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Background: There is an increased need to understand how e-cigarette flavors may contribute to e-cigarette uptake and use among youth. We examined the relationship between perceived ease of flavored e-cigarette use and e-cigarette use susceptibility and progression among a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth never tobacco users. Methods: The wave 1 (2013–2014) and wave 2 (2014–2015) surveys of PATH Study were used. Youth never tobacco users (ages 12–17) who reported whether flavored e-cigarettes were easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes at wave 1 (n = 6,983) were included in the study. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between perceived ease of using flavored e-cigarettes (wave 1) and e-cigarette use outcomes including e-cigarette use susceptibility (wave 1) and e-cigarette initiation and past-30-day use (wave 2). Results: Overall, 21.2% of the sample perceived flavored e-cigarettes easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes; and 28.9% of the sample were susceptible to using e-cigarettes at wave 1, and 7.5% and 2.0% initiated e-cigarettes and used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days at wave 2, respectively. Among those who perceived flavored e-cigarettes easier to use, 41.0% were susceptible to using e-cigarettes at wave 1, and 10.6% and 3.4% initiated and used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days at wave 2, respectively. Perceiving flavored e-cigarettes as easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes at wave 1 was positively associated with e-cigarette use susceptibility at wave 1 (AOR = 1.43, CI = 1.21, 1.69), and e-cigarette initiation (AOR = 1.32, CI = 1.12, 1.67) and past-30-day use (AOR = 1.25, CI = 1.10, 2.47) at wave 2. Conclusions: Perceiving flavored e-cigarettes as easier to use than unflavored e-cigarettes may lead to e-cigarette use progression among youth never tobacco users. Determining the factors (including e-cigarette marketing and specific e-cigarette flavors) that lead to perceived ease of using flavored e-cigarettes would inform efforts to prevent and curb youth e-cigarette use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No studies have investigated the association between living arrangements and disability-free life expectancy in the United States, nor worldwide. This study aims to examine the differences in total and disability-free life expectancy among older Americans according to living arrangements. Data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998 to 2014) for non-Hispanic whites aged 50 and over (N = 21,612). Disability-free life expectancy by gender, living arrangement, and education are obtained from incidence-based multistate life tables. Overall, those who live only with their spouses/partners live 1–19 years longer with 3–25 more years without disability and 1–7 fewer years with disability than do those with other living arrangements. Among those with the same living arrangement, the higher educated live up to 6 years longer with up to 8 more years in a disability-free state and up to 2 fewer years in a disabled state. The study shows strong association between living arrangement and disability-free life expectancy by gender and education. Long-term care policy should take into account the length of life with/without disability by living arrangements and socioeconomic status and make use of the potential family resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to produce timely and accurate flu forecasts in the United States can significantly impact public health. Augmenting forecasts with internet data has shown promise for improving forecast accuracy and timeliness in controlled settings, but results in practice are less convincing, as models augmented with internet data have not consistently outperformed models without internet data. In this paper, we perform a controlled experiment, taking into account data backfill, to improve clarity on the benefits and limitations of augmenting an already good flu forecasting model with internet-based nowcasts. Our results show that a good flu forecasting model can benefit from the augmentation of internet-based nowcasts in practice for all considered public health-relevant forecasting targets. The degree of forecast improvement due to nowcasting, however, is uneven across forecasting targets, with short-term forecasting targets seeing the largest improvements and seasonal targets such as the peak timing and intensity seeing relatively marginal improvements. The uneven forecasting improvements across targets hold even when “perfect” nowcasts are used. These findings suggest that further improvements to flu forecasting, particularly seasonal targets, will need to derive from other, non-nowcasting approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on his participation at the ISA World Conference in Sociology that was held in Toronto, Ontario in 2018. Topics discussed include consideration of sociology as an organization, poststructuralism, history of poetic sociology and stratification of the U.S. sociology.

