways and has been put to a variety of epistemological and ideological uses — particularly positivism and functionalism — throughout the history of the discipline.
Pattern of oseltamivir ingestions reported to Texas poison centers
Authors: Forrester Mathias B.
Published: December 2009

During serious influenza outbreaks, the number of oseltamivir exposures reported to poison centers might be expected to increase. This investigation describes the pattern of oseltamivir ingestions reported to Texas poison centers during 2000—2008. Of 298 total ingestions, 91.9% occurred in December—March, 76.8% involved patients aged 0—19 years, 72.5% resulted from therapeutic error, 90.0% were managed on-site, and 80.0% had no effect. The most frequently reported adverse clinical effects were vomiting (7.5%), nausea (3.8%), and abdominal pain (3.8%). Oseltamivir ingestions were reported to Texas poison centers primarily during periods of influenza outbreak. Most involved children, resulted from therapeutic error, and were managed on-site without serious outcome.