Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: How do individuals receive art and how does the social action of evaluation relate to arts controversy? This paper suggests the theoretical and empirical importance of context – the location of art – in receivers’ evaluations of art in urban spaces. The analysis draws from interview data (n=82) for two cases of controversial sculpture in San Francisco: Mark di Suvero’s sculpture Pax Jerusalem located at the Palace of Legion of Honor and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Cupid’s Span. I find that positive and negative opinions of art mention contextual evaluations the most often. Context is also a salient evaluative category for various demographic groups, suggesting its general importance in reception. From the findings I suggest that individuals value both art and the art’s location. The tension between the two sets of values could help explain some cases of controversial art in urban spaces.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper will examine why many IR scholars teaching in the United States contend that adding race into IR curricula ? as a category of analysis, in the form of instructor-identity, or both ? changes the class dynamic; oftentimes for the worse. For me, the tensions that arise when teaching race and IR are further exacerbated by my Canadian nationality. In my paper I illuminate these issues in the context of IR subjects, dividing the discussion into four sections: section one reviews how IR scholars think about the central categories of race, identity, and nationality; the second links the categories to my personal background; the third examines the three pedagogies that I use in the classroom; and the fourth analyses three cases that I have taught: genocide with a focus on Rwanda; race and U.S. foreign policy; and the War on Terror. I argue that all IR instructors need to add race to classroom curricula. Students need to confront issues of race and not just from ?raced? scholars but from us all. Adding race could assist with making the classroom and the field a safe place to address issues of race and identity and nationalism with the goal of breaking down the remaining barriers to diversity.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Gun violence in urban areas poses a serious threat to individuals and society at large. Recognizing this far-reaching impact of gun violence, there has been increased attention paid to weapons offenses and gun related violence.
It seems reasonable to suspect relationships between illegal guns and criminal offenses. The possession of illegal firearms may be an indication of criminal propensity in the neighborhood. In theoretical perspective, controlling tools or weapons is one of situational crime prevention techniques that are designed to increase offenders’ efforts in committing crime, ultimately influencing offenders’ decision making.
In this paper, relationships between weapons offenses and gun violence will be examined by posing two questions. First question is concerned with whether the locations of weapon offenses help identify future gun violence locations such as shootings or gun robberies. Second question is concerned with whether weapons offense and property offenses display similar spatial patterns. If weapons offense locations display similar spatial patterns as other types of crime in addition to gun-related violence, there is a need to place more resources in reducing possession of illegal weapons.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This work applies quantitative techniques to an examination of the unique social locations created by the intersection of race/ethnicity, class, and gender. The majority of existing research on women’s sexual health practices posits minority race/ethnicity and working class status as risk factors which reduce the likelihood that women will undertake health practices related to the early detection of STD infection, including having undergone a Pap test and HIV antibody testing. This work uses an intersection approach to problematize the traditional use of race/ethnicity and social class in public health research by creating interaction terms to represent the unique social locations created by the intersection of the systems of patriarchy, racism, and capitalist exploitation. Logistic regression models reveal several significant interaction terms, suggesting that race/ethnicity and social class interact in meaningful and unexpected ways to predict women’s STD detection practices. These results challenge the traditional use of social categories in public health research and reaffirm the socially constructed nature of race/ethnicity, social class, and gender. In addition, this work illustrates both the difficulties and potential of using statistical techniques in intersection analysis.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Hundreds of studies have documented disparities in medical treatment in the US. These findings have generated research and initiatives intended to understand and ameliorate such disparities. Most approaches implicitly assume that disadvantaged patients’ beliefs and attitudes toward health care are at odds with the health care system, failing consider whether patients use particular strategies to overcome providers’ potentially negative perceptions of them and/or obtain quality medical care. In this paper, we examine positive self-presentation as a strategy that may be used by disadvantaged groups to improve their medical treatment. Analysis of survey data suggests that both African Americans and lower socioeconomic status persons are more likely than whites or higher socioeconomic status persons to report that positive self-presentation is important for their getting the best medical care. Based on these findings, we suggest several routes for future research that will advance our understanding of patients’ everyday strategies for getting the best health care.