Student ratings of teaching play a significant role in career outcomes for higher education instr... more Student ratings of teaching play a significant role in career outcomes for higher education instructors. Although instructor gender has been shown to play an important role in influencing student ratings, the extent and nature of that role remains contested. While difficult to separate gender from teaching practices in person, it is possible to disguise an instructor’s gender identity online. In our experiment, assistant instructors in an online class each operated under two different gender identities. Students rated the male identity significantly higher than the female identity, regardless of the instructor’s actual gender, demonstrating gender bias. Given the vital role that student ratings play in academic career trajectories, this finding warrants considerable attention.
Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogen... more Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogenous wholes. With some notable exceptions, this approach downplays the existence and operation of core-periphery relations on the sub-national level and the resultant inequality between different regions of nation-states. This study uses various complementary literatures in an integrative fashion to address this lacuna within the world-systems approach. We argue that uneven geographical development within core nations can at least partially be explained by the historical appropriation of natural capital; a universal process in which site-specific geographic factors and the larger political-economic context of the world-system interact, over time, to produce linked regions of relative accumulation and deprivation. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we examine eastern North Carolina’s history as the principal producer of naval stores for Great Britain’s navy during Britain’s ascension toward hegemonic status in the world-system during the eighteenth century. We highlight how those initial extractive activities functioned as a “de-generative sector,” hindering the region’s overall development. We argue generally for a synthetic approach to development theory and corresponding empirical examinations of modern and historical inequalities.
This study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess differences in student performance and sati... more This study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess differences in student performance and satisfaction across online and face-to-face (F2F) classroom settings. Data were collected from 368 students enrolled in three online and three F2F sections of an introductory-level sociology course. The instructor, course materials, and assessments were consistent between the two delivery formats. The investigators compare student satisfaction and student performance on midterm exams and an integrating data analysis assignment. Ordinary least squares regression is used to evaluate the effect of the different course settings, independent of a number of demographic and control variables. Results indicate that differences in student performance between the two settings may be accounted for by the presence of a selection effect and that student satisfaction does not significantly differ across the two settings. These findings are interpreted to mean that when online courses are designed using pedagogically sound practices, they may provide equally effective learning environments.
This dissertation examines the relationships between nations’ positions within the global food an... more This dissertation examines the relationships between nations’ positions within the global food and agriculture system and the environmental degradation associated with their agricultural activities. Using a cross-national analysis, each nation’s position in the world-system, the degree to which they are developed, and the degree to which their economy is predicated upon the production of agricultural products for global markets is operationalized. These political-economic factors are then examined to test the influence of three different forms of environmental degradation that are all linked to agricultural production (Biodiversity loss, nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture, and methane emissions from agriculture). These three different analyses will constitute the three separate empirical chapters. Taken as a whole, this dissertation examines broad patterns of international power relations, linked processes of development and agricultural dependence, and the environmental degradation that results from these processes. This work represents a contribution to both environmental sociology as well as our broader understanding of the social dynamics that structure and lead to environmental degradation. Specifically, by connecting agricultural dependency with environmental degradation, it provides a systematic exploration of how the global food and agriculture system is structured in a way that concentrates environmentally degrading agricultural processes into developing nations.
The acronym NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard.” It is a term that has been used to characteriz... more The acronym NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard.” It is a term that has been used to characterize local, grassroots movements that are endeavoring to resist the siting of some unwanted land use in a particular neighborhood, community, or region. NIMBY movements have formed to oppose a wide array of undesirable entities that include environmental hazards (landfills, waste incinerators, polluting industries), perceived social hazards (homeless shelters, prisons, mental health facilities), and aesthetic offences (wind turbines, airports, cell phone towers). When viewed collectively, the general tendency of local residents to resist the siting of unwanted entities within their community has been described as the “NIMBY phenomenon” or the “NIMBY syndrome.” Critical perspectives emphasize that the term can be applied in a pejorative, dismissive sense, where the motivations behind the movement are viewed as selfish and exclusionary. While NIMBY movements themselves have a tendency to be narrowly focused, small in scale, and relatively short lived, some do evolve into more broadly focused NOPE (“not on planet earth”) movements that can achieve large size and complexity as well as prolonged longevity. This entry explores the history behind the use of the NIMBY label, the various movements that have been characterized by it, and some of the unintended consequences of those movements' efforts.
Environmental justice studies examine the unequal burdening of environmental externalities upon ... more Environmental justice studies examine the unequal burdening of environmental externalities upon minorities and individuals of lower socioeconomic status. While this theory has been applied primarily to manufacturing industries it has recently been extended to industrial agriculture. The question exists as to what extent the North Carolina hog industry unfairly burdens minority and low income populations with the environmental externalities of its production, as well as what local factors encourage the growth of the industry. This study examines these questions using cross sectional OLS and multilevel growth modeling of county level census and state agricultural data over the last 25 years. Unlike prior works this study explores traditional environmental justice measures alongside economic considerations and tests the extent to which the economic imperatives explain the location of hog populations. It finds that swine are concentrated in counties of high minority populations and that in the eastern portion of the state hogs are disproportionately located in counties of low income. Additionally, it demonstrates that the environmental justice variables and the economic considerations predict the same pattern of growth and are likely two different parts of the same causal pathway.
