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Sociology Seminar Series - Upcoming Seminars Abstracts will be available a week or two before the lecture.
April 14, 2011
Sociology is sometimes criticized for its lack of impact in in the 'real world'. This belies the real impacts it has had in education, community development, criminology and race relations among others. This presentation focuses on the impact on health care particularly through the efforts of Press Ganey Associates. Press Ganey has developed a performance improvement system for health care providers involving patient, employee and physician surveys. Press Ganey's measurement system is currently used by over 50% of all hospitals in the country. The company surveys over 300,000 patients every day and the results of the analysis has become integral to management goal setting and performance measurement. The initial founding of the company and the key sociological influences on the company will be reviewed along with the growth story and the impact on health care reform. April 12, 2011
The developing world is considered to be different and separate from the developed countries of the West. But as Keith Griffin argues, the Western world did not discover the developing world but actually created it. This of course means that in order to understand past and contemporary development strategies in so-called developing countries, one has to delve as much into the history of developed countries as he or she would delve into the history of developing countries. The histories of the two regions have been inextricably interconnected for more than the past five hundred years such that it is impossible to quarantine any of the two parts. This presentation uses interdisciplinary insights to interrogate the contemporary debate about neoliberal capitalism in the developing world with particular reference to Africa by examining the conceptual and empirical debates on capitalism in the past history of developed countries, while juxtaposing them with the situation in the African continent in today’s era of neoliberal globalization. Samuel Zalanga attended the University of Minnesota on a MacArthur Scholars’ Fellowship on Peace and International Cooperation where he completed his doctoral degree in Sociology. He is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at Bethel University, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is associate editor for the Journal of Third World Studies (Africa section). His broad area of scholarly interest and specialization is “Development Studies and Social Change.” This lecture is co-sponsored by the African Studies Forum, The African & African American Studies Program, the African Students Association, with the generous contributions of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the International Studies Program, the Center for American Intercultural Studies, the Department of Sociology & Anthropology, and the Global Programs of the College of Agriculture and Life Science
Sociology Seminar Series - Past Seminars April 8, 2011
Marshalltown, Iowa, US and Villachuato, Michoacán, México are unofficial sister cities Since the late 1990’s, Marshalltown has become home to many Villachuatan families who have moved into this Midwestern city attracted by the jobs offered by the meatpacking plant located there. This research analyzes the changes that this transnational migration has caused in the food ways of Villuachuatan families, both those living in Villachuato and those now living in Marshalltown by combining individual biography and community history. April 1, 2011
This research uses multivariate techniques to understand the role age, family type, and race play in the economic well-being of grandmother-headed families. We examine four different grandmother-headed family configurations: three-generation co-parenting, three-generation custodial, two-generation custodial, and two-generation non-custodial. Using data from the 2000 Census (PUMS 5%) to predict grandmother-headed families’ absolute and relative poverty statuses, multivariate analyses indicate that grandfamily configuration and race are major explanations for differences in poverty. Furthermore, the poverty gap between white and non-white grandmother-headed families is wider in older age cohorts. We also find significant differences in the chances of poverty when we compare family types within and across age cohorts. We interpret our findings using a life course perspective and via cumulative disadvantage and discuss the implications for the economic security of grandmother-headed families and further research about grandmothers raising and co-parenting their grandchildren.
