Athletic Involvement,Academic Achievement,and Aspiration

Abstract

Prior to World War II, religion in America was characterized by a tripartite system of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups. More recently, Robert Wuthnow (1988), James Davison Hunter (1991), and others have argued that religion in America has been “restructured” into a two-party system, consisting of liberals within these religions on one side and conservatives on the other. Most empirical research examining the restructuring of religion in America focuses on the two-party division within Protestant religious advocacy groups, noting how some Protestant groups are politically more similar to Catholics than to other Protestants. Little work has examined the extent to which this phenomenon applies to Washington offices, which are formally tied to parent religious bodies, particularly Jewish groups. By conducting interviews with Washington office leaders and examining office materials and websites during the 108th Congress, this study seeks to answer the question: How does the thesis of the restructuring of religion in America apply to 15 Washington offices? Results suggest the thesis applies to both Protestant and Jewish Washington offices. The priorities of liberal offices, such as social welfare and economic justice issues, differ from those of conservative offices that focus on life and morality concerns.     

Tobacco,Marijuana, and Alcohol Use in University Students: A Cluster Analysis

Abstract

Objective: Segmentation of populations may facilitate development of targeted substance abuse prevention programs. The authors aimed to partition a national sample of university students according to profiles based on substance use. Participants: The authors used 2008–2009 data from the National College Health Assessment from the American College Health Association. The sample consisted of 111,245 individuals from 158 institutions. Methods: The sample was partitioned using cluster analysis according to current substance use behaviors. The association of cluster membership with individual and institutional characteristics was examined. Results: Cluster analysis yielded 6 distinct clusters. Three individual factors—gender, year in school, and fraternity/sorority membership—were the most strongly associated with cluster membership. Conclusions: In a large sample of university students, the authors were able to identify 6 distinct patterns of substance abuse. It may be valuable to target specific populations of college-aged substance users based on individual factors. However, comprehensive intervention will require a multifaceted approach.     

The robustness of ‘enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend’ alliances

We examine a three-player, three-stage game of alliance formation followed by multi-battle conflict. There are two disjoint sets of battlefields, each of which is associated with a player who competes only within that set. The common enemy competes in both sets of battlefields. An ‘enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend’ alliance forms when the two players facing the common enemy agree on a pre-conflict transfer of resources among themselves. We examine the case in which the players may commit to binding ex post transfers (alliances with full commitment) and the case in which ex post transfers are not feasible (self-enforcing alliances). Models that utilize the lottery contest success function typically yield qualitatively different results from those arising in models with the auction contest success function. However, under both contest success functions, alliances with full commitment result in identical alliance transfers for all parameter configurations, and self-enforcing alliances yield identical transfers over a subset of the parameter space. Our results, thus, provide a partial robustness result for ‘enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend’ alliances.     

New Directions in the Sociology of Collective Memory and Commemoration

The study of memory straddles a wide range of social science disciplines including sociology, psychology, anthropology, and geography. Within sociology, reviews of the literature have already been carried out, but these are now somewhat dated. This article takes the measure of recent prior research on the sociology of collective memory and commemoration by (1) proposing a classification of collective memory research; (2) organising the literature under the headings of theoretical developments, methodological strategies, and methodological challenges; and (3) offering suggestions for maximising the internal cohesion and external utility of the sub-field.     

Evaluating the outcomes of intensive critical thinking instruction for social work students

Social workers require critical thinking skills to analyse situations which present themselves in the course of professional work and in making decisions about the most appropriate forms of social work intervention. The 4-year Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of Newcastle, Australia, introduced an intensive instructional unit on critical thinking at the beginning of the final year of the course. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test, the Ennis—Weir Essay Test and a qualitative student self-appraisal were administered to students in the fourth year of the degree prior to the intensive instructional unit on critical thinking and again after the unit had been completed. From the results it was concluded that explicit and concentrated instruction on critical thinking assisted social work students to improve their critical thinking abilities and to identify principles of critical thinking.     

Russian Influenza in Two University Communities

Abstract

The H1N1 influenza A virus (A/USSR/90/77) appeared first in China, then spread to the United States in January 1978, causing significant outbreaks of influenza among younger age groups. Because college students were particularly affected, epidemiologic investigations were done to define the impact of illness on university populations.

We describe influenza outbreaks involving two college campuses (the Universities of Michigan and Colorado). At both schools, illness attack rates were significantly higher for students than for older faculty and staff members. At the two respective campuses, 25 and 36% of those ill who were surveyed sought medical care. Bed confinement averaged 3.8 days at one school (Michigan). At the other school (Colorado), ill students missed an average of 2.8 days of class. Influenza A (H1N1) virus was isolated from specimens from acutely ill students at both campuses.

These investigations illustrate the practical usefulness of college campuses as sites for monitoring the activity of influenza and other acute respiratory diseases.     

Assessing the effects of neighborhood councils on urban policy and development: The example of Tacoma,Washington

Neighborhood councils form an important and sometimes problematic layer in the governance system of many cities across the USA. The literature on these institutions has focused mainly on their hypothesized role in facilitating citizen participation in neighborhood and city planning. Less work has explored the experiences of neighborhood councils as placed-based institutions theoretically embedded within, and therefore ostensibly reflective of, the overall social and political geography of the city. In particular, little research documents the actual local development priorities, fund-raising capacities, project achievements and scalar tensions associated with neighborhood councils operating in different neighborhoods of the same city. Using a perspective based on extant literatures in urban politics and public administration, this paper offers an analysis of the neighborhood council experience in Tacoma, Washington, USA. While these councils are still “segmented” from the core of urban politics, the paper argues, certain institutional reforms could unlock their long term potential as more “transformative” spaces of local governance.