Department: Sociology ![[clear]](close-x.png "Remove this limiter")
246 matches in the database.
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1.
Abbott, Marianne.
Dangerous intervention: an analysis of humanitarian fatalities in assistance contexts.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2006, Ohio State University
► Humanitarian aid agencies are challenged by a tragic aspect of their missions –…
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▼ Humanitarian aid agencies are challenged by a tragic aspect of their missions – fatal attacks on assistance providers. Since the early 1990s, fatal attacks leveled at aid personnel have included a broad range of events and a large number of incidents, spanning from random violence to premeditated murder. To describe these events in the most comprehensive terms possible, I have constructed of a database of news-reported aid worker fatalities from 1991 to 2004 that identifies 1,102 deaths, almost 1,000 of which result from violent attacks. The data source validation component of this research consists of intra- and extra-source validity evaluations. While no available source of information will capture all fatality incidents, results from the intra-source analysis indicate that the coverage of humanitarian deaths provided by the news is consistent among news outlets. Results from the extra-source analysis indicate larger disparities are related to the comprehensiveness of incident coverage. In sum, these evaluations confirm that all data sources are selective, but in predictable ways. The key to this evaluation was the detection of these filters. In the descriptive section, the news dataset presents the following broad trends: (1) Insurgent actors perpetrate violent attacks on humanitarian personnel with the highest frequencies; (2) Violent attacks account for 87 percent of the humanitarian assistance deaths; (3) Fatalities are highest among international governmental organization (IGO) personnel; and (4) Fatality counts are highest in Africa. I additionally refine variables that identify the nature of these attacks, the agents involved, and the intentions behind these attacks. Implications of this research relate both to the use of events data as well as to the critical issue of humanitarian security. Analyses overwhelmingly support the assertion that news data are a valid and rich source of information. Further, results from the intentionality study suggest that news data may provide more than “who did what to whom, when and where” information. At least in the case of humanitarian fatalities, it is possible to extract “why” information from news sources by assessing details that may appear in a news report.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jenkins, J. Craig.
Subjects: Sociology, General
Keywords: humanitarian death; humanitarian fatalities; intentionality; aid worker; aid worker death; aid worker fatalities
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3.
adams, jimi.
Religion networks and HIV/AIDS in rural Malawi.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2007, Ohio State University
► Sub-Saharan Africa’s residents represent approximately two-thirds of the nearly 40 million global…
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▼ Sub-Saharan Africa’s residents represent approximately two-thirds of the nearly 40 million global HIV/AIDS cases, while comprising only about one-tenth of the world’s population. In the rural settings where most inhabitants of SSA live, religious organizations are the only formal organizations present, and virtually all residents of SSA participate in a religious organization. Many have theorized a relationship between religion and HIV/AIDS, suggesting alternately its helpful and harmful potential in this crisis. The existing research conceptualizes religion, HIV risk and the connection between them by studying individuals, organizations, or aggregations of individuals and organizations. In this dissertation, I demonstrate the adjustments a network perspective contributes to researchers’ ability to understand religious organizational responses to this epidemic, the nature of HIV-risk and, perhaps most importantly, how these are linked. The resulting conceptualization suggests some of the first mechanisms that demonstrate how beneficial and harmful HIV-related outcomes can arise simultaneously from religious structure or corresponding individual behaviors. While many intended models of prevention and intervention rely on implicit formal organizational hierarchies, little is known about how this contributes to the content and effectiveness of subsequent prevention messages. I describe of the networks within which local religious leaders develop the HIV-related messages conveyed in their congregations. I then compare the HIV-related messages of religious leaders at the national-denominational and local-congregational levels, to demonstrate the existing gaps between the intended model and the reality of these efforts. I explain how local clustering of these networks drives discordant messages. Conceptualizations of individuals’ HIV-risk also benefit from adopting a network perspective to more readily capture the epidemiology of HIV. While individuals’ religious involvement may reduce risk behaviors; potential infection is dependent, not only the frequency of risk behaviors, but also on characteristics of ones’ partners (e.g., probability of infection). I therefore generate a series of simulated networks to demonstrate that the differences observed in risk behaviors associated with religious affiliation do not necessarily translate into corresponding differences in network-oriented risk properties. I draw on data from the Malawi Religion Project and the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project to investigate these questions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Slomczynski, Kazimierz M.
Subjects: Sociology, General
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Sub-Saharan Africa, Social Networks, Religion
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4.
Adams, Joshua R.
