Carol J. Auster

Public Platitudes and Hidden Tensions: Racial Climates at Predominantly White Liberal Arts Colleges.

Racial tensions on college campuses have received renewed attention in the last few years. On a number of campuses racial confrontations between students, which in some instances have escalated into violence, made the news; articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines analyzing what many saw as an alarming new trend, as faculty and administrators wondered aloud what had gone wrong. These confrontations raise an important question: Are these simply isolated incidents? And if not, do they bespeak a significant change in race relations on American college campuses over the last ten years? One way to address these questions is to examine the racial climate at a college where there have been no such public confrontations a campus, in other words, that resembles the relatively quiet outer appearances that were more typical of campuses ten years ago. If the outbreaks that have occurred are part of a larger pattern of racial tensions, then such tensions should be visible even on a quiet campus. Further, if such tensions exist beneath the surface, then it is quite possible that the previous racial calm was only surface deep and that the current outbreaks represent only an escalation of already present conflicts. The purpose of this research is to study the racial climate, including interracial interaction and attitudes, at one such apparently

Transcending Potential Antecedent Leisure Constraints: The Case of Women Motorcycle Operators

The purpose of this paper was threefold: 1) to describe past methodological approaches to the study of leisure constraints and evaluate the impact of these approaches on theoretical development, 2) to provide the results of a survey of individuals who have transcended potential antecedent leisure constraints in order to evaluate the applicability of the “enrichment hypothesis”, and 3) to discuss the implications of these findings for future research on leisure constraints. The “enrichment hypothesis” suggests that those making nontraditional leisure choices would need exposure to a special social environment that would provide an awareness of and support for such a choice. The findings from this survey of 453 women who are motorcycle operators, a statistically male-dominated and stereotypically masculine leisure activity, lend support to the “enrichment hypothesis”; most women had been passengers, knew someone close to them who was a motorcyclist, and were taught to ride by a family member, thus emphasizing the importance of significant others. The impact of these findings on the theoretical constructs associated with the literature on leisure constraints is also discussed.

The Effect of Cohort on Women's Sport Participation: An Intergenerational Study of Collegiate Women Ice Hockey Players

Abstract The purpose of this paper was 1) to examine the effect of gender expectations on sport participation by considering the impact of cohort on womens choice to play collegiate ice hockey, a masculine and statistically male-dominated sport, and 2) to show how the “enrichment hypothesis,” habitus, and recreational capital can be used as conceptual frameworks to explain this choice. The findings are based on a survey of 85 women who played collegiate ice hockey, a nontraditional sport for women. The respondents reported the importance of significant others; however, cohort effects were evident in the age at which they started playing ice hockey and extent to which friends or family members had influenced them as well as in the degree of participation in team sports and ice hockey, in particular, prior to playing ice hockey in college. The implications of these findings for practitioners as well as suggestions for future researchers are provided.

Blended Learning as a Potentially Winning Combination of Face-to-Face and Online Learning: An Exploratory Study.

Blended learning, in the form of screencasts to be viewed online outside of class, was incorporated into three sections of an introductory sociology course in a liberal arts college setting. The screencasts were used to introduce concepts and theories to provide more time for discussion in class and more opportunity for students to review concepts and theories outside of class. Students’ use and their perceptions of the impact of the screencasts were assessed with an in-class survey instrument in addition to a web-based college-administered survey. Although it was not possible to measure the impact of blended learning on students’ academic performance and learning outcomes in this exploratory study, student responses indicated high use of the screencasts as well as the perception that the screencasts were helpful, contributed positively to performance on exams, and also led to more positive feelings about the course more generally. Overall, this provides an optimistic initial appraisal of the prospects for blended learning.

Manuals for socialization: Examples from Girl Scout handbooks 1913–1984

Although using content analysis to examine texts and other artifacts as indicators of societal expectations is not a new idea, youth organization handbooks have been largely overlooked as a rich and innovative source of data. Using examples from Girl Scout handbooks, this article shows how content analysis of these manuals of socialization can yield insights concerning societal expectations for family, career, gender roles, sexual behavior, social stratification, and other aspects of life of interest to sociologists.

Contemporary Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Greeting Cards A Reflection of Traditional Ideologies of Motherhood and Fatherhood?

Mother’s and Father’s Day greeting cards were analyzed for (a) ideologies of motherhood and fatherhood in the themes and objects/pictures; (b) color palette, color, and lettering; and (c) the impact of the sender’s gender and relationship to the recipient. The sample consisted of 442 cards on the Hallmark website. Ritualized holidays tend to support the status quo, and traditional ideologies of motherhood and fatherhood, namely a nurturing role for mothers and an instrumental role for fathers, were reflected in the themes and the objects/pictures on the cards. A pastel color palette, pink and purple, and script lettering characterized Mother’s Day cards, whereas a bold color palette, blue, tan, black, brown and red, and whimsical lettering characterized Father’s Day cards. There were variations across the cards that revealed the salience of the sender’s gender and relationship to the recipient. The limitations of this research and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The Internet Marketing of Disney Theme Parks

The purpose of this study was to analyze the portrayal of gender and race in the images on the official Disney websites used to market five theme parks: the Disneyland Parks in California, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. This is important because of the growth of e-commerce, Disney’s global influence, and the potential impact on those who view the images. The 452 images that had Disney human characters, human-like characters, animals, cast members, or guests were coded for gender. The main gender hypothesis, that the percentage of male-dominated images would exceed the percentage of female-dominated images, was tested using gender disparity values, which measured the gap between the percentage of male-dominated and female-dominated images. The hypothesis tended to be supported overall, and for most of the resorts (e.g., Florida), lands (e.g., Adventureland), and activities (attractions, entertainment, dining) for human characters, human-like characters, animals, and cast members, but not for guests. Furthermore, the hypotheses that gender disparity values would be highest for images of animals and lowest for images of guests was supported for all five resorts, six of eight lands, and all three activities. Additional analysis also revealed the preponderance of same-sex pairings in parent–child combinations in the images. With regard to race, while the images of some theme parks displayed more racial diversity among their guests than others, in some images, individuals of different races were shown interacting whereas in others they were not. Explanations for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Book Review: An Introduction to the Sociology of Work and Occupations.

“Questions” box at the end of each article is well-placed and is welcome. I return to ask the questions posed at the beginning of this review: (1) Do we a new book on globalization? I will say that Sernau’s reader is relatively short, overall well-written, fairly well-organized, and appropriate for the introductory sociology student. As to the second question: (2) Does this book advance knowledge and learning in a critical thinking way on globalization in such a way as to distinguish it from many others already out there? Overall, except for the articles I mentioned, it is fairly well balanced and may assist the student in gaining an increased appreciation, knowledge, and awareness of globalization. However, if adopted I would pair Contemporary Readings with a strong main text on globalization, such as Sernau’s previous book, the excellent Global Problems: The Search for Equity, Peace, and Sustainability (2006)