Abstracts of
Articles for Spring/Summer 2014 issue of
Sociation Today
- Offender
Perceptions of Focused
Deterrence: The High Point
Model
by Terrell A. Hayes
Beginning in
1997 the High Point Police Department
(HPPD) implemented the first in a
series of crime initiatives in an
effort to deter violence and
drug-related crimes in the city of
High Point, North Carolina, USA. The
first of these initiatives, the
Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF),
relied on a comprehensive,
collaborative data-driven strategic
approach to identify The
High Point model has been implemented
in other cities in North Carolina as
well as across the U.S. None to
date have arguably been as successful
as in High Point. Although offenders
expressed some gratitude for
essentially being given a second
chance, just as many negatives as
positives regarding how the crime
initiative works in reality were
expressed.violent and repeat offenders
in an effort to reduce violent crime
throughout the city.
- More
Worldly? College Students'
Views of US Foreign Policy Before
and After Studying Abroad: An
Illustration for Teaching
Qualitative Research
by Christine A. Wernet
This study
examines American privilege and
how US foreign policy is perceived
abroad. Students who spent a
semester at sea in 2008 questioned
American interference overseas and
the validity of the Iraq war. The
students queried demonstrated a
global awareness and a heightened
sense of humanity for all people
around the world.
- Making an
Intercontinental Move: Difficulty of
Visits and Relocation in
International Long-Distance
Relationships
by Orsolya Kolozsvari
Globalization, fast
travel, the Internet, and modern
communication technology have opened
novel avenues for people to find a
significant other and extended the
pool of potential mates to choose
from. Long-distance relationships
have become possible and more common
not only among partners within short
distances, but across different
countries, as well. Thus, concepts
of geographical unavailability or
undesirability are waning. However,
despite all the new possibilities of
long-distance romances, crossing
borders, acquiring visas, and moving
to a foreign country still pose
unique challenges. International,
and especially intercontinental,
travel tends to be more costly and
generally requires more preparation
and documents than domestic
travel. How couples navigate
these barriers is the focus of this
article.
- The
Relationship between Media and
Identity: A Case Study of the
Students of Shiraz University
by
Jahangir Jahangiri and Seyyed Mohammad
Ali Mousavi
The
purpose of this study is to
evaluate the impact of the
Internet on students' national
identity. This paper applies
two theories, one of which is
Tajfel's social identity theory
and the other is Gerbner's
cultivation theory, and analyzes
17 hypotheses to examine the
impact of the internet on national
identity among 375 students from
the University of Shiraz, using a
survey methodology.
Independent variables of the paper
included demographic
characteristics (age, sex, marital
status, place of birth, residence,
and education), family
characteristics (father's
occupation, mother's occupation,
mother's income, and father's
income) and social and economic
characteristics (student's
employment, income, and
ethnicity). Mediating variable of
our research internet use, and its
dependent variable is national
identity. Our findings indicate
that between the independent
variables, namely age, sex, place
of birth, residence, ethnicity,
employment status, marital status,
educational groups, education,
mother's occupation, father's
occupation and mother's income and
mediating variable, i.e. Internet
use, there is a significant
relationship; however, between the
student's income and the student's
father's income and Internet use,
there was no meaningful relation.
Finally, 15 hypotheses were
confirmed; two were not accepted.
The final result obtained from
this study was that Internet use
strengthens the students'
dependence on national identity.
- A Study of
Social Capital and Social Trust
Among Those Who Have Attempted
Suicide
by Rayehe Ghareh, Toktam
Hamidi and Vahid Kashafinia
There are many studies of
how social capital influences
suicide. But it is also known
that there are many more attempted
suicides than completed
suicides. The case study
consists of 200 patients who had
attempted suicide and were
subsequently admitted to the
intoxication ward of Imam Reza
hospital in Mashhad City,
Iran. The main focus of the
research was relation between
different dimensions of social
capital (social trust, social
cohesion, social participation,
social support and social security)
and attempted suicide.
The most important reasons for
attempted suicide are disputes among
couples, incompatibility with
parents and having a diversity of
opinions with parents for
marriage.
- Boutfits: A
Sociological Analysis of the Fashion
and Symbolic Wear of
Roller Derby Attire
by John Paul and Sharla
Blank
This
study examines the subjective meanings
that female roller derby athletes give
to their game outfits (commonly called
"boutfits"). Using a general
qualitative approach grounded by
participant observation, visual
ethnography, and semi-structured
interviews, we query the symbolic
meanings given to their boutfits as
well as the social processes and
conflicts involved in wearing them.
Here, we find that women use their
sport uniforms not only to challenge
traditional notions of femininity but
also to refigure body image concerns
to obtain increased body satisfaction.
However, despite this, we also find
that female athletes feel pressure to
use their bodies and uniform
accouterments to entice the "gaze" of
the audience and grow attendance.
Lastly, we highlight diverging
attitudes regarding the future of the
derby boutfit—interviewees reveal
contrasting approaches where some wish
to “professionalize” the sport with
standard jersey-like uniforms while
others wish to keep the individualized
theatrical and often burlesque attire
for playful
purposes.
©
2014 by Sociation Today
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The Editorial Board of Sociation Today
Editorial Board:
Editor:
George H. Conklin,
North Carolina
Central University
Emeritus
Robert Wortham,
Associate Editor,
North Carolina
Central University
Board:
Rebecca Adams,
UNC-Greensboro
Bob Davis,
North Carolina
Agricultural and
Technical State
University
Catherine Harris,
Wake Forest
University
Ella Keller,
Fayetteville
State University
Ken Land,
Duke University
Steve McNamee,
UNC-Wilmington
Miles Simpson,
North Carolina
Central University
William Smith,
N.C. State University
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