March 24, 2011
Using the community capital framework, this study describes what makes it possible for Latinos to become gardeners and beginning farmers in two rural Iowa communities. Four in-depth interviews were carried out in Denison and four in Marshalltown with Latino/a gardeners and beginning farmers participating in community gardening and farming programs. I used participant observation in people’s homes and garden plots to understand the meaning of gardening and farming among Latinos. Human, cultural, and social capitals are essential elements for Latino gardeners to succeed. The interaction between these three capitals mobilizes other community capitals to improve household well-being. These Latinos bring to their new gardening and farming their previous knowledge of agriculture, fresh food and how to cook it from their countries of origin and other parts of the U.S. Recommendations center on how to mobilize the most critical community capitals. February 24, 2011
Many farmers in the United States do not recognize how their management decisions affect water quality and therefore are not taking action to address the impacts their practices have had, and continue to have, on surface water and groundwater degradation. A group of farmers in northeast Iowa have demonstrated that it is possible to address water and soil quality issues while maintaining efficiency and profitability. We apply two feedback models, identity control and performance-based environmental management, to show the processes whereby they came to recognize the environmental impacts of their farm practices on the surface and ground water in their watershed. When the feedback intervention model activated their conservation identities, this group of farmers became concerned about harm to their local water and changed their behaviors to reaffirm central values of being a good farmer and expanded their identity standard to include the co-production of ecosystem services alongside their agricultural production identity. February 10, 2011
Although the national setting for immigrants is becoming ever more hostile, immigrants are a critical part of many rural economies in Iowa. This case study describes and analyzes the formation of a February 9, 2011
Research on the social aspects of AIDS in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is relatively scarce despite the efforts of a few scholars over the last quarter century. Lack of reliable epidemiological and social studies make it difficult to paint a clear picture of the AIDS situation in the MENA region. However, the available evidence, albeit limited, suggests that HIV prevalence, new HIV infections, and AIDS-related deaths are on the rise. Specifically, in 2009 UNAIDS estimated that 460, 000 people were living with HIV in the MENA, up from 180 000 in 2001. AIDS-related stigma is one critical area of research that has received little attention in the MENA region. The widespread stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is one of the most devastating aspects of the AIDS epidemic. AIDS stigma almost certainly contributes to the marginalization of its carriers and the spread of HIV. This presentation focuses on Dr. Badahdah's research on AIDS-related stigma in several countries in Middle East and North Africa from exploratory research to developing AIDSstigma scales. Badahdah will also talk about his work in exploring the role of stigma, among other factors, in influencing HIV-positive people adherence to medications. December 3, 2010
The National Science Foundation began in 1999 awarding “ADVANCE Institutional Transformation” grants to select universities and colleges in the United States. The purpose of these 5-year institutional awards is to enhance the recruitment, retention and promotion of women and underrepresented faculty of color in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). As a member of an ISU multi-disciplinary group of scholars, Dr. Bird was funded for one of these 5-year grants beginning in 2006. Bird is Co-PI Research Director of ISU ADVANCE, and also serves as a member of the ISU ADVANCE Steering Committee, Leadership Team and Council. Her primary research focus is on the design, implementation and assessment of the ISU ADVANCE “Collaborative Transformation (CT)” project. The primary goal of ISU CT is to enhance the work environment of academic departments in ways that make them as conducive as possible to the recruitment retention and promotion of the highest quality faculty, including women and faculty of color. Dr. Bird works closely with a team of ISU researchers who collaborate with department Chairs and faculty members in 9 “focal departments to: (1) identify barriers to faculty members’ satisfaction and teaching/research productivity; (2) “mirror back” to each department those aspects of departmental climate, recruitment, retention and promotion that faculty find most/least helpful; and (3) develop strategies for enhancing departmental climate, recruitment, retention and promotion that faculty find most/least helpful. Data sources for the ISU ADVANCE CT project include faculty interviews and focus groups, department Chair interviews, and related departmental documents. Surveys conducted before and after the CT project was implemented also provide information regarding the effectiveness of departmental CT climate interventions. Analyzed data show that many issues of concern to faculty are shared across departments, but that departmental climates (and the colleges within which they are administered) are also distinct in many respects. Findings from the ISU CT project are now being disseminated on the ISU campus, with other NSF ADVANCE institutions, and at national and international conferences. In this presentation, Dr. Bird will discuss findings from the ISU ADVANCE CT research project, particularly as they relate to research on organizational change and the underrepresentation of women and faculty of color in STEM. November 15, 2010
Entrepreneurs face major challenges in rural locations not encountered by their metropolitan peers. They are usually farther away from markets and suppliers. They must overcome low economies of scale and under resourced infrastructure. However, perhaps most important, rural entrepreneurs are lonely. They do not have access to the agglomeration benefits and information exchanges available in more densely populated places. But these general circumstances mask the fact that some rural entrepreneurs are very successful. Since entrepreneurship is a critical resource for rural towns sorely in need of economic revitalization, understanding the factors associated with successful rural entrepreneurship is essential. The purpose of this study was to examine this issue using data from interviews with 548 entrepreneurs from 18 rural towns in the U.S. Plains and Midwest states. Findings indicate that the education and experience of the entrepreneur and innovation and community building business strategies are not associated with the success of rural entrepreneurs. Belonging to a business network, "push motivation" for starting a business, and owners' perception of the amount of social capital present in the community are positively related to business success. These findings suggest that by increasing the level of social capital, rural communities can positively influence the success of local entrepreneurs. April 23, 2010
