This thesis examines the social and ecological problems associated with mountaintop mining in central Appalachia. Theoretical insights from world system theorists and other political economists are used to trace the roots of these problems to the historical progression of different modes of extraction in the region. The restructuring of the region’s social, cultural, and ecological systems to meet the needs of core production over time has perpetuated its position as a resource extractive periphery. This occurred in three major modes: a frontier mode, an agricultural mode, and an industrial raw materials mode. The last mode has been characterized primarily by coal mining and has shifted from labor intensive forms to capital intensive forms. The role different classes of actors have played and continue to play is discussed. Finally, key processes are summarized and conclusions offered.

This study examines how the national policy climate affects individual driving behavior in the European Union. Using secondary data from the International Social Survey Program: Environment II 2000 in conjunction with national scores from the 2001 and 2002 Environmental Sustainability Indexes, I analyze the relationship between three macro-level predictors and the reduction of individual car driving. My results indicate that the national environmental policy climate positively relates with the likelihood of individuals driving less. Further individual’s likelihood to reduce car driving is significantly affected by the individual’s type of employment, education level, family income level, gender, age, and concerns toward the danger of air pollution for the environment and the respondent. Variables measuring respondent urbanicity, religiosity, and union/marriage status do not significantly affect individual driving behavior.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of industrial concentration at the county level on quality of life among residents of US counties. Data on various aspects of quality of life and industrial characteristics were collected for all United States counties. Four quality of life-related variables (infant mortality, percent of female-headed households, the burglary rate, and income inequality) were regressed on industrial concentration percentage and industrial concentration types. Industrial concentration was associated with an increase in infant mortality, a decrease in the burglary rate, and had no effect on the percent of female headed households or income inequality. Examining specific industry types, manufacturing proved significant in increasing the percent of female headed households, was less effective in reducing burglaries compared to other industry types, and was generally worse on quality of life than any other industry types.

The consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescents has been a growing concern in sociology and related disciplines (Hayes-Smith and Whaley 2009; Embry, Hankins, Biglan, and Boles 2009; Herman-Stahl, Krebs, Kroutil, Heller 2007). The societal and financial effects of substance use in Montana have been detrimental. For example, methamphetamine use accounted for 33 percent of children in foster care and over 50 percent of children were in foster care for drug-related reasons in 2006 (Methamphetamine in Montana 2008). Also, Bryant, Schulenberg, OMalley, Bachman, and Johnston (2003) found consistent patterns in the prior literature that high truancy rates and low academic success is strongly related to students who participate in marijuana and alcohol use. Substance use is prevalent in the adolescent population and can lead to criminal behavior and be highly addictive with severe adverse health effects ranging from increased use of drugs to psychiatric disorders. (Fairbairn, Kerr, Buxton, Li, Montaner, and Wood 2006; Methamphetamine in Montana 2008). This age group was selected because previous research indicates that this is the age at which young people make the initial decision to use alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs (Wilson and Donnermeyer 2006). Motivators to use substances focus on its ability to make the user feel more concentrated, euphoric, and confident (Embry et al 2009; Herman-Stahl et al 2007). However, many substances have major health and safety consequences. Early initiation of substance use is associated with problem behavior, prolonged use of substances, early sexual behavior, unprotected sex among the teen population, which increases HIV infection rates along with other sexually transmitted diseases, and unexpected teen pregnancies (Embry et al 2009; Fairbairn et al 2007; Methamphetamine Use and Risk for HIV/AIDS 2007; Haynie 2002). The prevention of 2 substance use could have many health and public safety benefits. Studying the initiation of substance use among adolescents will help contribute to the development of prevention efforts. This study will examine theoretical correlates that have been significantly useful in the research on adolescent substance use to account for variations in alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug use among a sample of Montana teens.