Purpose: Myopia is increasing worldwide and possibly linked to education. In this study, we analyse the association of myopia and education in the U.S. and investigate its age-dependency. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis using the public use files from the cross-sectional study National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of the period from 1999 to 2008. 19,756 participants aged 20 to 85 years were included with data on education and ophthalmic parameters (distance visual acuity, objective refraction and keratometry). Spherical equivalent, astigmatism, corneal power and corneal astigmatism were evaluated for an association with education using linear regression analysis with adjustment of potential confounders. Results: Analysis revealed an association between spherical equivalent and educational level in the univariate analysis (P < .001), and in the adjusted model (P < .001). Subjects who attend school to less than 9th grade had a mean spherical equivalent of 0.34 D, subjects with 9-11th grade -0.14 D, subjects that finished high school -0.33 D, subjects with partial college education -0.70 D, subjects that graduated from college or a higher formal education -1.22 D. Subjects that graduated from college or above were -1.47 D more myopic compared to subjects that completed less than 9th grade school in the adjusted analyses. Astigmatism and corneal curvature was not associated with education. Conclusions: Myopia is associated with higher education in the U.S. Our analysis shows that corneal curvature does not contribute to this association, therefore axial elongation or lens power are likely to contribute to myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boutwell, Nedelec, Winegard, Shackelford, Beaver, Vaughn, Barnes, & Wright (2017) published an article in this journal that interprets data from the Add Health dataset as showing that only one-quarter of individuals in the United States experience discrimination. In Study 1, we attempted to replicate Boutwell et al.’s findings using a more direct measure of discrimination. Using data from the Pew Research Center, we examined a large sample of American respondents (N = 3,716) and explored the prevalence of discrimination experiences among various racial groups. Our findings stand in contrast to Boutwell et al.’s estimates, revealing that between 50% and 75% of Black, Hispanic, and Asian respondents (depending on the group and analytic approach) reported discriminatory treatment. In Study 2, we explored whether question framing affected how participants responded to Boutwell’s question about experiencing less respect and courtesy. Regardless of question framing, non-White participants reported more experiences than White participants. Further, there was an interaction of participant race and question framing such that when participants were asked about experiences of less respect or courtesy broadly, there were no differences between non-White participants and White participants, but when they were asked about experiences that were specifically race-based, non-White participants reported more experiences than White participants. The current research provides a counterweight to the claim that discrimination is not a prevalent feature of the lives of minority groups and the serious implications this claim poses for research and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses student records from a nonselective public institution to assess whether student veterans' academic performance and preparation differed before and after the post–9/11 GI Bill. We find equivalent ACT scores between cohorts who were and were not eligible for this new funding source, suggesting similar academic preparation. Grade point averages are also invariant across cohorts. We identify a large decline in the probability that student veterans eligible for post–9/11 GI Bill funding pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. These results suggest that increased access to college funding had no effects on academic performance and distributed student veterans more broadly across the university curriculum, suggesting an important policy strategy to help recent veterans successfully transition to the civilian labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Community sanitation interventions increasingly leverage presumed innate human disgust emotions and desire for social acceptance to change hygiene norms. While often effective at reducing open defecation and encouraging handwashing, there are growing indications from ethnographic studies that this strategy might create collateral damage, such as reinforcing stigmatized identities in ways that can drive social or economic marginalization. To test fundamental ethnographic propositions regarding the connections between hygiene norm violations and stigmatized social identities, we conducted 267 interviews in four distinct global sites (in Guatemala, Fiji, New Zealand, USA) between May 2015 and March 2016. Based on 148 initial codes applied to 23,278 interview segments, text-based analyses show that stigmatizing labels and other indices of contempt readily and immediately attach to imagined hygiene violators in these diverse social settings. Moral concerns are much more salient at all sites than disease/contagion ones, and hygiene violators are extended little empathy. Contrary to statistical predictions, however, non-empathetic moral reactions to women hygiene violators are no harsher than those of male violators. This improved evidentiary base illuminates why disgust- and shame-based sanitation interventions can so easily create unintended social damage: hygiene norm violations and stigmatizing social devaluations are consistently cognitively connected. Highlights • Sanitation interventions increasingly seek to change community hygiene norms. • Identifies hygiene norms at Guatemala, Fiji, New Zealand, and USA sites. • Cross-cultural comparison shows hygiene norm violators are consistently stigmatized. • Illuminates how disgust-based sanitation interventions create social damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of rescuing early-career scientists often take narrow approaches and focus on PhD students or postdoc populations. In a multi-method systems approach, we examine the inter-relations between the two ends of the pipeline and ask: what are the effects of late retirement on aging and hiring in academia? With a simulation model, we postulate that the decline in the retirement rate in academia contributes to the aging pattern through two mechanisms: (a) direct effect: longer stay of established professors, and (b) indirect effect: a hiring decline in tenure-track positions. Late retirement explains more than half of the growth in average age and brings about 20% decline in hiring. We provide empirical evidence based on the natural experimental set-up of the removal of mandatory retirement in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Park died, he left his theory of the human habitat not only incomplete, but in considerable disarray. Although few present-day scholars have demonstrated much interest in building on this critical body of Park’s work, which he based on dominance, it probably represents his most important contribution to American sociology. I argue that the key to systemizing his highly discursive account of the human habitat is to view it from an emergent social evolutionary perspective, which makes it possible to differentiate his notion of “community” from “society,” as well as explain how the two concepts can logically be viewed as both separate and unified entities. A community is not only a necessary stage in the social evolutionary process of producing a society, but it also provides the habitat needed for a society’s later emergence. Among other things, Park’s theory of the human habitat is also criticized for its failure to (1) distinguish dominance from domination, (2) identify the reciprocal relationship existing between power and domination, (3) accurately characterize the nature of the economic order operating in communities, and (4) demarcate a pre-lingual, lingual and literate communal stages that precedes in the social evolutionary process the possible development of a society. In passing, I also point out critical, but often overlooked aspects of Park’s theory of the human habitat that contradict popular characterizations of his work as being purblind to the operation of dominance and power, social Darwinist, conservative, sexist, and racist. Finally, I deduce the implications of his theory for the future emergence of a “world society.