The social correlates of flood risk: variation along the US rural–urban continuum

Population and Environment - Compositional and contextual characteristics of a place capture the collective financial, physical, human, and social capital of an area and its ability to prevent,...     

Race and Interactions on Public Transportation: Social Cohesion and the Production of Common Norms and a Collective Black Identity

In this article, I examine interactions on public transportation in order to assess social cohesion among members of the same race. Contrary to the prevailing view of social cohesion in urban places, I find that individuals in poor, black areas demonstrate more social cohesion than individuals in more affluent, white areas. This cohesion is meaningful as it plays a role in the production of common notions of a particular black reality and collective black identity, and that it serves a normative function in defining appropriate behaviors. I use Goffman's idea of civil inattention as a heuristic for studying social cohesion.     

Privacy violations and procedural justice in the United States prisons and jails

Through constitutional amendments and case law, the United States citizens receive privacy protections. These same protections do not exist for individuals incarcerated in prisons and jails. Instead, their privacy rights are regularly replaced by larger institutional concerns for security, safety, and control. Such privacy violation measures may include electronic surveillance, recording of phone calls, opening/reading of mail, and searches of their person, cell, and property. Although it is expected that incarcerated individuals have fewer privacy rights than nonincarcerated citizens, some privacy violations may be perceived as procedurally unjust due to their severity and infringement upon incarcerated individuals' rights to dignity and respect. This has implications for the well-being of incarcerated individuals, the legitimacy of correctional officers, and as a result, the potential safety and security of institutions.     

Accessing a hard to reach population: reflections on research with young carers in Ireland

In keeping with developments in children's rights, research is increasingly including the views of children. Accessing a hard to reach population of children can, however, raise significant ethical and methodological challenges for researchers. Negotiating access through gatekeepers, securing parental consent and limits on confidentiality are central issues in the recruitment process of children. This paper is based on a qualitative study of young carers in the Irish population. It outlines the methodological approaches employed to access a representative sample of young carers and the measures taken to fulfil ethical obligations. In the recruitment phase of the study, researchers attempted to strike a balance between two sometimes competing requirements, the need to protect children from harm and to respect children's competence. This paper reflects on the success and limitations of the approaches adopted towards achieving this balance, exploring the use of gatekeepers as a method to identify and recruit a hidden population, and revisiting the measures taken to comply with the ethical requirements of parental consent and limits on confidentiality.     

Sociology and sociologists in francophone Québec: science and politics

Cet article évoque en premier lieu les moments-clés de l'institutionnalisation de la sociologie québécoise francophone en tant que discipline et profession. Il examine, dans un deuxiéme temps, certains des traits globaux d'un système social qui se constitura parallèlement à celui du Canada anglais. Sont ensuite présentés les grands axes analytiques auxquels obéit la production scientifique québécoise. On y découvre alors l'existence d'une jonction entre une sociologie de la praxis d'une part et d'autre part, une sociologie de la domination. L'examen de la sociologie des mouvements sociaux et de la sociologie des rapports de sexes vient illustrer nos propos.
This article focusses first of all on the institutionalization of Francophone sociology in Québec, sociology being considered here both as a discipline and as a profession. Attention is also given to the main features of a social system which has become separate and distinct from English-Canadian sociology. We then go on to examine the major analytical axes which characterize this body of knowledge. What emerges is the presence in francophone Québec sociology, of two foci; the affirmation of praxis and collective social action is coupled with an emphasis on structural factors, such as domination, which constrain social action. A closer examination of the sociology of social movements and of the sociology of gender relations illustrates the polarization between social praxis and social critique.     

A condom skill scale: assessing condom skills among female drug users

Use of latex condoms is a primary form of sexual risk reduction, and consequently many intervention programs have focused efforts on increasing condom use among high-risk populations. Use alone, however, will not fully protect the individual if condoms are not used correctly. The objective of this study was to describe the development and properties of a scale measuring demonstrated condom use skill using a sample of 261 drug-using women. Guttman's coefficient of reproducibility and Jackson's Plus Percentage Ratio (PPR) were used to determine the scalability of the Condom Skill Scale (CSS). Analysis of scale scores revealed high levels of condom skill among the population, although there was reduced performance for three items. Preliminary analysis suggests that the CSS is a potentially valid and reliable instrument, and may have application as a tool assessing condom skill level.     

Starting where the people are: Lessons on community development from a remote Aboriginal Australian setting

This paper analyses a government health department's attemptto implement a community development strategy in a remote AboriginalAustralian community after identifying deficiencies in one ofits health programmes. The reluctance of non-Aboriginal departmentalclinic staff to share control of health decisions with Aboriginalparticipants, together with the deeply embedded power inequalities,undermined the development process and the achievement of projectobjectives. After lengthy critical reflection and supportedby the project team and other community agencies, a group ofcommunity members addressed the priority issue they identifiedwith a community-owned strategy in opposition to health professionals.This study raises questions about the capacity of governmentdepartments to practise community development, particularlygiven the unequal power relations, and their reluctance to sharepower between such departments and marginalized, disadvantagedcommunities.     

Unmasking Racism: Halloween Costuming and Engagement of the Racial Other

We explore Halloween as a uniquely constructive space for engaging racial concepts and identities, particularly through ritual costuming. Data were collected using 663 participant observation journals from college students across the U.S. During Halloween, many individuals actively engage the racial other in costuming across racial/ethnic lines. Although some recognize the significance of racial stereotyping in costuming, it is often dismissed as being part of the holiday's social context. We explore the costumes worn, as well as responses to cross-racial costuming, analyzing how “playing” with racialized concepts and making light of them in the “safe” context of Halloween allows students to trivialize and reproduce racial stereotypes while supporting the racial hierarchy. We argue that unlike traditional “rituals of rebellion,” wherein subjugated groups temporarily assume powerful roles, whites contemporarily engage Halloween as a sort of “ritual of rebellion” in response to the seemingly restrictive social context of the post-Civil Rights era, and in a way that ultimately reinforces white dominance.

Individuals' beliefs about the etiology of same-sex sexual orientation

We examined the relationships between beliefs about the etiology of having a same-sex sexual orientation, sexual prejudice, and support for gay-relevant legislation using the justification-suppression model of prejudice as our theoretical foundation. Results indicated that more belief that a same-sex sexual orientation was due to nurture factors predicted less support for gay-relevant legislation, and that this relationship was mediated by levels of sexual prejudice. The opposite pattern was found for belief that a same-sex sexual orientation was due to nature factors. This suggests that beliefs about the etiology of sexual orientation may serve as justification (or suppression) factors in the expression of prejudice toward gay men and lesbians.