Transient bodies, pliable flesh: culture, stratification, and body modification.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2007, Ohio State University
► Body modification practices have become increasingly common in contemporary American society. In…
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▼ Body modification practices have become increasingly common in contemporary American society. In 2005 alone approximately 3.5 million individuals underwent some type of cosmetic surgical procedure. Similarly, it is estimated that twenty-four percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 years-old have tattoos, while fourteen percent have body piercings. Drawing upon Shilling’s (1993) notion of the “body project” which suggests that within capitalist, consumer society, the body has become an object to be worked at as a means of accomplishing individual identity, this research endeavors to understand how and why individuals navigate the cultural norms and ideals pertaining to physical (aesthetic) appearance in relation to their own sense of personal identity. I explore more specifically the structural, socio-demographic, and ideological differences and similarities between individuals who engage in socially transgressive practices (tattooing, body piercing) and those who engage in socially sanctioned and increasingly legitimate practices (cosmetic surgery). First, using TextAnalyst, I analyze mainstream media accounts of both cosmetic surgery as well as body piercing and tattooing. This provides a backdrop for understanding modification practices are understood and received within the broader society. Second, I conducted in-depth interviews with members of two specific populations: respondents who have modified their bodies through tattooing/piercing and those who have done so through cosmetic surgery. These qualitative chapters speak to the role of the body and its manipulation within consumer culture, the decreasing stigma attached to all types of modification, and the stratification and status-oriented processes evident among people who engage in modification. Moreover, my results highlight how: (1) traditional associations between modification and social class status have become somewhat less salient over time; (2) gendered expectations, while less constraining and overt, figure prominently in how individuals choose to engage in their respective body projects and respond to the projects of others; (3) social connections often directly influence whether or not one decides to engage in modification practices; and (4) processes traditionally associated with the lower-class, such as tattooing, have diffused throughout the population more quickly than those more associated with, and legitimated within, upper-class stratum.
Advisors/Committee Members: Roscigno, Vincent.
Subjects: Sociology, General
Keywords: Culture, Cosmetic Surgery, Tattooing, Body Modification
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8.
Allen, Ardith Matilda.
The Deradicalization of Columbus, Ohio's Antirape Movement, 1972-2002.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2008, Ohio State University
► The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate how both the structural…
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▼ The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate how both the structural process of institutionalization and the internal processes of identity conflicts have a deep and perhaps irrevocable impact on the deradicalization of the antirape social movement. I studied this issue by conducting two case studies of antirape social movement organizations in Columbus, Ohio during the time period of 1972-2002. I expected to find in this research that the deradicalization of the antirape social movement has led both to a stronger focus on the delivery of crisis and intervention services, as well as to a decreased emphasis on the broad (i.e., social change) goals of the radical feminist movement as conceived in the early 1970s. While much work on the antirape social movement thus far has tended to focus either on the effects that the external political context has on the institutionalization of rape crisis centers or on the successes of rape crisis centers that are already institutionalized, this dissertation takes that work a step further. Rather than focusing solely on institutional-level processes within antirape organizations, I also analyze both individual- and societal-level contexts. By assessing longitudinally the relative importance of these factors in influencing the lifecycles of antirape social movement organizations, as well as by incorporating a feminist methodological perspective throughout the analysis, I explicitly link the bodies of literature on gender and social movements. I show in this dissertation how identity conflicts within antirape social movement organizations (over issues of racial/ethnic, sexual, and feminist identity) occur not just because of individual-level conflicts, but also because of the external social, cultural, and political contexts in which rape crisis centers are situated at different points in time. The major finding of the dissertation, which I discuss as being contrary to my hypothesis, is that these identity conflicts were as a whole both more salient and more devastating in the institutionalized antirape organization than they were in the grassroots antirape organization that I analyzed.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jenkins, J. Craig.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: antirape; social movement; gender; feminism; radical
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10.
Anthony, Robert Michael.