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goals propose to improve cardiovascular health (CVH) and reduce deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the US. Targeted health promotion efforts in workplaces and communities are needed to achieve these population-level changes. The present study examined the sex-specific cross-sectional associations between employment status and ideal CVH among Hispanics/Latinos, and whether these associations were modified by age (i.e., younger adults [aged 18–44] compared to middle-aged and older adults [aged 45–74]). Methods: This study included 4,797 males and 7,043 females (aged 18–74) from the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos. Employment status was categorized as employed full-time (FT), employed part-time (PT), employed (FT or PT) and homemakers, homemakers only, and unemployed. CVH metrics, operationalized as ‘ideal’ versus ‘less than ideal,’ included health factors (i.e., blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting glucose) and health behaviors (i.e., body mass index, smoking, physical activity [PA], and diet). A total CVH score was derived based on the seven CVH metrics, and dichotomized as ideal vs. less than ideal (score of 11–14 vs. 0–10). Survey-based generalized linear regression models with Gaussian binomial distribution were used to estimate adjusted prevalence differences (APDs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between employment status (with employed FT as referent) and ideal CVH (total score and each metric), adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Effect modification by age was examined. Results: Among males, compared to their employed FT counterparts, those who were employed PT had a higher prevalence of ideal CVH score (APD = 6.8, 95% CI = 1.7, 11.8), ideal BMI (APD = 8.5, 95% CI = 3.0, 14.0), and ideal PA (APD = 4.8, 95% CI = 0.9, 8.7). Age modified the associations of employment type with ideal CVH score and ideal BMI, i.e., younger males who were employed PT had a higher prevalence of ideal CVH score and ideal BMI. Among females, employment status was not associated with ideal CVH score. Compared to females employed FT, females who were homemakers had a lower prevalence of ideal (non-) smoking (APD = -4.7, 95% CI = -8.5, -1.0) and ideal PA (APD = -7.9, 95% CI = -12.7, -3.0), and females who were unemployed had a lower prevalence of ideal PA (APD = -10.4, 95% CI = -16.7, -4.1). Age modified the associations of employment type with ideal fasting glucose and ideal PA, i.e., middle-aged and older females who were homemakers or unemployed had a lower prevalence of ideal fasting glucose and ideal PA. Conclusions: Hispanic/Latino males who were employed PT had the most favorable CVH profiles but these associations were mostly driven by better CVH (total score and metrics) among younger males. Hispanic/Latino females who were homemakers or unemployed had lower rates of ideal CVH metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to examine changes over time in the physical fitness of the United States (US) Army infantry. A systematic review was conducted to identify and analyze articles and databases that reported on physical characteristics (height, weight, and body mass index) and/or Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores of male infantrymen or men in infantry units.Materials and Methods: The National Library of Medicine's PubMed and the Defense Technical Information Center were searched using specific keywords. Reference lists of obtained articles, specific author searches, contact with authors, and secondary analysis of available databases enhanced the search. Studies and databases were selected if they involved infantry soldiers or soldiers in infantry units and provided a quantitative assessment of at least one physical characteristic or APFT measure. Average values for each measure were obtained, plotted by the year of data collection, and fitted to linear regression models.Results: Thirty-one articles and five available databases met the review criteria encompassing years 1976-2015. Regression analysis suggested a small temporal increase in height for infantry soldiers (2%) and soldiers in infantry units (1%). Body weight and body mass index increased over the period (9-15%) in both groups. APFT performance of infantry soldiers was generally higher than that of infantry units. There was little change in APFT performance over the period for infantry soldiers. For soldiers in infantry units, push-up performance changed little over time, whereas sit-up performance increased (8%) and two-mile run performance decreased (8%).Conclusion: Over the surveyed period, body weight and body mass index increased in US Army infantry soldiers and soldier in infantry units. Infantry soldier performance on the APFT appears to have been maintained over the period. For soldiers in infantry units, there has been a small improvement in sit-up performance, but lower two-mile run performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an article about the history of US sociology with systematic intent. It goes back to World War II to recover a wartime narrative context through which sociologists formulated a ‘trauma’ to the discipline and ‘blamed’ qualitative and values-oriented research for damaging the scientific status of sociology. This narrative documents a discussion of the changes that sociologists said needed to be made in sociology as a science to repair its status and reputation. While debates among sociologists about theory and method had always been contentious, the wartime narrative insisted for the first time that sociology be immediately unified around quantitative approaches. The narrative of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ science that developed during the war not only undermined the efforts of social interactionists to theorize social action and social justice, but also derailed Parsons’ pre-war effort to bridge differences. The moral coding that is the legacy of the narrative stigmatized important approaches to sociology, leading to a ‘crisis’ in the 1960s that still haunts the discipline. Disciplinary history has overlooked the wartime narrative with the result that the role played by World War II in effecting this crisis has gone unrecognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recounts early country life during the formative years of the state of Kansas. Societal and economic background on the state; Recollection of people's livelihood, family and farm life; Sex roles and social norms; Development of educational facilities and other public institutions.