His experimental design work shows that Latino and White male construction workers increase technical learning and productivity on the construction jobsite when both groups receive the training together. When groups are expected to solve problems together, a training and working “third space” forms. This creates a hybrid new experience which is transforming the way we think about education methods in craft education. Fernando Aveiga works closely with labor unions, community colleges and government entities trying to implement multicultural training methods seeking higher retaining and completion rates in the state of Iowa. Incorporating these methods for gender and other cultural groups to accelerate the cultural diversification of a historically white male industry is one the new challenges. March 31, 2010
An extensive literature has contributed to the assumption that black immigrants are, on average, more educated, and show higher levels of socio-economic achievement and labor participation than African Americans. In fact, the assumption that black immigrants have the highest average educational achievement, and are overrepresented in higher education, particularly in Ivy League institutions in comparison to African Americans has become one of the most hotly debated issues in the news media, among notable African American intellectuals, and scholars of immigration and affirmative action. An important shortcoming of this literature is that it presumes an undifferentiated black immigrant population, and spouses a universal success story. The universal black immigrant success story thesis suffers from both methodological and substantive issues. Methodologically, the primary data used to support success story are derived from large scale aggregate data, and obscure the tremendous differences across black immigrant groups. Black immigrants are represented in the entire continuum of the American class structure, and therefore, any representation of a uniform experience in not empirically defensible. Substantively, it ignores the conditions under which different black immigrant groups emigrate from their respective countries. The purpose of this presentation is to revisit the black immigrant success story thesis by examining variations in the educational and economic achievement patterns across African immigrant groups in the United States. March 26, 2010
Racism is often discussed in the historical and contemporary context of English colonial legacy, but rarely do we consider alternative [their] stories grounded in Eurocentric post colonial imaginations of Whiteness across nations. As such, parallels between Spanish and English colonialism are rarely considered with critical thought to the fluidity of Whiteness across ideological and spatial borders of American White and Latino/a White identity that may obscure differences and similarities hindering attempts at equity along across ethno-racial lines. Giving the ongoing increase of Latino/as in the U.S., how do we define who we are as Latinos across spatial boundaries? Were Latino/as ever absent in the first place? Or, have we being here, but become more apparent overtime? If so, how and why? What does this mean for a growing community of Latinos across racialized lines? Can Latinos be influenced by privilege and oppression simultaneously within racial constructs of identity? This session critically examines production and representation of race and identity among Latino/as, and how these inform discourses of racism (in both- the form of supremacy as well as oppression) that continue to manifests in Latino culture and communities in the U.S. today. Currently, Benitez is a Doctoral student (Ph.D.) at Iowa State University focusing on Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a concentration on social justice and higher education. For close to a decade he has been quickly rising as an anti-oppressive scholar and practitioner and influential voice among his peers. His presentations provide critical and multicontextual frameworks for empowerment and education, addressing issues of diversity and social justice, cross- and intercultural unity, knowledge representation and equity, leadership and youth development, and multiculturalism. He completed both his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Education at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). There Benitez served under the College Assistance Migrant Program, where he helped revive the program’s migrant education efforts. Later he served at Dickinson College, as Director of Diversity Initiatives and Social Justice. He previously served as Director of Intercultural Development and the David A. Portlock Black Cultural Center at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and adjunct faculty in the Graduate School of Leadership and Professional Advancement at Duquesne University. February 24, 2010 Amenities are a popular topic among policy makers and academics. Places-rated outlets are constantly ranking cities and regions of the country for livability, economic vitality, and their business friendly atmospheres. Theory suggests that people living in places with more amenities should be happier and have more community pride. Some scholars argue that the “creative class” is attracted to metropolitan areas with abundant natural resources, downtown vitality, and population diversity. Current amenity rating systems ignore or poorly serve the amenities present in small towns in the Great Plains and the Corn Belt. Therefore, one of our goals in this research was to develop measures of amenities at the community level that do not disadvantage rural towns in the heartland. We will eventually use the amenity inventory to compare towns with a high proportion of networked Hispanic and women business owners.
February 10, 2010 In recent decades, Latino/a populations (both immigrant and non-immigrant) have established new areas of settlement throughout the United States, including many Iowa communities. In this presentation, Dr. Maldonado draws from her research in Iowa to explore the “social production of im/migrant in/visibilities and im/mobilities,” the spatialized, racialized, and gendered practices by individuals, families, communities, and institutions, which render migrants visible or invisible, and mobile or immobile, with repercussions for survival, community integration, and political praxis.
November 12, 2009
Abstract: November 11, 2009
Abstract: October 29, 2009
Abstract: October 14
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