PRIMACY AND POLITY: THE ROLE OF URBAN POPULATION IN POLITICAL CHANGE.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2009, Ohio State University
► The study of political change, and in particular the causes of democratization,…
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▼ The study of political change, and in particular the causes of democratization, has a long history within the social sciences among cross-national comparative scholars interested in international development. Most often political change has been explained in terms of its connection to a nation’s level of economic development. Although the exact nature of the development/democracy relationship has been a point of disagreement among social scientists, the premise that there is a relationship is widely accepted, debated and tested. Early explanations for the development/democracy relationship focused on a broad set of explanatory variables (Lipset 1959). Since then most cross-national development scholars have reduced the concept of “development” to mean economic development—at least in terms of their empirical measures. In simplifying this concept, the role of other contributing factors which were once understood to be central components of the overall development process has been largely ignored and side-lined in empirical analyses. This has been especially true of urban population. In light of the above, this dissertation is aimed at challenging the notion that the relationship between development and democracy should be understood only as a relationship between level of economic development and democratization. Even more broadly, this dissertation challenges the notion that economic factors are the most important for understanding macro political change. Indeed, while economic factors are certainly a central contributing factor for political change, urban populations and their social contexts are equally important since it is urban dwellers who are predominately engaged in modern exchanges rather than abstract “markets.” Thus, this dissertation explores the role urban populations and their contexts within nation-states play in eliciting political change. In particular, it focuses on the dimensions of urban population within nation-states including; the absolute size, the degree of concentration, the degree of urban primacy, and the balance of the urban hierarchy. The empirical analyses reveal that indicators for each of the above dimensions perform as well or better than economic indicators when explaining political change in developing nations. In short, the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence generated in this dissertation make it clear that cross-national comparative scholars cannot afford to ignore the role that urban populations and their contexts play in eliciting political change in an increasingly urban world.
Advisors/Committee Members: Crenshaw, Edward M.
Subjects: International relations; Sociology
Keywords: urban; urbanization; urban transition; urban primacy; primacy; overurbanization; democratization; democracy; autocracy; political change; social change; population
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11.
Armendariz, Robert Ernesto.
What are the Benefits of Supervisor Support? Are they affected by an Employee’s Race?.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2012, Ohio State University
► While the supervisor-employee relationship is one of the most fundamental relationships at…
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▼ While the supervisor-employee relationship is one of the most fundamental relationships at work, no study has examined the constellation of effects a supervisor may have on employees’ performance and well-being. Using the 1997 & 2002 Waves of the National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW), this study evaluates the effect of supervisor support on an employee’s job satisfaction, extra effort towards organizational goals, sense of solidarity at work, and perceived advancement opportunities. Moreover, this study assesses whether relationships are moderated by the employee’s race. My findings indicate that increasing supervisor support is positively associated with job satisfaction, sense of solidarity, and perceived advancement to a very similar degree. In contrast, supervisor support has a noticeably smaller effect on encouraging extra effort. Results also indicate that Black employees, compared to White employees, benefit more from increasing supervisor support in regard to feeling integrated at work. This is a notable outcome for employers concerned about preventing Black employees from feeling alienated in the workplace. Interestingly, the effects of supervisor support do not vary by race for the other three outcomes, a valuable source of information for organizations with notable amounts of racial diversity.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hodson, Dr. Randy.
Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior; Organization Theory; Sociology
Keywords: Sociology of Work; Work and Organizations; Management; Sociology; Race
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12.
Arriagada, Paula Andrea.
In search of an identity in young adulthood: ethnic self-identification among children of immigrants.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2007, Ohio State University
► Past research has consistently supported the view that European immigrants and their…
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▼ Past research has consistently supported the view that European immigrants and their descendants have assimilated into American society. These immigrants have adopted the cultural ways of the host society, have integrated into social and economic circles, and have learned to identify as Americans. However, contemporary immigrants arrive mostly from Latin American and Asian countries, and have given rise to a number of children who are now coming of age. The overall numbers and diversity of these children have created concerns regarding their ability and willingness to integrate. This research examines one aspect of assimilation: the ethnic self-identification of children of immigrants. Traditional accounts have viewed this process as linear, with a thinning and eventual disappearance of ethnic identities. However, there is evidence that ethnic self-identification may not follow this straight-line pattern from national origin to the identity of the dominant group. Using data from the 1992 and 1995 Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, this research seeks to explain why adolescents change their identities as well as their patterns of change. The results show that nativity, family structure, and parental characteristics are especially important for understanding changes in ethnic identity. Although native born adolescents are more likely to maintain or adopt American identities over time, there are factors that encourage a move away from American-made labels. Intact and extended family situations serve to maintain ties to the country of origin while rejecting shifts towards American or panethnic labels. In addition, parental foreign nativity draws adolescents closer to their national origins. Interestingly, the ethnic identity choices of children of immigrants do not seem to be affected by external factors such as discrimination, peer relationships, and school characteristics. This type of research is necessary because ethnic self-identity has implications for adolescents’ school achievement and psychological well-being. Furthermore, children of immigrants comprise 20 percent of all youth in the United States and are a crucial part of the future of this country. Given the findings presented here, the question of whether children of immigrants are assimilating and their patterns of assimilation into American society is an important one to answer.