Focuses on the origin and evolution of the water management law uniquely implemented in the western United States. Court jurisdiction on water use disputes and the incorporation of the riparian-rights doctrine in land use; Fundamental legal principles in the prior-appropriation system; Urbanization of the western region and water use.

The sociology of sport in Australia has reached a key point in its development. A critical tradition in the subdiscipline has been established over the last decade, but its intellectual and institutional progress has been uneven. This article briefly traces the emergence of critical sports sociology in a country outside the major centers in the UK and U.S., its break with functionalist approaches, and its attempts to overcome the neglect of local mainstream sociology. The authors proceed to examine (self-reflexively) the changes of theoretical direction and the new lines of research that are being explored in the field. A recent "skirmish" with narrative history over the preferred theories and methods in sports analysis is discussed as illustrative of the difficulties encountered by an energetic but small dispersed and underorganized scholarly movement in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The professional team sports industry has consistently worked a constructing a symbiotic relationship in the collective American mind linking professional team sports with United States patriotism Professional team sports organizations use a variety of advertising images. rituals, and ceremonies to reinforce this association. One means by which the organizations perpetuate this association is through league logos, all of which use only the colors red, white, and blue--the precise color combination found on the flag of the United States League logos are prominently displayed on all their licensed merchandise, that generates about $10 billion in annual revenue for professional team sports. This paper focuses on the contradiction or paradox that exists between the imagery of All-American patriotism professional team sports construct and the fact that much of their licensed merchandise is manufactured in foreign countries by exploited labor. The analysis centers on meaning-production by deconstructing and critiquing the managed image of professional team sport organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research utilized an ethnographic approach to advance our understanding of the survival strategies employed by the homeless in our society. We examine the types of possessions consumed, how possessions are acquired through nontraditional employment and scavenging, and why some products are purchased while others are scavenged. We also look at the tools used to facilitate search, acquisition, storage, and consumption of these products. Finally, we consider the importance of community for protection of self and possessions and how community among the homeless affects consumption. Emergent themes that allow interpretation of the description are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the meaning and histories of favorite objects in two cultures using surveys and photographs. Favorite object attachment is differentiated from the possessiveness component of materialism and from attachment to other people. Meanings of favorite objects derive more from personal memories in the U.S. and from social status in Niger than from object characteristics. Since favorite objects serve as storehouses of personal meanings, gender, age, and culture reflect differences in object selected as well as reasons for selection. In the U.S., photographs show greater proximity to objects that are symbols of others or experiences than to objects enjoyed for their own attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early linkages between physical education, sociology, and sport sociology are set in the American 1960s context of increased focus on the discipline of physical education, expansion of higher education, and fragmentation of knowledge. In the last 20 years sport sociology has become a subfield of both physical education and sociology. Positivist and descriptive/sensitizing perspectives of the nature of knowledge—two paradigms used by sport sociologists—are compared and contrasted. In sociology there continues to be considerable debate between proponents of these two orientations, while in physical education the positivist tradition has been espoused almost exclusively. Much American social research is positivist in nature, and this, coupled with the strong physical education positivist tradition, has tended to guide sport sociologists in this direction. But interdisciplinary sport studies perspectives that have evolved out of the descriptive/sensitizing paradigm and draw on a wide range of the social sciences and humanities are currently becoming more popular in sociology and sport sociology. Sport sociology can make important broadening and humanizing contributions to physical education curricula, most of which are very technically and/or professionally oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "melting pot" theory suggests that prolonged interethnic contact leads to the disappearance of ethnic and/or cultural differences in society. Eventually, the argument holds, such contact between minorities and other subcultural groups with the mainstream society leads, first, to the assimilation of, and, then, to the disappearance of, ethnic distinctions. Sport has been perceived as an important mechanism in this process by which ethnic group members could be assimilated into mainstream society. However, recent anthropological work indicates that the melting-pot theory does not hold. Drawing from the works of several social scientists who have analyzed and are currently studying play forms among several ethnic cultures within the United States, this article presents data which challenge the tenability of the melting-pot theory. The data indicate that adopting cultures within the United States transform the nature of typically "American" sport forms to fit their own cultural schema and that the value orientations of the ethnic minority student-athletes reflect the values of their mother culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on the growth and development of American sociology of sport. Sport has experienced a virtual explosion in the publication of empirical investigations, and some attempts at theory generation and model building. Several literatures have focused on the description, explanation, and prediction of sport. The article also discusses the changes and the dominant value orientation current within sport sociology. The investigative paradigms used by sport sociologists are also examined.

The article focuses on the prediction of population trends where the risks of prognostication are small. Economists deal with less risk in forecasting the economic effects of population changes because the people who will determine the age distribution of most of the population are already alive. The sectors affected by population changes include the work force, productivity, inflation, housing and consumer markets. Population is a powerful factor in determining economic performance and the market demand for industries and companies.

