2007 North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address: Teaching and Learning and the Culture of the Regional Association in American Sociology

Abstract

In this essay, I examine the role of teaching and learning in the culture of the regional association in American sociology. I analyze the programs of (1) the 2007 joint meeting of the North Central Sociological Association (NCSA) and the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS); (2) the 2007 annual meeting preliminary programs of the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS), the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA), and the Southern Sociological Society (SSS) along with the 2006 annual meeting programs of the MSS and NCSA, as well as the American Sociological Association (ASA); and (3) the 1991 NCSA and 1992 ASA annual meeting programs. I identify program trends with regard to teaching, professional development, undergraduate students, graduate students, and research on higher education. I conclude by identifying regional association annual meeting best practices regarding each of these areas.     

Market stability: backward-bending supply in a laboratory experimental market. 1999 Presidential address Western Economic Association

This article investigates the stability properties of markets with backward-bending supply curves. Parameters are chosen so that the two classic models of price dynamics, the Walrasian model and the Marshallian model, give opposite predictions. The results are (1) market instability can be observed, and (2) in the backward-bending case stability is captured by the Walrasian model and the Marshallian model of dynamics is rejected. Previous experiments have demonstrated that the Marshallian model works in the forward-falling case. Thus, which theory of dynamics is appropriate for a market depends on the underlying reasons for demand and supply shapes.     

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address the Community College Conundrum: Pitfalls and Possibilities of Professional Sociological Associations

Abstract

This presidential address examines the “community college conundrum” within our discipline. Although it is reported that 44 percent of first-time undergraduate students attend community colleges, community college faculty are underrepresented in the American Sociological Association (ASA) and within our regional associations. This lack of participation has two roots: (1) our disciplinary lack of interest in studying community college education as a unit of analysis; and (2) the failure by sociologists to understand community college education as a social justice concern. Data for this study include an assessment of membership and participation in our disciplinary associations, content analysis of the journal Teaching Sociology, and a review of ASA syllabi sets. Findings reveal a common theme: community college sociologists are ignored and afforded a marginal status—a “less than” status—within our discipline. Recommendations include calling on the ASA and all sociologists to recognize the importance of community colleges in doing the work of “public sociology.”     

Presidential Address Rural Sociology at the Crossroads*

Abstract A complex array of socio‐historical, demographic, and organizational factors have combined in recent years to threaten both the current status of and future prospects for the discipline of rural sociology, and for the Rural Sociological Society (RSS). This paper examines the somewhat problematic recent trajectories of the RSS as a professional organization and of rural sociology more generally and notes a degree of disciplinary and organizational inertia that have limited the pursuit of new directions. It also presents a discussion of selected factors that have contributed to these concerns, including both “external” factors that are largely beyond the organizational reach of RSS and “internal” factors that are more directly linked to organizational characteristics and actions. Drawing upon the distinctions between “red ocean” and “blue ocean” strategies outlined by market strategists Kim and Mauborgne, the discussion then shifts to a focus on action alternatives that, if pursued, could help to create an expanded set of opportunities and a brighter future for rural sociology, and for the Rural Sociological Society.     

Economic Crisis and New Social Realities: Bait and Switch and the American Dream—Presidential Address 20101

The ESS was called to act during the fall of 2009. We faced a critical test: to stand beside the housekeepers at the hotel where we were supposed to hold the 2010 conference or to ignore their plight. I use the case study of breaking a contract with the Hyatt Hotel in order to locate the Hyatt layoffs in a broader context. This case is meant to illuminate two related issues. (1) The Hyatt Hotel used a traditional strategy of labor substitution in the context of a new global economy. During this ongoing economic crisis, housekeepers, who were promised good jobs and benefits, had worked hard on a steep climb toward fulfilling the American Dream. The resourcefulness of the unions, who saw the loss of these jobs as a threat to the entire industry, and articulate laid‐off workers, who captured the media’s attention, kept this newsworthy. (2) When faced with choices over “whose side are we on,” our strategies for how to act need to be different than academic posturing. I answer the question of how we should act when we become actors in these situations, which is what the ESS was confronted with over the Hyatt’s housekeeper firing.     

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address: What the World Needs Now: A Model of Rational Altruism

Abstract

This address challenges the widely held view that social-economic rationality is rooted in egoistical behavior. Based on an examination of the concept of altruism in sociology, the discussion features the outlines of a formal alternative model of motivation. The model includes altruism as a legitimate “rational choice.”     