Advisors/Committee Members: Krivo, Lauren.
Subjects: Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
Keywords: ethnic identity; children of immigrants; immigration; assimilation; adolescence
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17.
Batson, Christie D.
Incorporation patterns of Mexican-origin women: a theoretical test of old and new.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2007, Ohio State University
► Much of the research on the incorporation of Mexican immigrants and their…
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▼ Much of the research on the incorporation of Mexican immigrants and their descendants in America has focused on their economic incorporation, linguistic transition, patterns of intermarriage, and ethnic and racial identification. I use data from the 1988, 1995, and 2002 National Survey of Family and Growth to examine trends in the timing of first marriage and first birth of Mexican-origin women as indicators of incorporation. Classic assimilation theory and a new theory of ethnic resilience are used to guide this research. Life table analysis, logistic regression, and cox proportional hazard models are employed to examine the transitions to first marriage and first birth. My emphasis is to compare the trends over time among native-born and foreign-born Mexican, White, and Black women. My findings indicate Mexican-origin women are showing patterns of incorporation that are consistent with both old and new theoretical perspectives of incorporation. When using marriage timing as my measure of incorporation, I find that even in the wake of a retreat from marriage, Mexican-origin women continue to maintain early marriage formation patterns. When using first birth timing as my measure of incorporation, I show significant socioeconomic and nativity differences between foreign- and native-born Mexican women that indicate multiple patterns of incorporation. Mexican women with low levels of socioeconomic status exhibit early first birth timing compared to White women and show little signs of convergence over time. Mexican women with high levels of socioeconomic status show a much different pattern of incorporation. Over time, the more educated foreign-born show significant delays in first birth timing while the native-born show a consistent trend with White women in delayed childbearing. Results reveal that the racial, ethnic, and economic diversity of the Mexican-origin population has led to the emergence of both assimilation and ethnic resilience incorporation. I find that ethnic resilience has emerged over time and is more evident among younger women with low levels of socioeconomic status. I do not find that Mexican-origin women with high levels of socioeconomic status are exhibiting patterns of ethnic resilience. These women are showing marriage and fertility patterns that are consistent with those of White women and support an incorporation pattern of assimilation.
Advisors/Committee Members: Qian, Zhenchao.
Keywords: immigrant incorporation; assimilation; Mexican; ethnic resilience; fertility; marriage
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18.
Bell, Kerryn E.
GENDER, RACE, INTERSECTIONS OF GENDER AND RACE, AND CHANGES IN CRIMINAL OFFENDING ACROSS TIME.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2009, Ohio State University
► Scholars have known for a very long time that gender and race…
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▼ Scholars have known for a very long time that gender and race affect involvement in crime. What has been examined with much less frequency is the effect of intersections of gender and race on criminal offending across the life course. This dissertation uses Delinquency in a Birth Cohort II: Philadelphia, 1958-1988 to examine the effects of gender, race, and, especially, intersections of gender and race on crime during the adolescent and young adult portions of the life course. I test both Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime, which holds that involvement in crime is fixed early in life and remains so throughout the life course, and developmental theories (Sampson and Laub, 1993; Siegel, 2007), which hold that involvement in crime varies across the life course. The effects of gender and race are familiar and as such emphasize their centrality to crime across the life course. Intersections of gender and race are central as well for young adults and those findings underscore the importance of attending to not just gender and race separately but intersections of the two in scholarly analyses of criminal offending. Finally, the results provide support for both the general theory of crime and developmental theories of crime.
Advisors/Committee Members: Lundman, Richard.
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19.
Bell, Kerryn E.
Gender and gangs : a quantitative comparison.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2003, Ohio State University
► Until recently, research and theory about female gang involvement remained scarce. Fortunately,…
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▼ Until recently, research and theory about female gang involvement remained scarce. Fortunately, a growing body of qualitative work is accumulating, describing gender differences and similarities in gang involvement and gang experiences. In spite of this growing interest in female gangs however, there remains little consensus about the extent and nature of female gang activity. In part, this is attributable to qualitative researchers' examination of gangs in a particular city or of a particular racial/ethnic group, resulting in findings that are of questionable generalizability. Building upon this qualitative research, I draw upon The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a large nationally representative sample of school-aged adolescents (aged 12-20), to address two interrelated research questions: 1) Do males and females differ in the risk factors associated with gang membership (e.g., community characteristics, parent-child relationships, associations with deviant friends)?, and, 2) Are there gender differences in outcomes associated with gang involvement (e.g., delinquency involvement and victimization experiences)? Integrating theory and research from social disorganization, social control, social learning, and feminist perspectives on crime/delinquency, I find few differences between boys and girls in terms of risk factors associated with gang membership and outcomes associated with gang involvement. Instead, my results indicate that parental social control and attachment, peer fighting, age, and race similarly influence boys' and girls' gang involvement, while being in a gang substantially increases boys' and girls' involvement in property and violent delinquency, as well as experiences of physical and sexual victimization.