The article attempts to subject one sociological contribution to the most stringent test of all -- the ability accurately to predict the course of industrial conflict. This should speak for itself as an example of usefulness of sociology to the disciplines analyzing industrial relations. The article states the prediction as made, secondly marshals the evidence bearing on it, thirdly reviews the model from which the prediction was generated and lastly shows how another model was developed. The past and present do contain at least some of the seeds of the future. While straight extrapolation may be pointless and misleading, a prediction based upon a model of the future social system can be very much in order. For a sociologist in particular, concerned as he is with the stabilities and regularities of social life, there is almost a compulsion to see the scientific task as requiring prediction. But if the tools of social analysis are useful, then the scientifically constructed models of the future social systems should give us the basis for predicting the state of one of the secondary sets of social practices, namely, industrial conflict. A concrete prediction was made ten years ago about the course of industrial conflict in the United States. The trend data bearing on this prediction seem to confirm the general accuracy of the prediction. This lends support to the model from which the prediction was generated. A second model, relating conflict to the power of union and company, complements the first and tested in one instance, the 1959 steel strike proves viable. Judged by results, the sociological analysis of industrial conflict may be considered a positive contribution to knowledge.

The article announces the selection of David Cort, Don Tomaskovic-Devey, and Laurel Smith-Doerr by the Council of the American Sociological Association as editors-elect of the journal.

An editorial is presented which offers reflections and researches on the economic sociology. Topics include efforts to become political relevant in sociology with a vision of the best path; examines the important issue of how to use pilot studies in sociological research; and discussion on importance of symbol Gino Germani for the development of sociology in Argentina.

Background: Improving the accuracy and precision of predictive analytics for temporal trends in crime necessitates a good understanding of the how exogenous variables, such as weather and holidays, impact crime. Methods: We examine 5.7 million reported incidents of crime that occurred in the City of Chicago between 2001 to 2014. Using linear regression methods, we examine the temporal relationship of the crime incidents to weather, holidays, school vacations, day-of-week, and paydays. We correct the data for dominant sources of auto-correlation, and we then employ bootstrap methods for model selection. Importantly for the aspect of predictive analytics, we validate the predictive capabilities of our model on an independent data set; model validation has been almost universally overlooked in the literature on this subject. Results: We find significant dependence of crime on time of year, holidays, and weekdays. We find that dependence of aggressive crime on temperature depends on the hour of the day, and whether it takes place outside or inside. In addition, unusually hot/cold days are associated with unusual fluctuations upwards/downwards in crimes of aggression, respectively, regardless of the time of year. Conclusions: Including holidays, festivals, and school holiday periods in crime predictive analytics software can improve the accuracy and precision of temporal predictions. We also find that including forecasts for temperature may significantly improve short term crime forecasts for the temporal trends in many types of crime, particularly aggressive crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known regarding the time trend of mass shootings and associated risk factors. In the current study, we intended to explore the time trend and relevant risk factors for mass shootings in the U.S. We attempted to identify factors associated with incidence rates of mass shootings at the population level. We evaluated if state-level gun ownership rate, serious mental illness rate, poverty percentage, and gun law permissiveness could predict the state-level mass shooting rate, using the Bayesian zero-inflated Poisson regression model. We also tested if the nationwide incidence rate of mass shootings increased over the past three decades using the non-homogenous Poisson regression model. We further examined if the frequency of online media coverage and online search interest levels correlated with the interval between two consecutive incidents. The results suggest an increasing trend of mass shooting incidences over time (p < 0.001). However, none of the state-level variables could predict the mass shooting rate. Interestingly, we have found inverse correlations between the interval between consecutive shootings and the frequency of on-line related reports as well as on-line search interests, respectively (p < 0.001). Therefore, our findings suggest that online media might correlate with the increasing incidence rate of mass shootings. Future research is warranted to continue monitoring if the incidence rates of mass shootings change with any population-level factors in order to inform us of possible prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the skills of graduate education that is most central to the evaluation of students is their ability to read and report on complex disciplinary texts. The display of comprehension is central to the judgment of competence, creating a status hierarchy. Demonstrating reading prowess is taken as a transparent indication of intelligence. Based on thirty-six ethnographic interviews with graduate students in sociology, history, and economics, we examine how informants think about the establishment of their scholarly reputations through self-presentational skills in discussing reading in seminars, articles, and eventually in the dissertation itself. The ability to read disciplinary texts and to situate those texts within disciplinary contexts is crucial for a validated selfhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the prevalence of racial/ethnic stereotypes among White adults who work or volunteer with children, and whether stereotyping of racial/ethnic groups varied towards different age groups. Participants were 1022 White adults who volunteer and/or work with children in the United States who completed a cross-sectional, online survey. Results indicate high proportions of adults who work or volunteer with children endorsed negative stereotypes towards Blacks and other ethnic minorities. Respondents were most likely to endorse negative stereotypes towards Blacks, and least likely towards Asians (relative to Whites). Moreover, endorsement of negative stereotypes by race was moderated by target age. Stereotypes were often lower towards young children but higher towards teens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rates