In this thesis, I explore the role of rumors of child abductions in facilitating collective violence in the form of lynching in Guatemala. Drawing from the work of Horowitz (2001) on ethnic riots, I argue that rumors play a critical role by justifying the use of violence, which is eventually seen as an imperative for survival. Specifically, I show how this type of rumor generates fear, which in turn generates a complementary projection of hostility onto the target group. Subsequently, fear and its complementary projection of hostility systematically amplify each other, leading to the exaggeration of the enemys power and to its eventual dehumanization that is, the psychosocial process by which a human being is perceived by another human being as not human. In this respect, lynchings in Guatemala are approached from a psychosocial perspective, no less profound and important than the cultural and structural factors that have been associated with them in the existing literature.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 285-310). Also available in electronic format on the World Wide Web. Access restricted to users affiliated with the licensed institutions.

During recent years, social capital has become one of the most widely used concepts in sociological literature, and its popularity has shown itself in both sociological theory and everyday language. Its increasing popularity has mainly resulted from its conceptualizations by some of the most prominent social scientists, such as Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman, Nan Lin, and Robert Putnam and from its empirical applications to social problems and society afterwards. While many scholars have seen social capital as something of a cure for social problems and perceived social capital theories adequate as they are for their empirical applications, few scholars have approached social capital with a critical perspective and critically addressed the highly accepted social capital theories. I argue that the lack of critical perspective to the current social capital theories is a research gap. Therefore, to satisfy this research gap and to question the validity of these highly accepted social capital theories, this dissertation addresses the concept of social capital with an emphasis on its three dimensions: holism, convertibility, and conductibility. In three separate studies, this dissertation examines each dimension of the concept respectively with a critical approach, discusses what their main components are, presents who their most prominent thinkers are and what they have claimed, reveals their shortcomings, and finally offers plausible solutions to remove the shortcomings. Thus, this dissertation aims to provide an update to some of the highly accepted social capital theories and a unique contribution to the social capital literature.

This ethnographic inquiry focuses on the lives and work off our Mexican- American women who run a center in the Mexican migrant farmworker community in which they live. Through the center, they provide vital services to their community such medical care, immigration assistance, educational and community outreach programs. Via these women's oral histories, this ethnographic work seeks to broaden our understanding of women who are fully aware of their subordinated status in the dominant society yet are not passive victims. By listening to their own voices, we learn how they overcome personal adversity and challenge cultural ideologies. In the process, these women have created meaningful lives. In addition, their work at the center enables them to act as bridges connecting the members of their community to the larger society. The data for this ethnographic work was gathered from May 1999 to March 2000. Weekly visits were made to the center. Field notes were compiled from personal interaction, observation and conversations with the participants as well as tape-recorded informal interviews. This work yields a remarkable picture of these women' resiliency, perseverance, determination and strength.

<p> Research by Opportunity Nation shows that as civic engagement increases for 16-24 year olds, so do the positive outcomes for youth and for states in terms of economic opportunity and mobility. Yet, research indicates that rates of youth participation in their communities are historically lower than those of adults, with rates among minority youth lower than their white counterparts. Community-based organizations (CBOs) seek to reverse disengagement through civic engagement programs. Current research focuses on identifying predictors for civic engagement and the potential for CBOs to enhance civic engagement, particularly among disadvantaged youth. This study builds on existing literature by analyzing the efforts of one CBO, Khmer Girls in Action, to improve civic engagement among Khmer youth in Long Beach, CA. The results suggest that a structured environment with strong relationships and youth-centered curriculum is ideal to encourage youth civic engagement.</p>

The current study examined alcohol consumption among Turkish adolescents through the lens of Agnews General Strain Theory (GST) using data drawn from the 2008 Youth in Europe Survey. Although considerable attention has been paid to problematic alcohol consumption among adolescents, extant research has remained limited to western countries. Similarly, much of the support for GST was derived from research conducted in United States. The current study explores factors associated with alcohol consumption in Turkey and tests the generalizability of GST to countries with sociocultural and religious values differing from those in western countries. Results from ordinal logistic regression analyses indicate that school strain, economic strain, and peer strain were significantly associated with drinking behavior, while family strain was not associated with drinking behavior. Although students negative affective states were significantly associated with drinking behavior, they did not mediate the relationships between the strain variables and alcohol consumption as would be expected given the logic of GST. Implications for future research were discussed.