Advisors/Committee Members: Haynie, Dana L.
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20.
Benderlioglu, Zeynep A.
Perception of hostility and blameworthiness, anger, and aggression in the US, Turkey, and China.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2003, Ohio State University
► The current study investigated cross-cultural differences in anger and aggression as a…
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▼ The current study investigated cross-cultural differences in anger and aggression as a function of the perceived intent and blameworthiness of a hypothetical provocateur in adverse social situations. A survey experiment method was used to test differences in perception, self-reported anger, indirect, and overt aggression across cultures, genders, and in- vs. outgroup targets of hostility. The study sample consisted of 410 college students in the US (N=125), Turkey (N=127), and China (N=158). Results show that the US and Turkish respondents were more likely than their Chinese counterparts to perceive aggressive intent in a provocateur's actions and blame the provocateur for the negative outcome in ambiguous social interactions. Also, the US and Turkish participants were more angered by the negative interaction compared to the Chinese. The Turkish alone were more likely to show indirect ("do something to get even") and overt ("have it out with him/her right then and there!") aggression towards the provocateur. Males in all cultures were more likely than females to get even as a result of the adverse interaction. No outgroup effect was found. Blameworthiness was a more potent instigator of overt aggression than perceived intent. Also discussed are how perceptions of hostility can be endemic to a particular culture and used to explain the root causes of violent conflict.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jenkins, Craig.
Keywords: aggression; violence; anger; hostile attribution bias; perceived intent; cross cultural differences
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22.
Bjornstrom, Eileen E.S.
Local Inequality and Health: The Neighborhood Context of Economic and Health Disparities.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2009, Ohio State University
► Intense debate in social epidemiology surrounds the income inequality hypothesis, which asserts…
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▼ Intense debate in social epidemiology surrounds the income inequality hypothesis, which asserts that ecological income inequality is detrimental for health due to reduced social or material resources, and the relative position hypothesis, which proposes lower hierarchical position of individuals is harmful for health. Debate centers on both the relevance of these theories as they apply to health and the appropriate mechanism(s) underlying the relationship.I draw from Wilkinson’s (1992) paper that suggests that the distribution of income is more important in predicting health in wealthy nations due to relationships between relative deprivation, negative emotions, and social cohesion, and contrast it with Wilson’s (1996) theory of the benefits of affluence that posits economic heterogeneity is beneficial in poor neighborhoods because affluent residents model mainstream norms and uphold neighborhood institutions. I extend current research by examining these relationships in U.S. neighborhoods and by considering whether inequality is differentially important across individual income and race-ethnicity. Finally, I assess the relationship between relative position and health, and how it is associated with local context. Hierarchical multilevel Poisson and logistic regression models are used on data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, the Los Angeles County Health Department, and the decennial census to test the strong and weak versions of the income inequality hypothesis on local age-specific and race-ethnic-specific mortality rates, and in multilevel models on individual morbidity. Then, I test relative position within neighborhoods on three morbidity outcomes; hypertension, obesity, and self-rated health. Collective efficacy, a local social resource based on cohesion, trust, and intervention for the common good, is tested as a mediator of the relationship. Results regularly suggest neighborhood context matters for mortality and morbidity. Economic well-being is relevant for mortality across race-ethnicity, while inequality was not important for all cause mortality among blacks or Latinos, but was detrimental for Whites in lower income neighborhoods. The strong and weak versions of the income inequality hypothesis are disputed in multilevel models. Instead, results indicate economic heterogeneity is beneficial on average for hypertension, obesity, and self-rated health. Some race-ethnic differences were found wherein whites benefit more so than other groups from economic heterogeneity. Collective efficacy mediates a portion of the relationship between neighborhood affluence and health, but, though consistently associated with better health and lower mortality, it did not mediate the effects of inequality, suggesting that social resources are not the mechanism though which inequality operates. Results indicate the relative position hypothesis applies to self-rated health and that the relationship is mediated by individual sense of control. Collective efficacy did not mediate the relationship between relative position and morbidity and effects of relative position did not vary across the level of local inequality. I conclude that low relative position may be problematic for health, but neighborhood economic heterogeneity is not detrimental for individual health in local communities. Instead, I suggest economically heterogeneous (or unequal) neighborhoods, perhaps especially in Los Angeles County, may contain characteristics that promote health. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.