of violence in the United States have steadily declined over the last decade. However, there continues to be a disproportionate number of homicides among African American young men compared to their race and gender counterparts. Among African American males between the ages of 15–24, homicide is the leading cause of death. This is a public health issue that seems very preventable and a plethora of research and interventions have explored psychosocial causes that might aid in reducing rates of violence. Although there have been a significant number of efforts to understand and reduce violence, few studies or interventions have explored the unique cultural factors that might serve as buffers against violence for African American males. This study examines the role of culture in reducing rates of violent behavior among adolescent and young adult males. Findings suggest that culture plays an important protective role in the likelihood of engaging in violence for this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article connects the sociology of science to discussions of academic freedom and scientific autonomy, asking how social science is shaped by politics and extrascientific forces and how this understanding of the social determination of social science should inform social research and political critique. The focus is present-day American academic social science, particularly sociology. The first section reconstructs the relations between social science and political power in theoretical terms and argues that relative autonomy is a necessary condition for scientific knowledge and responsible political interventions by academic intellectuals. The second section constructs the space of scientists’ views of the proper relations between political power and social scientific work. The third section turns to the American university, focusing on actors and organizations that shape social research. The goal is to identify these major actors and organizations and to provide a framework for identifying past and present threats to scientific autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, healthcare delivery has faced two major disruptions: the mapping of the human genome and the rise of evidence-based practice. Sociologists have documented the paradigmatic shift towards evidence-based practice in medicine, but have yet to examine its effect on other health professions or the broader healthcare arena. This article shows how evidence-based practice is transforming public health in the United States. We present an in-depth qualitative analysis of interview, ethnographic, and archival data to show how Michigan's state public health agency has navigated the turn to evidence-based practice, as they have integrated scientific advances in genomics into their chronic disease prevention programming. Drawing on organizational theory, we demonstrate how they managed ambiguity through a combination of sensegiving and sensemaking activities. Specifically, they linked novel developments in genomics to a long-accepted public health planning model, the Core Public Health Functions. This made cutting edge advances in genomics more familiar to their peers in the state health agency. They also marshaled state-specific surveillance data to illustrate the public health burden of hereditary cancers in Michigan, and to make expert panel recommendations for genetic screening more locally relevant. Finally, they mobilized expertise to help their internal colleagues and external partners modernize conventional public health activities in chronic disease prevention. Our findings show that tools and concepts from organizational sociology can help medical sociologists understand how evidence-based practice is shaping institutions and interprofessional relations in the healthcare arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science Cafés, informal venues to promote bidirectional dialog, inquiry and learning about science between community members, scientists, healthcare and service providers, hold promise as an innovative tool for healthcare researchers and community members to improve health outcomes, especially among populations with health disparities. However, the process of optimizing science cafés is under-studied. We describe the pilot evaluation of a series of Science Cafés, called Garden Cafés (n = 9), conducted from September 2015 through April 2016 in Olmsted County, MN and Duval County, FL to connect Mayo Clinic researchers and local service providers with the community. Selection of discussion topics was guided by a county health needs assessment, which identified community priorities. Before leaving the events, community participants completed a brief anonymous survey assessing sociodemographics and their knowledge of research benefits, readiness to participate as a partner in health research, and health and science literacy confidence. Of the 112 attendees who responded, 51% were female and 51% were Black. Respondents reported that participating in the event significantly improved (all at p<0.001) their understanding on all three measures. Preliminary findings suggest that Garden Cafés are an effective forum to increase community understanding and disposition to collaborate in health research, especially in members from diverse backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical approaches suggest that gender inequity increases men’s health risks. Previous findings from the United States support this contention, however only a small number of health outcomes have been explored. This study extends the range of health outcomes examined by using a cross-sectional, multilevel analysis to investigate whether measures of state-level gender inequity are predictors of men’s self-rated health. Data were derived primarily from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the full-case data set included 116,594 individuals nested within 50 states. Gender inequity was measured with nine variables: higher education, women’s reproductive rights, abortion provider access, elected office, management, business ownership, labour force participation, earnings and relative poverty. Covariates at the individual level were age, income, education, race/ethnicity, marital status and employment status. Covariates at the state level were income inequality and gross domestic product per capita. In fully adjusted models for all-age men the reproductive rights (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.01–1.11), abortion provider access (OR 1.11 95% CI 1.05–1.16) and earnings (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.02–1.12) measures all predicted an increased risk of men reporting poorer self-rated health for each 1 standard deviation increase in the gender inequity z-score. The most consistent effect was seen for the 65+ age group where the reproductive rights (OR 1.09 95% CI 1.03–1.16), abortion provider access (OR 1.15 95% CI 1.09–1.21), elected office (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.01–1.11) and earnings (OR 1.10 