soclinks: October 2010

Saturday, October 30, 2010

One reason that is not so farfetched: transgenerational effects are showing up not only in lab rats but also in people, as if the ghosts of our ancestors haunt our very genes. In 2006 scientists announced the findings of a study in a town in Sweden called Överkalix (chosen because it keeps excellent birth and death records). If a father began smoking before the age of 11, found Marcus Pembrey of the Institute of Child Health in London, his sons had a greater body-mass index, on average, than did sons of men who took up smoking as adults. In this same population, if a man suffered food shortages as an 8- to 12-year-old child, his sons’ sons were more likely to die young; if a woman suffered food shortages as a child, her son’s daughters were. Another study in Överkalix found that if a man overate in childhood, his sons’ children were four times more likely to develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease, found scientists at Sweden’s Umeå University.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Urban Dictionary: School Hierarchy

The social order in which any high school runs from top to bottom. 1. Jocks/Preps/Sufer dudes- Made up of the school sports players, cheerleaders, and any Hollister or Abercromie wearing preps. 2. The school clowns- Although they aren't in number ones status they associate with them on a daily basis, and keep the school in constant laughter and fit in with any clique. 3. The Multi-Taskers- These kids run everything from the school paper, to Home coming they're extremely social but run a tight shift. My hats off to them. 4. The Drama crew- These budding Romeos and Juliets spend countless hours acting, singing, dancing and writing allowing contact with other students with similar interest and tend to talk to people with similar interest. 5. The Anime/Goth group- Very closely related to the Drama Crew most still work in that group but after winning their independence they formed they're own group led by Anime loving Gothic kids. 6. Teachers Pets- Almost like the School Multi-Taskers but annoying as hell, and always trying to bring others down. 7. Computer Geeks/Nerds- The imfamous nerds and computer geeks have been at the bottom of the school hierachy since the dawn of time. 8. Newbies- Although at the bottom there is a 90% chance they wont stay there long' if they talk to the right people they could very well climb to the top in no time.

Rankism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rankism is a term coined by physicist, educator, and citizen diplomat Robert W. Fuller. Fuller has defined rankism as: "abusive, discriminatory, or exploitative behavior towards people because of their rank in a particular hierarchy"[1]. Fuller claims that rankism also describes the abuse of the power inherent in superior rank, with the view that rank-based abuse underlies many other phenomena such as bullying, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Stigmatized Students: Age, Sex, and Ethnicity Effects in the Stigmatization of Obesity

Stigmatized Students: Age, Sex, and Ethnicity
Effects in the Stigmatization of Obesity

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jlatner/downloads/pubs/ORstigma_adult.pdf

The influence of the stigma of obesity on overweight individuals

http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/bias/The-Influence-of-the-Stigma-of-Obesity.pdf

The influence of the stigma of obesity on overweight individuals

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the internalization of anti-fat bias among overweight individuals across a variety of attitudes and
stereotypes.
DESIGN: Two studies were conducted using the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a performance-based measure of bias, to
examine beliefs among overweight individuals about ‘fat people’ vs ‘thin people’. Study two also contained explicit measures of
attitudes about obese people.
SUBJECTS: Study 1 participants were 68 overweight patients at a treatment research clinic (60 women, 8 men; mean Body Mass
Index (BMI) of 37.173.9 kg/m2). Study 2 involved 48 overweight participants (33 women, 15 men) with a BMI of 34.574.0 kg/
m2.
RESULTS: Participants exhibited significant anti-fat bias on the IAT across several attributes and stereotypes. They also endorsed
the explicit belief that fat people are lazier than thin people.
CONCLUSION: Unlike other minority group members, overweight individuals do not appear to hold more favorable attitudes
toward ingroup members. This ingroup devaluation has implications for changing the stigma of obesity and for understanding
the psychosocial and even medical impact of obesity on those affected.

Obesity Bias Among Dietitians by Using the Fat People-Thin People Implicit Association Test

Obesity Bias Among Dietitians by Using the Fat People-Thin P... : Topics in Clinical Nutrition

The purpose of this project was to determine whether registered dietitians (RDs) exhibit a negative bias toward obese persons. The participants (n = 175) comprised a convenience sample of RDs from professional listservs, resulting in 128 (73%) completed surveys. The researchers used the Fat People-Thin People Implicit Association Test, found on the Web site: www.implicit.harvard.edu (designed to measure social knowledge). Bivariate associations were tabulated and an F test was performed to find association among variables. Across all categories, RDs (n = 98; 76%) had a strong to moderate preference (P = .05) for thin people in comparison with fat people, which exceeded the Implicit Associations Test results taken from the general population (n = 2.5 million; 52%). Registered dietitians tended to be less tolerant of obesity than those among the general population. Education for RDs on improving tolerance with individuals who are obese is recommended, especially for RDs who counsel overweight patients.

