Andrew J. Perrin

The Simultaneous Effect of Social Distance and Physical Distance on the Formation of Neighborhood Ties

Prior studies have separately suggested the importance of physical distance or social distance effects for the creation of neighborhood ties. This project adopts a case study approach and simultaneously tests for propinquity and homophily effects on neighborhood ties by employing a full–network sample from a recently developed New Urbanist neighborhood within a mid–sized southern city. the authors find that physical distance reduces the likelihood of weak or strong ties forming, suggesting the importance of accounting for propinquity when estimating social tie formation. the authors simultaneously find that social distance along wealth reduces the likelihood of weak ties forming. Social distance on life course markers—age, marital status, and the presence of children—reduces the formation of weak ties. Consistent with the systemic model, each additional month of shared residence in the neighborhood increases both weak and strong ties. An important innovation is this studys ability to directly compare the effects of physical distance and social distance, placing them into equivalent units: a 10 percent increase in home value difference is equivalent to a 5.6 percent increase in physical distance.

Are Children of Parents Who Had Same-Sex Relationships Disadvantaged? A Scientific Evaluation of the No-Differences Hypothesis

In a widely publicized and controversial article, Regnerus (2012a) seeks to evaluate what he calls the “‘no-differences’ paradigm” with respect to outcomes for children of same-sex parents. We consider the scientific claims in Regnerus in light of extant evidence and flaws in the articles evidence and analytical strategy. We find that the evidence presented does not support rejecting the no-differences claim, and therefore the study does not constitute evidence for disadvantages suffered by children of same-sex couples. The state of scientific knowledge on same-sex parenting remains as it was prior to the publication of Regnerus.

Cultures of the Tea Party

While the Tea Party Movement has emerged as a true player in American politics, it has not yet come to be identified with a set of core beliefs. The authors use survey data to discuss the opinions that make up the movement.

Pass the Popcorn: “Obesogenic” Behaviors and Stigma in Children’s Movies

To determine the prevalence of obesity‐related behaviors and attitudes in childrens movies.

Political and Cultural Dimensions of Tea Party Support, 2009–2012

The Tea Party Movement (TPM) burst onto the political scene following the 2008 elections. Early on, the movement attracted broad public support and seemed to tap into a variety of cultural concerns rooted in the changing demographic, political, and economic face of the nation. However, some observers questioned whether the Tea Party represented anything more than routine partisan backlash. And what had started as a seemingly grassroots movement that changed the face of American politics in the 2010 election was reduced to being mainly a caucus within Congress by 2012. In this article, we examine the cultural and political dimensions of Tea Party support over time. Using polling data from North Carolina and Tennessee and quantitative media analysis, we provide new evidence that cultural dispositions in addition to conservative identification were associated with TPM favorability in 2010; that these dispositions crystallized into shared political positions in 2011; and that by 2012 little distinguished TPM adherents from other conservatives.

Associations between subjective social status and physical and mental health functioning among patients with hypertension

We examine the cross-sectional association between subjective social status and self-rated physical and mental health functioning in 518 Black and White patients enrolled in a community-based hypertension control research study. We found that (1) subjective social status, measured using both a proximal and distal referent group, was positively associated with physical and mental health functioning scores independent of educational level, household income, or both; (2) the effect of subjective social status on physical and mental health functioning differed significantly by race when using the distal, not the proximal, referent group. When the associations differed, they were stronger for Whites than Blacks.

Implicit Weight Bias in Children Age 9 to 11 Years

Through a computerized priming task, this study captures evidence of implicit weight bias among children. OBJECTIVES: Assess implicit weight bias in children 9 to 11 years old. METHODS: Implicit weight bias was measured in children ages 9 to 11 (N = 114) by using the Affect Misattribution Procedure. Participants were shown a test image of a child for 350 milliseconds followed by a meaningless fractal (200 milliseconds), and then they were asked to rate the fractal image as “good” or “bad.” We used 9 image pairs matched on age, race, sex, and activity but differing by weight of the child. Implicit bias was the difference between positive ratings for fractals preceded by an image of a healthy-weight child and positive ratings for fractals preceded by an image of an overweight child. RESULTS: On average, 64% of abstract fractals shown after pictures of healthy-weight children were rated as “good,” compared with 59% of those shown after pictures of overweight children, reflecting an overall implicit bias rate of 5.4% against overweight children (P < .001). Healthy-weight participants showed greater implicit bias than over- and underweight participants (7.9%, 1.4%, and 0.3% respectively; P = .049). CONCLUSIONS: Implicit bias toward overweight individuals is evident in children aged 9 to 11 years with a magnitude of implicit bias (5.4%) similar to that in studies of implicit racial bias among adults.

Reports and communications: the codeRead system

Most social science research uses data that originate, in one form or another, as written or spoken text. Quantitative researchers code these data very strictly, categorizing answers to questions into fixed groups. In contrast, qualitative researchers typically code free-form text by marking it up according to a set of ideas about the nature and content of the text. This article suggests the use of some elementary techniques from the field of statistical natural language processing to partially automate the process of coding large quantities of free-form textual data. The article presents CodeRead, a set of tools that implement these techniques. The system’s principal innovation is its ability to generate coding rules from a precoded sample of text. This capacity allows for the analysis of much longer textual data than was previously practical. It also insures that the rules used for coding such data are specific and uniformly applied.

Making Silicon Valley : Culture, Representation, and Technology at the Tech Museum

There has been much discussion of Silicon Valley, the area south of San Francisco that is home to many high-technology firms. This article explores the cultural discourse of Silicon Valley, paying particular attention to the newly-opened Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and the strategies of commemoration, identity construction, and exhibition it uses to mirror, focus, and construct a Silicon Valley culture. The Tech Museum successfully captures the dominant ideological elements of Silicon Valley, combining celebration of technology with a fascination with what the museum s literature refers to as the gizmos and gadgets produced by Valley companies. The Tech serves as a material focal point for Valley culture, but fails to provide a coherent direction or message for it.

“Since this is the editorial section I intend to express my opinion”: Inequality and expressivity in letters to the editor

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the argumentative style and the characteristics of writers of newspaper letters to the editor. Writers are more likely to be White, male, older, more politically active, and less likely to be politically moderate than the local population. Inequality in political participation persists in this forum. Gender and sense of local political efficacy influence how letter writers make their points. Letters to the editor mostly display inequalities similar to other forms of political participation.