Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The rapid growth of private business is one of the most significant consequences of the Chinese reform, and private entrepreneurs have become China’s “new economic elite.” While previous studies suggest that urban private entrepreneurs came primarily from non-state organizations, the more recent data in this paper suggest a pattern of “elite transformation,” in which “professional elites” depart from state organizations to start private firms. This paper suggests that organizational transformations: (1) enabled scientists and R&D staff in the Chinese Academy of Sciences to accumulate business experience and connections; and (2) disrupted bureaucratic inertia and facilitated career changes. The result of multivariate modeling suggests that career blockage (demotion and layoff) triggered this conversion, and multiple social circles (a social circle is three or more people who are close to each other) helped organizational foundings by combining trust and non-redundancy – thereby integrating cohesion and brokerage, the two seemingly disparate and opposing processes in social network analysis.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Maneuvering through the academy is no minor feat for any beginning career faculty member, however, the task is even more challenging for those who have to respond to both subtle and overt forms of racism, sexism and homophobia. Sadly, these experiences are not unique to only universities in certain regions of the U.S., or to smaller colleges, but are rooted in the university culture. Scholars and educators who share stories about racism, sexism and homophobia are often met with looks of bewilderment and surprise. As a consequence, we are frequently pressured to think that we are at fault when we challenge, or even identify, bias in our departments and universities: We are accused of: “Being too sensitive.” “Taking things too seriously.” “Not being able to let go, to move on.” Universities have historically served to disseminate elitist ideology that rationalizes or explains away systemic oppressions. Consequently, the ivory tower or elite think tank mentality has perpetuated class, race, and heterosexual privileges in academia. Just as there is resistance to marginalization in other areas of society, there is resistance in education. It is our hope that we will contribute to these ongoing movements for social change building upon critical scholarship documenting and analyzing the ways in which different inequalities operate in academia. Our goal is to both provide a paper of "solidarity" for other marginalized sociologists/academics and to present solid empirical evidence delineating the complex ways in which inequities impact the "training and professionalization," teaching, research/scholarship and activism of oppressed groups.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: While exploring early modern bourgeoisie society, Habermas presented the concepts of the public sphere and civil society. Using these concepts, Habermas sought to explain the association between voluntary associations and their public activities. Despite extensive research on this topic, the key linkage between voluntary associations and their civil/public activities has been under-studied; little is known about the extent to which voluntary civil society associations contribute to the formation and institutionalization of public activities and public opinion. This gap largely reflects the fact that the public sphere debate has been predominantly theory-driven, lacking sufficient empirical support. I examine the Confucian literati class and their efforts to mobilize public activities and public opinion in Korea from 1506-1800. In doing so, I present Confucian private academies as a form of voluntary associations, and petitions by the Confucian scholarly community as representing aspects of public opinion. By examining the historical association between private academies and petitions, I show empirically the causal linkage between these organizational resources and the making of public activities/public opinion. This paper provides another East Asian parallel to European public sphere and civil society and seeks to contribute to sociology of civil society and public sphere

Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Education

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In recent years the number of women earning advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math has been on the rise, yet women remain underrepresented at all ranks of the academic hierarchy in STEM fields. We explore the mechanisms in the recruitment and hiring process that hinder or promote the hiring of women into tenure-track jobs in these fields. We rely on data that include the entire pool of applicants to tenure-track faculty positions in science, technology, engineering and mathematics over a five year period at a large public research university. We identify a variety of ways universities and departments can increase the number of women in tenure-track jobs, including placing greater emphasis on increasing the number of female applicants, placing ads in outlets that specifically target women scientists, and increasing the gender diversity of search committees.