Hawaii is strapped for energy. Most of the State’s energy comes from foreign oil, and Hawaii spends 8% of its GDP on oil and the island that uses the most energy (Oahu) has the fewest sustainable sources. (In Kihei, Maui, Gas is $4.86 for regular.) Other islands have had limited success with solar and small scale windfarms, but a new proposal calls for a large wind farm on the island of Lanai. The company that owns Lanai has proposed a 12,800 acre windmill...
A prevailing regime by which groups, organizations, and institutions attempt to alter the behavior of its members and constituents is through imposing penalties and fines, which seek to deter certain behaviors. Parking tickets intend to prevent people from parking in certain areas, sometimes at certain times. Prison sentences, and the death penalty, are intended to serve as deterrents for serious legal violations. However, fines often prompt behaviors different from what those trying to mould behavior (e.g., governments or organizations) intend....
Crime & Deviance Racial Profiling/Biased Policing (pages 763–774) Clayton Mosher Article first published online: 6 SEP 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2011.00403.x Culture Social Interaction: Do Non-humans Count? (pages 775–791) Karen A. Cerulo Article first published online: 6 SEP 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2011.00404.x Organisations & Work Mediators of Opportunity: High School Counselors in the 21st Century (pages 792–806) Vicki Smith Article first published online: 6 SEP 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2011.00407.x Work and Neoliberal Globalization: A Polanyian Synthesis (pages 807–823) Nina Bandelj,...
Older Workers: The ‘Unavoidable Obligation’ of Extending Our Working Lives? Sarah Vickerstaff VIDEO ABSTRACT: ARTICLE ABSTRACT: Older workers are becoming an increasing topic of research interest and policy concern as the populations of Europe, the United States and many other countries age. Some commentators argue that living longer means that there will be an ‘unavoidable obligation’ to work for longer as well. This article considers the reasons for concern about an ageing workforce. It then looks at the different literatures,...
On March 25, The International Women’s Media Foundation revealed its two-year study, “Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media” during its Leaders Conference in Washington, revealing that – not surprisingly – there is gender disparity in newsrooms worldwide. According to the final report (2011), “More than 150 researchers interviewed executives at more than 500 companies in 59 nations using a 12-page questionnaire” (p. 7). Although the report offers a regional breakdown of findings, the global results...
Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Wal-mart v. Dukes, in which the key issue is whether hundreds of thousands (or even up to 1.6 million, depending on what you read) female employees of Walmart should be certified as a class and therefore pursue a class action lawsuit. Here I review some details relevant to class certification, including the two types of sociological claims made their way to the heart of the case: empirical claims regarding...
We are delighted to announce the publication of a Special Issue made up of papers presented at the 2009 Compass Interdisciplinary Virtual Conference. The following papers are now AVAILABLE FOR FREE until January 2011! Communicating about Communication: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Educating Educators about Language Variation (pages 245–257) Christine Mallinson and Anne H. Charity Hudley Abstract | Full Article (HTML) | PDF(99K) | References Beyond ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’: Breaking Down Binary Oppositions in Holocaust Representations of ‘Privileged’ Jews (pages 407–418) Adam...
Unemployment data indicate that 3.4 out of 14.8 million Americans have been unemployed for one year or more. In other words, 23 percent of Americans have been seeking employment for at least one year. Director of the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative Ingrid Schroeder explains that an inverse relationship exists between duration of unemployment and likelihood of securing employment. People experiencing longer periods of unemployment are less likely to find jobs than people experiencing shorter periods of unemployment. Schroeder comments: “People...
The invasion of time saving appliances and convenience food items is nothing new in American kitchens. Sociologically speaking this can (and has been) explained through a variety of theoretical paradigms. This could certainly be understood as an ideal example of Habermas’ notion of the (re)feudalization of the lifeworld, the colonization of the private sphere by the sphere of economy and consumerism. This phenomenon can also be explained through feminist theory as a source of liberation for women in particular, relieved...
The concept of immigration reform, like welfare reform focuses on symptoms and not the causes. Many of the policies involved in immigration reform are band-aids, temporary solutions rather than systemic alternatives. The New York Times recently reported on the failure of the Obama Administration to introduce a comprehensive bill designed to target immigration generally and immigrants specifically (see article below). According to sociologist and immigration activist Grace Change, such reform bills reproduce/overlook three themes. First, the goal of ‘reform’ efforts...
Indigenous people residing in Ecuador filed an environmental lawsuit against Chevron Corporation for dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Amazon rainforest between 1964 and 1990. The indigenous people argue that Chevron’s toxic waste disposal resulted in $27 billion worth of damages. For instance, evidence suggests that Chevron’s former oil drilling sites are contaminated with toxic byproducts that cause cancer. The indigenous people drink from water sources contaminated by these toxic byproducts. Chevron hired twelve public relations firms...
Since the collapse of the global financial system in 2008, the most popular course of action- above job searches and credit defaults, I’d venture- has been finger pointing. In his first State of the Union address last week, President Obama continue the trend by hammering against the banking system. In the January 30th edition of the economist, one author points to an entertaining illustration made on the CNBC show, ‘Mad Money,’ which showed a “Lloyd Blankfein pinata” that when split,...
Toyota Motor Corporation announced a safety recall of several million vehicles that have problems with sticking gas pedals causing acceleration. Until recently, corporate executives argued that consumer complaints about sudden acceleration were related to floor mats which were recalled in 2007. However, corporate executives were aware of problems with sticking gas pedals three years ago – according to a filing with federal regulators. United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood contends that corporate executives stopped selling and producing their vehicles with...
Some have criticized the new slacker-activism, or slacktivism, on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Slacktivism encompasses activities where people post about issues they care just enough about to spend one minute constructing a status update or tweet about them [some early examples]. This came into the news again because of a viral campaign where women reveal their bra color in order to raise awareness about breast cancer. The critiques against slacktivism predictably followed [here, I am putting aside the important...
Following heightened security concerns in Yemen as well as the failed Christmas Day bombing aboard a flight approaching Detroit, the Obama administration has opted to drastically increase security concerning all flights destined for the United States. According to the Washington Post, these new Transportation Security Association (TSA) measures include the physical search of all passengers who hold the passport of, are traveling from, or are traveling to a country on the Statement Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism or...
by pj.rey A recent article in the New York Times, “Experts Predict 2010 the Year for Social Media ROI” summarizes a Trendspotting.com report entitled “TrendsSpotting’s 2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters.” The Trendspotting.com post identifies six trends to look out for in social media over the coming year: “Mobile, Location, Transparency, Measurement, ROI, [and] Privacy.” The Times article focuses, particularly, on return on investment. The articles reports three strategies for garnering profit from user-generated content (i.e.,...
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