Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: Fear of crime has emerged as an important topic of general discussion, considerable academic research, and numerous policy initiatives over the past 40 years. In this study, I will take into consideration many variables used to explain fear of crime but I will focus my attention on the impact of criminal victimization on fear of crime. Although common sense would dictate a fairly straightforward and robust relationship between the two variables, past research has shown that the impact of criminal victimization on fear of crime is precarious at best and in need of further research. In this study, I will use a secondary data set to quantitatively examine this relationship. I will use the results from the 2004 Utah Crime Victimization Survey for my analysis. This victimization survey was developed and conducted by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) which secured funding for the survey thru a grant by the BJS. The CCJJ conducted the phone survey in 2005 covering crimes that occurred during 2004. Using random digit dialing, a representative sample of approximately 2000 (n=2002) Utahns were polled regarding their general perceptions and fear of crime, experiences with criminal victimization, and their demographic characteristics. From this data, I will first construct and describe a multi-item index measuring fear of crime. Second, my statistical analysis will then examine the factors related to fear of crime highlighting the extent criminal victimization shapes fear of crime.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: We examine the transition of 34 parolees during the first three months after their release from prison. Each parolee was interviewed one week, one month and three months after release from prison. Using survey and ethnographic techniques, we explored the resources and barriers faced by parolees during reentry. This included an examination of parolee involvement with family and friends and their experiences in finding housing and employment. We compare differences and similarities of inmates who have returned to prison and those who have kept their parole agreements up to this point. Eight of the parolees have been sent back to prison within the three-month period. Common characteristics of the failed parolees were (1) lack of family support and resources and the existence of negative family influences, (2) inability to withdraw from and resist deviant friendship networks, (3) lack of effective planning and goal setting, (4) inability to cope with unstructured free time and the challenges of work and family, and (5) difficulty in adjusting to the structure of parole requirements. Those who comply with parole tend to set goals and work toward them. This includes getting training to prepare for a better job, planning to own their own business, and working to buy a home. Successful parolees tend to know how to access available resources and use them more effectively than unsuccessful parolees. As expected, they perceived greater family support.

Publication Type: Internal Paper
Abstract: In the mid-1880s, Native Hawaiian members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church) began migrating to Salt Lake City, Utah (the headquarters of the church) where they hoped to participate in the process of building God�s church on earth. To their dismay, the Euro-American Latter-day Saints who had already settled in area were not as welcoming as the Hawaiians expected. The church leadership responded to the hostility towards these immigrants by establishing a settlement exclusively for Hawaiian and, later, Polynesian members who migrated to Salt Lake City. The settlement was named Iosepa, the Hawaiian pronunciation of Joseph, after Joseph F. Smith a former missionary to Hawai�i and future president of the church (1901-1918). For the past thirty years, Polynesians from both the continental US and the Pacific Islands have gathered at Iosepa for the Annual Iosepa Festival to celebrate and commemorate these first Polynesian Pioneers. In the act of remembering and commemorating these Polynesian Pioneers the place and space of Iosepa is articulated as �our� land. What tends to be forgotten and erased from this annual celebration is the fact that the land is not �ours� but part of the Gushute homeland. This paper traces the narratives used to make this claim to the land in order to begin to theorize the implication of one indigenous group laying claim to another indigenous peoples� land. The primary objective of this paper is to complicate and possibly rethink the relationship between indigeneity and settler colonialism when indigenous peoples become settlers on another�s land.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: One of the most visible, but least talked about trends in immigration is the arrival of foreign-born Latinos to both small towns and urban areas in the American West and South. Frey (2002) theorizes that these characteristics will lead to barbell economies in the South and West, by which he means that these economies will become polarized by education, skill, and income level between Latinos and non-Latinos. These characteristics may also increase the social distance between the native-and foreign-born, as measured by residential segregation, English language proficiency, and social networks. Few sociologists, however, have looked at the process of immigration and settlement in non-traditional destinations. As such, we know very little about how foreign-born Latinos are fairing in the process of immigration and settlement in these new areas. This paper analyzes recent data on Latino immigration into northern Utah to explore this question. It highlights the experiences of Latina immigrants in particular, whose experiences with immigration and settlement are mediated by their subordinate gender status in both sending and receiving communities.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: In light of recent increases in the number of Hispanics in nontraditional destinations, intercultural community dynamics has become a salient topic for rural sociologists. As a part of this discussion, this paper seeks to explore how community integration of Latinos in rural areas can vary by gender. Building upon the experiences of early “pioneer” immigrants extracted from BYU’s Rural Communities Project and the University of Utah’s Oral History Project of Spanish-speaking People in Utah, the authors compare and contrast community experiences among Latin men and women in Carbon County, Utah. Exploratory analysis indicates that Latin men and women report different levels of social integration and perception of community. Understanding their various levels of involvement in political, cultural, religious, and work-related organizations provide valuable insights into how community is negotiated in intercultural settings. These comparisons emphasize the need to incorporate gender differences when discussing community experiences in intercultural settings.