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address. Renewing Sociology: Integral Science,Solidarity, and Loving Kindness

Abstract

We contribute to the debate about the effects of immigration in the United States by analyzing the impact of recent (1980-2000) immigration on the economic outcomes of African Americans. We use Census 2000 data for a sample of 150 U.S. metropolitan areas to examine these outcomes. Our findings indicate that after controlling for a variety of theoretically relevant control variables, increases in recent immigration decrease labor force non-participation and poverty, and increase median earnings, among blacks. We argue that recent immigration expands blacks' job opportunities in or near the middle of the occupational hierarchy (e.g., protective services; office and administrative support). However, we also find a non-linear effect of immigration on black median earnings which indicates an immigrant population threshold where black earnings begin to decline. Thus, both sides of this debate may be correct: middle-class blacks benefit from increased immigration, but the gains of the black middle class do not always offset the fact that poor and lower-skilled blacks are losing out because of increased competition with immigrants.     

2014 Presidential Address to the MSSA Membership: Academic Freedom,Free Speech and the MSSA Community of Scholars

This article includes the text from my Presidential Address given at the annual banquet of the Mid-South Sociological Association in November of 2014. In the speech, I highlight the challenges to academic freedom, the importance of a right to free speech, and the responsibility that comes with having both. I further argue that the MSSA, as an association of professionals, draws on the camaraderie it fosters in our organization to support and aid those who fight against the threats to academic freedom.     

Economic Satisfaction vs. Moral Conservatism in the 1988 Presidential Election

Abstract

Residents from “Middletown” who were going to vote in the 1988 presidential election were interviewed concerning their various economic and moral positions. The results showed that satisfaction with the economic situation in the fall of 1988 was much more important than moral conservatism in Bush's election win. An extended analysis on how economic satisfaction could influence vote was presented.     

Testing the Permanence of the Permanent Campaign: An Analysis of Presidential Polling Expenditures, 1977 2002

Many presidential observers argue that the modern White Houseis the site of more-or-less permanent campaigning. In a recentPOQ piece, Murray and Howard (2002) [Public Opinion Quarterly66:527–558] explore one indicator of the "permanent campaign,"the extent to which Presidents Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush,and Clinton commissioned independent opinion polls and focusgroups to assist in policymaking and political maneuvering.Murray and Howard suggest that while a sophisticated pollingoperation has been institutionalized in the White House, thereis substantial variation in how much a president uses this operation.In this article, we model presidential polling expendituresover time using monthly figures. We find that presidents donot vary significantly in the average amount spent per monthon polls. There are, however, two recurring patterns of variationwithin presidential administrations: Presidents tend to spendsignificantly more on internal polling during the most intensemonths of a presidential reelection campaign; and polling expendituresincrease over the course of each presidential term. These findingssuggest that there are common forces (e.g., elections, naturaldecline in support) that have driven all presidents since Fordto poll.     

Presidential Address: Heroes,Warriors, and Burqas: A Feminist Sociologist's Reflections on September 11

My presidential address looked back at the gendered imagery of American heroes and warriors, Muslim terrorists, and oppressed Islamic women as they appeared in comparatively sophisticated media sources in the first 6 months after September 11. The imagery was conventionally gendered, but the actions of women and men reported in the same sources showed multiple gendering—heterogeneity within homogeneity. Making this multiplicity of gendering visible blurs and undermines gender lines and the inequities built on them. The social constructions of heroism, masculinity, and Islamic womanhood are core parts of the gender politics of September 11, a politics deeply embedded in the current debates over the causes and consequences of terrorism and war.     

Economic Integration and Intra-industry Trade Between the European Community and the Western Balkan Countries

The aim of this paper is to examine the relation between trade liberalisation, economic integration and the intensity of intra-industry trade among three countries of different development levels in a Free trade Area context. The theoretical analysis indicates that the benefits of creating a Free Trade Area between the Western Balkan countries and the European Community (EC), following the predictions of the Association and Stabilisation Agreements will be unevenly spread between member-states of the EC and the Western Balkan countries. The second part of this paper examines the actual level of intra-industry trade between the Western Balkan countries and the EC. The level and the trend of intra-industry trade between the two Eastern Balkan countries, Romania and Bulgaria, member-states of the EC since 2007 and which reflect the provisions of Europe Agreements are also investigated.      

"西三角"经济圈产业分工与协调发展研究

“西三角”经济圈（以下简称“西三角”）是西部地区以重庆、成都为中心的成渝城市群和以西安为中心的关中城市群构成的相对发达的城市与产业密集区。“西三角”是我国20世纪60年代三线建设的重要工业布局地区,经历了西部大开发打基础、建平台的十年,即将开启重点开发、优先开发的十年,着力推进西南和西北区域产业分工和协调发展,共同打造西部地区率先发展的重要经济增长极、产业集群式发展的高地,意义重大。