Anderson Cooper 'shocked' by 'that's so gay' phrase

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Sociology > People > Ryken Grattet > pdf

pdf — Sociology

Federal Probation 2009-06.pdf

Lin Grattet Petersilia 2010.pdf

Sociology > People > Bill McCarthy > pdf

pdf — Sociology

SHAMEGAME_PDF.PDF

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Working Group on Extreme Inequality » How Unequal Are We?

Inequality Index

· Percentage of U.S. total income in 1976 that went to the top 1% of American households: 8.9.
· Percentage in 2007: 23.5.
· Only other year since 1913 that the top 1 percent’s share was that high: 1928.
· Combined net worth of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans in 2007: $1.5 trillion.
· Combined net worth of the poorest 50% of American households: $1.6 trillion.
· U.S. minimum wage, per hour: $7.25.
· Hourly pay of Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, for an 80-hour week: $27,034.74.
· Average hourly wage in 1972, adjusted for inflation: $20.06.
· In 2008: $18.52.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Wealth - 2004 Detailed Tables

Table 1. Median Value of Assets for Households, by Type of Asset Owned and Selected Characteristics: 2004

Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2004 to 2007: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances

FRB: 2007 SCF

Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2004 to 2007: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Brian K. Bucks, Arthur B. Kennickell, Traci L. Mach and Kevin B. Moore
Federal Reserve Bulletin, vol. 95 (February 2009), pp. A1-A55.
Article (398 KB PDF)
Version for black and white printing Article (395 KB PDF)

Family holdings of nonfinancial assets and of any asset, by selected characteristics of families and type of asset, 2004 and 2007

See Table 9. Family holdings of nonfinancial assets and of any asset, by selected characteristics of families and type of asset, 2004 and
2007 surveys—Continued

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2009/pdf/scf09.pdf

A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.

EITC Income Limits, Maximum Credit Amounts and Tax Law Updates

2009 Tax Year

New for tax year 2009: The amount of EITC increased for workers with a third qualifying child* and the rules changed for determining who is a qualifying child.

Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:

*
$43,279 ($48,279 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
*
$40,295 ($45,295 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
*
$35,463 ($40,463 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
*
$13,440 ($18,440 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

Tax Year 2009 maximum credit:

*
$5,657 with three or more qualifying children
*
$5,028 with two qualifying children
*
$3,043 with one qualifying child
*
$457 with no qualifying children

Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2008

This article shows that even when you control for occupation, women still earn less than men.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2008.pdf

How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty - U.S Census Bureau

How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty

National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior

About 85% of men report that their partner had an orgasm at the most recent sexual event; this compares to the 64% of women who report having had an orgasm at their most recent sexual event. (A difference that is too large to be accounted for by some of the men having had male partners at their most recent event.)

The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings

http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf

Their Own Facts | The American Prospect

The first thing that came to your mind when I raised this issue was probably the ideas held by people whose hatred of Barack Obama burns with such an intensity that nothing can disabuse them of the notion that the president is The Other, alien in birth and creed. According to a recent CNN poll, 41 percent of Republicans said Obama was "probably not" or "definitely not" born in the United States; a recent Pew poll found that 31 percent of Republicans believe that Obama is a Muslim, a figure that has gone up, not down, since he has been in office. When Republican officials are asked about these falsehoods, they often smile knowingly, then offer a half-hearted endorsement of the truth, as Mitch McConnell did recently ("The president says he's a Christian. I take him at his word"), leaving all possibilities open.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Study: Most Americans want wealth distribution similar to Sweden | Raw Story

According to research (PDF) carried out by Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School and Dan Ariely of Duke University, and flagged by Paul Kedrosky at the Infectious Greed blog, 92 percent of Americans would choose to live in a society with far less income disparity than the US, choosing Sweden's model over that of the US.

Friday, October 8, 2010

EBSCOhost: Fighting the real bullies

The article discusses school bullies. School bullies aren't the sad misfits, loners, and revenge-seeking geeks we thought they were, report UCLA psychologists who recently interviewed 2,000 sixth graders and their teachers at Los Angeles-area middle schools. Most often, they're actually the popular, self-confident "cool" kids. It's a finding that may resonate with your own memories of playground social dynamics. It also suggests why many antibullying programs simply aren't effective, says lead researcher and psychologist Jaana Juvonen, PhD. The reason: They target the wrong kids. What's needed are better ways to stop bullying because victims can suffer a wide range of health problems, including headaches, stomachaches, and sleepless nights. They also tune out at school; as a result, their grades suffer. And they have trouble getting along with classmates. Even bullies themselves are at risk: A US Department of Education survey reveals that 25% of bullies who routinely get physical have a criminal record by age 30.

EBSCOhost: Fighting Boys and Fantasy Play: the construction of masculinity in the earl...

