2005 - 2006 Dissertation Fellows

2005-2006

Measuring the Impact of Military Service on Residential and Socioeconomic Mobility Amy Kate Bailey, Department of Sociology, "Race, Place and Veteran Status: Black and White Migration Patterns Since the Mid-Twentieth Century," Faculty Supervisor: Stewart E. Tolnay, Department of Sociology

The financial, educational and occupational benefits of military service provide a route out of poverty for many poor Americans. Military service may also affect socioeconomic mobility through residential mobility, moving individuals out of economically-stressed communities and giving them access to locations that offer greater educational and occupational opportunities. This study will examine the impact of military service on later residential mobility and settlement in high-opportunity locations, and test whether the benefits of increased spacial mobility vary with race and gender.

Examining the Politics and Economics of Siting Prisons in Rural Communities Anne Bonds, Department of Geography, "The Politics of Poverty, Prisons, and Economic Restructuring in the Rural American Northwest," Faculty Supervisor: Victoria Lawson, Department of Geography

The U.S. prison population grew by 400 percent in the last two decades; corrections services are both one of the fast growing industries in the U.S. and one of the most rapidly increasing categories of state expenditures. This study examines the siting of prisons as a component of both criminal justice policies and local economic development initiatives in poor rural communities. It will compare prison industry recruitment in four communities in the Northwest to investigate the political and economic dynamics that result from the interaction of criminal justice and penal policies, increasing competition for economic development opportunities in rural communities, and rising rates of incarceration and poverty.

Identifying Factors that Protect Poor Children from Neighborhood Risks Nicki Bush, Department of Psychology, "Tests of Temperament and Ethnic Group Status as Moderators of Neighborhood Structural and Social Effects on Adolescent Externalizing Problems and Substance Use," Faculty Supervisor: Liliana J. Lengua, Department of Psychology

Children who live in poor, high-crime and socially disconnected neighborhoods have substantially worse outcomes, in comparison to children who live in more advantaged neighborhoods, on key indicators of adolescent adjustment such as maladaptive behaviors and substance abuse. These outcomes also vary substantially among children exposed to similar neighborhood characteristics. This study examines the role of ethnicity and temperament in moderating the effect of neighborhood risk factors on adolescent adjustment and identify “protective” factors that contribute to more successful outcomes for low-income children.

Explaining the Widening Black-White Gap in Women’s Earnings Raine Dozier, Department of Sociology, "Accumulating Disadvantage: The Growth in the Black-White Wage Gap Among Women," Faculty Supervisor: Becky Pettit, Department of Sociology

By 1980, the hourly wages of African American women had reached and even exceeded those of white women in the U.S. Since that time, African American women’s earning declined dramatically relative to those of white women, resulting in a 17 percent black-white wage gap by 2002. This study examines why this gap has grown during a time of apparent decreasing discrimination and increasing occupational opportunity for African Americans.