Advisors/Committee Members: Browning, Christopher R.
Subjects: Public health; Sociology
Keywords: income inequality; health disparities; neighborhood effects
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23.
Bobbitt-Zeher, Donna.
Gender, Higher Education, and Earnings Inequality.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2008, Ohio State University
► Today's educational policymakers must make decisions concerning institutional access within the context…
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▼ Today's educational policymakers must make decisions concerning institutional access within the context of unprecedented success in schooling on the part of girls and young women. While much discussion has focused on gendered patterns of educational participation and accomplishment that favor women, little research has explored the consequences of these patterns for gender inequality in the labor market. This dissertation begins to fill this void by exploring the relationship between gender, higher education, and gender gaps in income early in workers' careers.Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72), High School and Beyond (HS and B), and National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), I compare the gender income differential for young workers (in their mid to late twenties) in 1979, 1991, and 1999. I find persistent gender earnings disparities that narrow in the 1980s and show signs of rebounding in the 1990s, most pronouncedly for workers without bachelor degrees. Analyses based on Estimated Generalized Least Squares regression and regression decomposition techniques suggest that for the college educated, gender composition of field of study is an important source of earnings inequality throughout the closing decades of the 20th century. And its importance for perpetuating gender differences in earnings among the college educated is growing. For those without a bachelor's degree, educational characteristics seem to matter little for mediating gender earnings differences. Regardless of educational level, employment-related factors are the primary contributor to the gender income gap at the end of the millennium. Using change over time decompositions, I find that women's increased participation in higher education contributes to the overall decline of the gender income gap in the closing decades of the 20th century. Furthermore, for workers with at least a bachelor's degree, changes in the gender composition of college majors work to decrease the income gap between 1979 and 1999. This is the mean-level change that is most important for reducing earnings disparities over this time period. The findings suggest that higher education plays important roles in both alleviating and perpetuating gender inequality. By increasing their participation in higher education and integrating fields of study, women are able to narrow the gap between their earnings and men's. However, educational factors are becoming increasingly important for perpetuating what remains of the gender income differential. In particular, the gender composition of college majors has grown in importance for earnings inequities between women and men. By reorienting our thinking to the consequences of gendered patterns of educational success, this work should inform policymakers of the need to continue efforts to integrate fields of study.
Advisors/Committee Members: Downey, Douglas.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: Gender Inequality; Gender and Education; Income Inequality
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24.
Boettner, Bethany L.
The Role of Residential Segregation in Racial Health Disparities during Childhood.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2011, Ohio State University
► As individual-level explanations have generally proven insufficient for explaining racial differences in…
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▼ As individual-level explanations have generally proven insufficient for explaining racial differences in health, researchers have increasingly turned to residential contexts as a source of population health disparities. Residential segregation is a key defining characteristic of the American landscape and a powerful force for explaining racial inequality. Furthermore, segregation has been found to be a key explanatory mechanism for understand racial disparities in health through its impact on individual and neighborhood level socioeconomic status, discrimination and race-related stressors, and neighborhood quality. In this dissertation, I draw on life course perspectives and stress process models of health to explore how the distribution of social contexts along racial divisions are associated with physical health outcomes among children. Using longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 data (ECLS-K), I address three specific research questions regarding the role of residential segregation on child well-being. First, what is the relationship between residential segregation and child health outcomes such as obesity, asthma, and parent-rated health, and are the effects of segregation cumulative over the early life course? Second, how do neighborhood racial/ethnic tensions and social cohesion work in tandem to influence child health, and do these impacts vary by race? Third, does residential segregation exacerbate the negative effects of family stressful events on health outcomes for school-aged children? I find that the relationship between segregation and physical well-being varies by race, and cumulative measures of segregation are more powerful predictors of childhood health than indicators captured at a single point in time. Moreover, parental involvement in school programs, as a measure of social cohesion, is protective against negative health outcomes for White and Hispanic children, even in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of racial tensions, and is more predictive for some diseases (obesity) than others (asthma). Finally, residential segregation measures do not exacerbate the negative effect of stress events on child health. Given these findings, it is apparent that the neighborhood racial context plays a key but complex role in producing and acerbating child health inequalities during the early part of the life course and may set the stage for the further entrenchment of these disparities as individuals age.