Student ratings of teaching play a significant role in career outcomes for higher education instr... more Student ratings of teaching play a significant role in career outcomes for higher education instructors. Although instructor gender has been shown to play an important role in influencing student ratings, the extent and nature of that role remains contested. While difficult to separate gender from teaching practices in person, it is possible to disguise an instructor’s gender identity online. In our experiment, assistant instructors in an online class each operated under two different gender identities. Students rated the male identity significantly higher than the female identity, regardless of the instructor’s actual gender, demonstrating gender bias. Given the vital role that student ratings play in academic career trajectories, this finding warrants considerable attention.
Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogen... more Within world-systems research there is an overwhelming tendency to treat nation-states as homogenous wholes. With some notable exceptions, this approach downplays the existence and operation of core-periphery relations on the sub-national level and the resultant inequality between different regions of nation-states. This study uses various complementary literatures in an integrative fashion to address this lacuna within the world-systems approach. We argue that uneven geographical development within core nations can at least partially be explained by the historical appropriation of natural capital; a universal process in which site-specific geographic factors and the larger political-economic context of the world-system interact, over time, to produce linked regions of relative accumulation and deprivation. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we examine eastern North Carolina’s history as the principal producer of naval stores for Great Britain’s navy during Britain’s ascension toward hegemonic status in the world-system during the eighteenth century. We highlight how those initial extractive activities functioned as a “de-generative sector,” hindering the region’s overall development. We argue generally for a synthetic approach to development theory and corresponding empirical examinations of modern and historical inequalities.
This study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess differences in student performance and sati... more This study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess differences in student performance and satisfaction across online and face-to-face (F2F) classroom settings. Data were collected from 368 students enrolled in three online and three F2F sections of an introductory-level sociology course. The instructor, course materials, and assessments were consistent between the two delivery formats. The investigators compare student satisfaction and student performance on midterm exams and an integrating data analysis assignment. Ordinary least squares regression is used to evaluate the effect of the different course settings, independent of a number of demographic and control variables. Results indicate that differences in student performance between the two settings may be accounted for by the presence of a selection effect and that student satisfaction does not significantly differ across the two settings. These findings are interpreted to mean that when online courses are designed using pedagogically sound practices, they may provide equally effective learning environments.
This dissertation examines the relationships between nations’ positions within the global food an... more This dissertation examines the relationships between nations’ positions within the global food and agriculture system and the environmental degradation associated with their agricultural activities. Using a cross-national analysis, each nation’s position in the world-system, the degree to which they are developed, and the degree to which their economy is predicated upon the production of agricultural products for global markets is operationalized. These political-economic factors are then examined to test the influence of three different forms of environmental degradation that are all linked to agricultural production (Biodiversity loss, nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture, and methane emissions from agriculture). These three different analyses will constitute the three separate empirical chapters. Taken as a whole, this dissertation examines broad patterns of international power relations, linked processes of development and agricultural dependence, and the environmental degradation that results from these processes. This work represents a contribution to both environmental sociology as well as our broader understanding of the social dynamics that structure and lead to environmental degradation. Specifically, by connecting agricultural dependency with environmental degradation, it provides a systematic exploration of how the global food and agriculture system is structured in a way that concentrates environmentally degrading agricultural processes into developing nations.
The acronym NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard.” It is a term that has been used to characteriz... more The acronym NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard.” It is a term that has been used to characterize local, grassroots movements that are endeavoring to resist the siting of some unwanted land use in a particular neighborhood, community, or region. NIMBY movements have formed to oppose a wide array of undesirable entities that include environmental hazards (landfills, waste incinerators, polluting industries), perceived social hazards (homeless shelters, prisons, mental health facilities), and aesthetic offences (wind turbines, airports, cell phone towers). When viewed collectively, the general tendency of local residents to resist the siting of unwanted entities within their community has been described as the “NIMBY phenomenon” or the “NIMBY syndrome.” Critical perspectives emphasize that the term can be applied in a pejorative, dismissive sense, where the motivations behind the movement are viewed as selfish and exclusionary. While NIMBY movements themselves have a tendency to be narrowly focused, small in scale, and relatively short lived, some do evolve into more broadly focused NOPE (“not on planet earth”) movements that can achieve large size and complexity as well as prolonged longevity. This entry explores the history behind the use of the NIMBY label, the various movements that have been characterized by it, and some of the unintended consequences of those movements' efforts.
Environmental justice studies examine the unequal burdening of environmental externalities upon ... more Environmental justice studies examine the unequal burdening of environmental externalities upon minorities and individuals of lower socioeconomic status. While this theory has been applied primarily to manufacturing industries it has recently been extended to industrial agriculture. The question exists as to what extent the North Carolina hog industry unfairly burdens minority and low income populations with the environmental externalities of its production, as well as what local factors encourage the growth of the industry. This study examines these questions using cross sectional OLS and multilevel growth modeling of county level census and state agricultural data over the last 25 years. Unlike prior works this study explores traditional environmental justice measures alongside economic considerations and tests the extent to which the economic imperatives explain the location of hog populations. It finds that swine are concentrated in counties of high minority populations and that in the eastern portion of the state hogs are disproportionately located in counties of low income. Additionally, it demonstrates that the environmental justice variables and the economic considerations predict the same pattern of growth and are likely two different parts of the same causal pathway.
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