95% CI 1.04–1.16) measures all showed a significant effect. These findings provide evidence that some aspects of gender inequity increase the risk of poorer self-rated health in men. The study contributes to a growing body of literature implicating gender inequity in men’s health patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Promising school policies to improve children’s diets include providing fresh fruits and vegetables (F&V) and competitive food restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), yet the impact of national implementation of these policies in US schools on cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk factors and outcomes is not known. Our objective was to estimate the impact of national implementation of F&V provision and SSB restriction in US elementary, middle, and high schools on dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) in children and future CMD mortality. Methods: We used comparative risk assessment (CRA) frameworks to model the impacts of these policies with input parameters from nationally representative surveys, randomized-controlled trials, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. For children ages 5–18 years, this incorporated national data on current dietary intakes and BMI, impacts of these policies on diet, and estimated effects of dietary changes on BMI. In adults ages 25 and older, we further incorporated the sustainability of dietary changes to adulthood, effects of dietary changes on CMD, and national CMD death statistics, modeling effects if these policies had been in place when current US adults were children. Uncertainty across inputs was incorporated using 1000 Monte Carlo simulations. Results: National F&V provision would increase daily fruit intake in children by as much as 25.0% (95% uncertainty interval (UI): 15.4, 37.7%), and would have small effects on vegetable intake. SSB restriction would decrease daily SSB intake by as much as 26.5% (95% UI: 6.4, 46.4%), and reduce BMI by as much as 0.7% (95% UI: 0.2, 1.2%). If F&V provision and SSB restriction were nationally implemented, an estimated 22,383 CMD deaths/year (95% UI: 18735, 25930) would be averted. Conclusion: National school F&V provision and SSB restriction policies implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools could improve diet and BMI in children and reduce CMD mortality later in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Using patient-reported experiences, this study: 1) quantitatively evaluated TTTS screening trends, 2) examined screening and diagnostic experiences using a mixed methods approach, and 3) determined gaps in clinical care experiences. Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Data was collected using a self-report, retrospective survey. A triangulation design was used to validate quantitative survey data with thematically analyzed qualitative data. Setting: Participants were recruited through social media and national foundations and completed the survey online. Participants: Participants were 312 women who completed a TTTS pregnancy in the United States, representing the largest survey of participants who have experienced TTTS. Methods: Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were conducted. Multivariate logistic regression examined predictors of ultrasound frequency. Qualitative data were initially coded by hand and checked using qualitative software. Results: The percentages of participants reporting guideline recommended screening, including identification of pregnancy type by gestational week 13 and timely receipt of ultrasounds, increased over time. However, 44.6% of participants diagnosed in recent years (2014 and later), reported that prior to TTTS diagnosis, they did not receive biweekly or more frequent ultrasounds. Three patient-reported provider practices were related to receiving ultrasounds at the recommended frequency: (1) determining MCDA status prior to gestational week 14, (2) providing participants with early warnings about the risk of TTTS to their pregnancies after MCDA status had been determined, and (3) referring participants to a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist after MCDA identification, as validated by qualitative data. Our qualitative data revealed gaps in effective clinical care experiences among OB/GYN and specialist providers. Conclusion: These findings indicate screening and diagnosis for TTTS, as reported by patients, is improving in the United States; however, further efforts are required to ensure all patients receive appropriate screening, education and a team-based approach to comprehensive and supportive clinical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some sociologists referred to W.E.B. Du Bois, a 19th century sociologist, as the founding father of American Sociology due to his trailblazing social science research, The Philadelphia Negro. However, The Philadelphia Negro globally revolutionized social science and epidemiological research that expands far beyond sociology and the United States. This study, which was groundbreaking for its era in its implication of social, spatial, inter cultural, and intracultural health determinants, authenticated the existence of racial disparities and how systemic inequalities impact health. Du Bois was a social epidemiology frontrunner, yet compared to his contemporaries, acknowledgment of his global contributions to social epidemiology has been practically mute. It is time that Du Bois and Duboisian research are fully acknowledged in the social epidemiology field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While current research is largely consistent as to the harms of heavy drinking in terms of both cancer incidence and mortality, there are disparate messages regarding the safety of light-moderate alcohol consumption, which may confuse public health messages. We aimed to evaluate the association between average lifetime alcohol intakes and risk of both cancer incidence and mortality.Methods and Findings: We report a population-based cohort study using data from 99,654 adults (68.7% female), aged 55-74 years, participating in the U.S. Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Cox proportional hazards models assessed the risk of overall and cause-specific mortality, cancer incidence (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer), and combined risk of cancer and death across categories of self-reported average lifetime alcohol intakes, with adjustment for potential confounders. During 836,740 person-years of follow-up (median 8.9 years), 9,599 deaths and 12,763 primary cancers occurred. Positive linear associations were observed between lifetime alcohol consumption and cancer-related mortality and total cancer incidence. J-shaped associations were observed between average lifetime alcohol consumption and overall mortality, cardiovascular-related mortality, and combined risk of death or cancer. In comparison to lifetime light alcohol drinkers (1-3 drinks per week), lifetime never or infrequent drinkers (<1 drink/week), as well as heavy (2-<3 drinks/day) and very heavy drinkers (3+ drinks/day) had increased overall mortality and combined risk of cancer or death. Corresponding hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for combined risk of cancer or death, respectively, were 1.09 (1.01-1.13) for never drinkers, 1.08 (1.03-1.13) for infrequent drinkers, 1.10 (1.02-1.18) for heavy drinkers, and 1.21 (1.13-1.30) for very heavy drinkers. This analysis is limited to older adults, and residual confounding by socioeconomic factors is possible.Conclusions: The study supports a J-shaped association between alcohol and mortality in older adults, which remains after adjustment for cancer risk. The results indicate that intakes below 1 drink per day were associated with the lowest risk of death.Trial Registration: NCT00339495 (ClinicalTrials.gov). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a Policy Forum, Peter Hotez and colleagues discuss vaccination exemptions in US states and possible consequences for infectious disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is frequently used to administer health-related surveys and experiments at a low cost, but little is known about its representativeness with regards to health status and behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey comprised of questions from the nationally-representative 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was administered to 591 MTurk workers and 393 masters in 2016. Health status (asthma, depression, BMI, and general health), health behaviors (influenza vaccination, health insurance, smoking, and physical activity), and demographic characteristics of the two MTurk populations (workers and masters) were compared to each other and, using Poisson regression, to a nationally-representative BRFSS and NHANES samples. Results: Workers and master demographics were similar. MTurk users were more likely to be aged under 50 years compared to the national sample (86% vs. 55%) and more likely to complete a college degree than the national sample (50% vs. 26%). Adjusting for covariates, MTurk users were less likely to be vaccinated for influenza, to smoke, to have asthma, to self-report being in excellent or very good health, to exercise, and have health insurance but over twice as likely to screen positive for depression relative to a national sample. Results were fairly consistent among different age groups. Conclusions: MTurk workers are not a generalizable population with regards to health status and behaviors; deviations did not follow a trend. Appropriate health-related uses for MTurk and ways to improve upon the generalizability of MTurk health studies are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increased demands for irrigation water, the availability of groundwater has been a growing problem in Kansas, where the future of the High Plains aquifer is in jeopardy. This article investigates the environmental stewardship of Kansas well owners, a key social group whose protection of water supplies is pivotal to prolonging groundwater formations. My guiding research question is: Does owning a well lead to a distinct form of citizenship? To answer this, I constructed one of the only data sets of well owners used in sociology by surveying 864 well owners and non-well owners throughout Kansas. My findings reveal that well owners are more aware of the state's water supplies than the general population, they express environmental motivations to conserve water, they deliberately conserve water more often than non-well owners, and well ownership is significantly correlated with highly ranking water security as a challenge facing Kansas. Furthermore, a majority of well owners check their well depth and test for water contamination, routines that connect them to their water supply. This suggests that well owners exhibit "groundwater citizenship" and can be conceptualized as aquifer stewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress history of Black Africans in America remains a slice of the history of minority struggle in the world of inferiority. Racism becomes a brand topic in every sector of Blacks live in America. War and act of reformation as ways against racism are almost routinely done by Black Americans to reach their civil rights as Americans. Although the war against racism has ended, but racism atmosphere can still be felt, and it seems to have been felt by Ernest J. Gaines in his novel entitled A Lesson Before Dying. Therefore, this writing would like to analyze and describe hegemonic discrimination by White Americans. Hegemonic discrimination is a new phenomenon for Black Americans in the Southern. This theoretical foundation refers to the theory of Hegemony by Antonio Gramsci that is applied to see how discriminative hegemony is implemented smoothly and comfortably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first decades of the 20th century, political actors diagnosed the incubation of a crisis in the Chilean schooling process. Low rates of enrollment, literacy, and attendance, inefficiency in the use of resources, poverty, and a reduced number of schools were the main factors explaining the crisis. As a response, the Law on Compulsory Primary Education, considering mandatory for children between 6 and 14 years old to attend any school for at least four years, was passed in 1920. Using data from Censuses of the Republic of Chile from 1920 and 1930, reports of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, and the Statistical Yearbooks between 1895 and 1930, we apply machine learning techniques (clustering and decision trees) to assess the impact of this law on the Chilean schooling process between 1920 and 1930. We conclude that the law had a positive impact on the schooling indicators in this period. Even though it did not overcome the differences between urban and rural zones, it brought about a general improvement of the schooling process and a more efficient use of resources and infrastructure in both big urban centers and small-urban and rural zones, thereby managing the so-called crisis of the Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread use of social media has created a valuable but underused source of data for the environmental sciences. We demonstrate the potential for images posted to the website Twitter to capture variability in vegetation phenology across United States National Parks. We process a subset of images posted to Twitter within eight U.S. National Parks, with the aim of understanding the amount of green vegetation in each image. Analysis of the relative greenness of the images show statistically significant seasonal cycles across most National Parks at the 95% confidence level, consistent with springtime green-up and fall senescence. Additionally, these social media-derived greenness indices correlate with monthly mean satellite NDVI (r = 0.62), reinforcing the potential value these data could provide in constraining models and observing regions with limited high quality scientific monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]