Advisors/Committee Members: Colen, Cynthia.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: segregation; race; health; childhood; disparities
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26.
Boughton, Heather R.
Making The Choice: African-Americans And Decisions About Enrollment At Chartered And Non-Chartered Public Schools.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2008, Ohio State University
► Over a century after the establishment of free public schooling and fifty…
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▼ Over a century after the establishment of free public schooling and fifty years after the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of inclusion in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the United States still struggles to provide a high quality education to all students. African-Americans are particularly affected by disparities in schooling; concentrated in school districts with fewer resources and high levels of community disadvantage, African-American students remain behind in terms of both academic achievement and graduation rates. Faced with persistent inequities in public education, many African-American parents are now turning to charter schools as alternative school options. Among some black political leaders and academics, however, there is concern that charter schools will not have a positive long-term impact on the African-American community. Given the potential conflict between criticisms of charter schools and their immediate desire for change, it is possible that African-American parents experience a sense of cognitive dissonance as they decide where to enroll their children in school. In one-on-one interviews with forty parents in an Ohio metropolitan city, I explored this possibility and found that parents do not describe their school choice process in terms of dissonance. Rather, my participants acknowledged racial inequality and maintained an interest in change for the greater good of the community, while at the same time expressing individualistic views about their own child's educational experiences. That is, parents were able to successfully separate their individualistic need for better schooling from their desire to see collective change. Parents' individualistic perspective on education was fueled by a lack of faith in the government's ability to provide their children with a high-quality education. Because they did not expect significant changes in the public school system, my participants felt compelled to take personal control of their child's education by actively engaging in school choice.
Advisors/Committee Members: Downey, Douglas.
Subjects: African Americans; Education; Sociology
Keywords: School Choice; Charter Schools; African-Americans; Individualism; Cognitive Dissonance; Education; Inequality
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27.
Bradley, Sara Faye.
Empirical construction of work orientations: connections to workers' attitudes, perceptions and behaviors.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2007, Ohio State University
► Studies incorporating theoretical work orientations have helped advance our understanding of workers’…
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▼ Studies incorporating theoretical work orientations have helped advance our understanding of workers’ well-being, job choice and retention, and job satisfaction and commitment. I approach work orientations as an empirical question, conceptualizing work orientations as combinations of workers’ work values – a broader view of work perspectives than research on individual values. I use data from the 1998 General Social Survey and the 1975 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to allow patterns of work values to emerge through cluster analysis and form three distinct work orientations: assistance orientation, instrumental orientation, and detached workers. These work orientations replicate many theoretically constructed work orientations of previous research, supporting previous findings while adding new evidence to the field. I find work orientations are related to job satisfaction, to workers’ commitment to their employing organization, and to workers’ commitment to their occupation. Assistance-oriented workers are significantly more satisfied and committed to their organizations and occupations than detached workers. Instrumental-oriented workers are more committed to their organization and occupation, but are not differently satisfied from detached workers. Furthermore, work orientations affect the way workers describe their jobs with assistance-oriented workers interpreting their jobs the most favorably. I find assistance-oriented workers have a higher risk of leaving their job than detached workers, but instrumental-oriented workers are specifically less likely to change occupations than other workers. Throughout this study I look closely at social service workers and their work orientations as an interesting occupational case. Though all three work orientations are represented among social service workers, assistance orientation with its highly positive attitudes about work is over-represented in this field known for intense burnout and turnover problems. I theorize that work orientations of workers in social service jobs will help us understand variation in workers’ responses to their jobs as some social service workers decide to leave the field, others change organizations within the same field, and still others spend many years working at the same social service organization. I find that social service workers are particularly unlikely to change occupations when they leave their jobs. More generally, my research speaks to dynamics between organizational structure and individuals’ perspectives and experiences.
Advisors/Committee Members: Moody, James.
Keywords: work; work value; work orientation; social service work; cluster analysis; job turnover
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28.
Broh, Beckett A.