Using a past-structural framework, the paper analyses the dynamics of the process by which little boys adopt a definition of masculinity as avoiding whatever is done by girls. It is argued that this is a response to the fact that the 'fighting boys' who resist the school's demands have appropriated the role of hero in the warrior narratives of little boys' fantasy games, casting the 'good boys' who conform to the requirements of the school as despised 'wimps' and 'sissies'. This leads the 'good boys' to adopt an alternative definition of masculinity as 'not female', and in many cases leads also to the scorn and rejection being redirected to girls as a group. It. is suggested that teachers should intervene in this cycle by explicitly discussing the character of the hero in these warrior narratives and showing that it ought not to be equated with the classroom and playground behaviour of the 'fighting boys'.

EBSCOhost: Not Your Child's Playground: Workplace Bullying Among Community College Fac...

Community colleges have provided an entree into higher education for many women. Yet, women faculty perceive the overall climate of community colleges as “chilly.” To deconstruct the interpersonal dynamics that may lead to perceptions of a chilly climate, this study examines the prevalence of workplace bullying among and between community college faulty. The purpose is to understand the nature of harassment, the ways in which women define and respond to it, and the importance of contextual factors in the prevalence. Workplace bullying is a form of interpersonal aggression that has implications for how individuals perceive the organizational climate, job productivity, and job satisfaction. Findings from this study indicate that workplace bullying among faculty includes many subtle practices characterized by informal and formal use of power, faculty workplace bullying is affected by several enabling structures specific to the context, and victims typically respond with avoidance. This study has implications for harassment policies, faculty involvement in institutional governance, and the gendered nature of interpersonal dynamics.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Women Call the Shots at Home; Public Mixed on Gender Roles in Jobs - Pew Social & Demographic Trends

By nearly 2-1, women say they and not their husbands control the family pursestrings (45% vs. 23%). But a narrow plurality of men say they, not their wives, are managing the family finances (37% vs. 30%).

Sunday, October 3, 2010

The tea partiers are half right - CNN

You may not wonder why the auto dealers won exemptions in Congress from the new financial regulations. But the behind-the-scene deals the White House has made are enough to make you sick.

These include deals with private hospitals to drop the public option in exchange for their support of the health care bill and with the pharmaceutical industry to block Americans from purchasing low-cost drugs from other countries.

Poverty Facts and Stats — Global Issues

At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Way We Live Now - The Charitable-Giving Divide - NYTimes.com

In 2001, Independent Sector, a nonprofit organization focused on charitable giving, found that households earning less than $25,000 a year gave away an average of 4.2 percent of their incomes; those with earnings of more than $75,000 gave away 2.7 percent.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Employment Status of Women by Marital Status and Presence and Age of Children

The 2010 Statistical Abstract: Labor Force Status

Employment Status of Women by Marital Status and Presence and Age of Children

Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck in Place - New York Times

The number of women staying home with young children has risen recently, according to the Labor Department; the increase has been sharpest among highly educated mothers, who might otherwise be earning high salaries.

Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck in Place - New York Times

Last year, college-educated women between 36 and 45 years old, for example, earned 74.7 cents in hourly pay for every dollar that men in the same group did, according to Labor Department data analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute. A decade earlier, the women earned 75.7 cents.

Rutgers student death: Has Digital Age made students callous? - CSMonitor.com

“There have been some studies that suggest that it [new media technology] does dissolve some of the human connections: It objectifies people,” says Maureen Costello [CQ], director of Teaching Tolerance, an education program based at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala.

One recent University of Michigan study found that college students’ empathy declined by about 40 percent between 1979 and 2009, with the biggest drop-off occurring after 2000.

Studying Links Between Anatomy and Crime - NYTimes.com

A small band of economists has been studying how height, weight and beauty affect the likelihood of committing — or being convicted of — a crime. Looking at records from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, they have found evidence that shorter men are 20 to 30 percent more likely to end up in prison than their taller counterparts, and that obesity and physical attractiveness are linked to crime.

Is the 'Bullying Epidemic' a Media Myth? - Newsweek

A decade ago a cruel classmate might have simply taunted Clementi for being gay or kissing a man, or perhaps described seeing them together. That could be upsetting enough. But now, a Webcam allowed Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, to post the video live—Clementi's sexual life was instant fodder for potential campuswide mockery. And it was far too easy to gather: Ravi simply turned on his computer remotely, and saw Clementi kissing another man. On Sept. 19, he tweeted "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay." In the new world, even the alleged suicide note became a piece of social media when Clementi wrote on his Facebook page "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."

Is the 'Bullying Epidemic' a Media Myth? - Newsweek

It's not that bullying isn't a problem, particularly for kids who are gay, lesbian, or transgender. Research shows it affects one in five American students each year, and nine in 10 LGBT students, according to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. It is also known to increase levels of depression—and, thus, suicide. (Though teen suicide rates are down since 2004, according to the CDC, LGBT kids are four times more likely to commit it.)

2007 National School Climate Survey: Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT Students Harassed

The survey of 6,209 middle and high school students found that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (86.2%) experienced harassment at school in the past year, three-fifths (60.8%) felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and about a third (32.7%) skipped a day of school
in the past month because of feeling unsafe.