sociology@ewu

Senate Confirms Sociologist Robert Groves as Census Bureau Director

2009-11-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

From www.asanet.org:

Washington, DC, July 13, 2009 — After weeks of stalling and opposition by the US Senate, sociologist Robert Groves, a veteran survey researcher at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center, was confirmed as director of the United States Census Bureau after a full Senate vote today. In early April President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Groves as U.S. Census Director, and on May 20, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved his nomination by voice vote. A Senate confirmation was delayed because of the opposition of two republican senators who feared the use of statistical adjustment in the 2010 Census.

With less than one year before Census 2010, the Census Bureau—the nation’s largest statistical agency—now has a leader who has the scientific credentials and experience to lead this complex operation. Groves has an impressive record of academic and professional experiences and accomplishments. He is a nonpartisan, academic researcher who has focused much of his research on non-response to household surveys and survey error and has published three of the most-cited textbooks and numerous journal articles on survey research.

Decennial Census counts of the nation’s residents (citizen and non-citizen) are conducted primarily to determine how many of the 435 U.S. House of Representative seats will be allocated to each of the 50 states to achieve fair representation. Census numbers also drive the flow of $300 billion in federal dollars to states and communities, supporting everything from education and housing to infrastructure and welfare.

The nomination and the importance of the U.S. Census were recently covered in the July/August issue of Footnotes. ASA Secretary-Treasurer Donald Tomaskovic-Devey will attend the swearing-in ceremony on behalf of ASA and the sociological community.

Taking Sociology for the First Time

2009-10-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

What would be your recommendations to someone who's taking a sociology course for the first time?

See what some sociologists recommend to students

Sociology of Hello Kitty

2009-09-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

An interesting article "Top cat: how 'Hello Kitty' conquered the world":

When, in 1974, employees at the Japanese design company Sanrio created Hello Kitty, the small, rounded cartoon cat with a red bow between her ears and no mouth, they could never have dreamt that she would become the global megastar she is today. Sales of Hello Kitty merchandise now account for half of Saniro's $1bn (£500m) annual turnover and her face adorns 50,000 products, sold in more than 60 countries.

The little half-Japanese, half-English cat has become so globally recognisable that it is, perhaps, inevitable that the Japanese board of tourism has appointed her their official tourism ambassador to China and Hong Kong. This is not the first time the world has looked to Hello Kitty to perform an ambassadorial role; she has been United States children's ambassador for Unicef since 1983.

Dr Sharon Kinsella, a lecturer at Oxford University on Japanese sociology, thinks that Japan's choice of Hello Kitty as their representative is unsurprising.

"It seems predictable enough to have her adopted as a diplomatic envoy," she says. "That has been the way of the 'Cool Japan' bandwagon for a few years now, and relations with China are no healthier. It seems a bit farcical to select Hello Kitty, however: as if a dumbed-down cultural icon that was cool in her retro boom in the 1990s, and which Chinese teenagers dig, can somehow do something significant to alter the gnarly and difficult state of China-Japan relations."

Health Care Debate Based on Lack of Logic

2009-09-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Featured a study by sociologists Andrew Perrin and Steve Hoffman.

An Ivy-Covered Path to the Supreme Court

2009-09-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

G. William Domhoff, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of Who Rules America on Sotomayor's path to the Supreme Court:

Whatever a nominee’s origins might be, does attending the same institutions shape them and their views, even subtly? Critics suggest that elite universities shave off the differences in backgrounds and contribute to a kind of high-level groupthink.

“There is both a funneling and homogenizing effect from these schools,” said G. William Domhoff, a professor of psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of “Who Rules America?”

The effect, Professor Domhoff said, “plays out in terms of social networks, cultural/social capital, and a feeling of being part of the in-group.” It is one of subtle conditioning — what Sam Rayburn, the former House speaker, meant when he famously said, “If you want to get along, go along.”

Outstanding Sociology students recognized!

2009-06-19T15:45:00.001-07:00

Two outstanding sociology students have been chosen to receive two very competitive scholarship through the College of Social and Behavioral Science. Scott Richter was awarded the $8000 Carper Foundation Scholarship, and Yvonne Sherwood was awarded the $1000 Chertok Memorial Scholarship. They were recognized in the Chertok Honors Reception on June 12.