Racial/ethnic achievement inequality: separating school and non-school effects through seasonal comparisons.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2004, Ohio State University
► The stratification and education literatures have demonstrated a large and persistent achievement…
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▼ The stratification and education literatures have demonstrated a large and persistent achievement test score gap between black and white students. The gap is evident when students enter kindergarten and grows larger before students finish high school. One of the primary questions in the literature has been the role of schooling in the test score gap. However, the difficulty of empirically isolating the effect of schooling from that of family background is particularly challenging and has limited our confidence in the findings from existing research. I utilize seasonal comparisons to better isolate school effects from forces acting on students outside of school. By comparing the learning students experience during the summer to that which occurs during the school year, I more effectively examine the effect of schooling on the black-white test score gap. Extending previous seasonal comparisons research, I draw on the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) and also examine the relative roles of school and non-school environments on the learning rates of Hispanic and Asian students in kindergarten and first grade. Results indicate that the black-white test score gap in both reading and math grows between the beginning of kindergarten and the end of first grade, and, contradictory to previous findings, the gap only grows during the school year yet remains constant over the summer break. Unlike black students, Hispanic students do not learn slower than white students during the school year. The achievement gap in reading between Hispanic and white students does not grow between the beginning of kindergarten and the end of first grade, and the math gap only grows over the summer break from schooling. Asian students begin kindergarten with higher achievement than white students, but by the end of first grade have fallen behind whites in both reading and math. The relative losses of Asian students to white students occur during the school year while Asian children possibly gain ground over the summer break. Other results implicate differences between schools in the black-white gap but not in the disadvantage Asian students experience at school.
Advisors/Committee Members: Downey, Douglas B.
Keywords: Race/Ethnicity; Achievement; Achievement Gap; Early Childhood; Education
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29.
Broh, Beckett A.
Dumb jock or student athlete? a longitudinal analysis of the effects of playing high school interscholastic sports on academic performance.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 1999, Ohio State University
► Stratification research has demonstrated that family income, parental education and family structure…
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▼ Stratification research has demonstrated that family income, parental education and family structure are consistent predictors of academic success. Some researchers have suggested that participating in high school interscholastic sports also leads to better academic performance. Unfortunately, empirical evidence of this relationship is weak. I use data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 to provide a rigorous test of the effect of participating in high school interscholastic sports on grades and standardized test scores net of relevant controls. Equally important, I explore the mechanisms through which sports participation affects academic success including peer affiliation, social-psychological well-being, and parental support. Analyses show that participating in high school interscholastic sports is related to gains in standardized test scores and math and English grades between eighth and twelfth grades. The positive effects of participating in interscholastic sports are largely a function of differences between athletes and non-athletes in peer group orientation, social capital, self-esteem, locus of control and work ethic. Further tests indicate that participating in interscholastic sports improves grades more than participating in academic clubs, student council, music, cheerleading, drama, journalism clubs, hobby clubs or vocational clubs. Results suggest the importance of parental involvement and support in school activities. I conclude by discussing the implications of my findings for adolescent well-being and educational success.
Advisors/Committee Members: Downey, Douglas.
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30.
Brooks, Jacqueline D.
Congregations and Social Services: An Analysis of Inter-Organizational Networks.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2008, Ohio State University
► Like firms, congregations exist within a milieu of social relationships that make…
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▼ Like firms, congregations exist within a milieu of social relationships that make up their organizational fields. Within this web of relationships, organizations form ties with one another through partnerships. In this analysis, I evaluate how organizational structure and organizational culture affect the partnerships that congregations build with external social service organizations. In a quantitative analysis of the Organizing Religious Work dataset, I hypothesize that religious tradition, race composition, mission-orientation and governance structure will significantly affect the quantity, strength and diversity of these partnerships. The results show that religious tradition and resource building function as the most significant and pervasive predictors of congregations' partnerships with social service organizations. Mainline Protestant congregations, specifically Liberal Protestant congregations, establish a greater number of partnerships, stronger partnerships and more diverse partnerships with social service organizations than Conservative Protestant and Roman Catholic congregations. Access to capital and a congregation's size increase its visibility in the arena of social services. Black congregations form fewer connections and less diverse connections; however, they do not maintain weaker connections than White congregations. As organizations that seek to accomplish their expressed goals, congregations are strongly influenced by mission-orientation as a significant predictor of their involvement in social services. In the qualitative analysis, I discuss why congregations engage in social services, what they do as providers of social services and who does the work. In addition, I describe how congregations adjust their social service delivery in response to internal and external environmental pressures. Although congregations face many challenges in the provision of social services, they rely heavily on institutionalized notions of Christian charity to guide their charitable actions.
Advisors/Committee Members: Meyer, Katherine.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: Congregations; Social Services; Interorganizational Networks; Black Church; Churches
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