Congratulations, Scott and Yvonne. We are very proud of you!!!!!!

Sotomayor and Race in America

2009-06-19T15:37:00.001-07:00

Sotomayor and Race in America

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Sociology of Unemployment

2009-06-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

The loss of the "third place" due to layoffs. See this New York Times article.

Sociology of Hugging

2009-06-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Sociologist Amy Best is quoted in this New York Times article:
For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug?’
By SARAH KERSHAW
Published: May 28, 2009
A greeting is so common, some students complain of peer pressure to hug, and some schools have banned hugging.

Publishing Opportunity for Sociology Undergraduates!

2009-06-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Check out Sociological Insight – a sociological journal for undergraduate research.

Resources on Writing Literature Reviews

2009-06-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

Students often find writing literature reviews challenging, and they are not sure how to get started. Here are a few good Internet resources from University of North Carolina, University of Minnesota at Duluth, University of Toronto, and University of Wisconsin, Madison.

American Sociological Association Annual Meetings in August

2009-06-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

The annual meetings of the American Sociological Association will be held in August in San Francisco. You can go to the conference homepage and find out what will be going on there!

Writing Sociology Papers

2009-06-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

There are some great resources on writing from University of Washington:
Theory Application Papers
Sociology Papers FAQS

Internship Opportunities at Lutheran Community Services

2009-02-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Great internship opportunities for Sociology majors:

"Lutheran Community Services is always looking for interns. The Victim's Rights Response Team provides advocacy to victims of crime. As an intern, the person would be responsible for answering our 24-hour crisis hotline and providing basic crisis intervention via the phone, in person, at the hospital, or throughout the legal process. There is a 35-hour training for those who have not volunteered or worked at a Crime Victim Service Center or Community Sexual Assault Program in Washington State. Other tasks an intern may take on are assisting staff members in their relative job responsibilities, which include prevention/education, support groups, identity theft prevention, and legal advocacy. If you have any students who are interested you can have them contact Adam Shipman, our Director of Advocacy and Education at 343-5057 or Sheryl Hendren, our Program Manager at 343-5076." Lutheran Community Services is located at 210 W. Sprague Ave. Spokane.

Please come by the Sociology Department if you are interested in signing up for an internship (you will need to develop a learning contract, enroll in SOCI495 and work with a faculty advisor). We will give you pointers on how you can get started.

Satire as Racial Backlash Against Asian Americans

2009-02-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

A 2008 article about Asian Americans as the target of "satire" across college campuses and the omission of Asian Americans in the discussions of diversity and minority students in higher education. Check here.

Till Children Do Us Part

2009-02-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are interested in Sociology of the Family, check out this New York Times article Till Children Do Us Part by Stephanie Coontz:
"Research has shown that three’s a crowd when it comes to a happy marriage, yet American parents are spending more and more of their time caring for their children. But there are ways to improve marital satisfaction."

Black History Month Celebration at EWU

2009-02-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

Check out the schedule for Black History Month events here.

The opening event on Feb 4 President Obama and a "Post-Racial" America? featured two sociology professors - Pui-Yan Lam and Todd Hechtman. You missed it? That's too bad because the panel discussion was just fantastic!!!

EWU Student Research & Creative Works Symposium

2009-02-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

You are working on a research paper for a class and want to share your findings with a wider audience? Want to practice your presentation skills?

Present your work at the EWU Student Research & Creative Works Symposium! Abstracts are due April 15, 2009. If you are interested, talk to one of our Sociology faculty members to find out more about the Research Symposium.

Spring 09 Sociology Courses

2009-02-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

Registration for Spring Quarter will begin soon!

2009-02-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Priority registration for Spring 2009 will begin on February 17. You can check the priority registration schedule here.

It's time to come by the Sociology department and see your faculty advisor to figure out what courses to take. Your faculty advisors would love to chat with you and see how you have been doing!

New blog for Sociology students at EWU!

2009-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome to sociology@ewu!

This blog is created to provide a channel for the department to communicate with our majors. We will use the blog to post class schedules, notices for campus events, articles, and other things that are of interest to Sociology students.

So please bookmark this blog and visit here often!