Andrew Ferrin’s Post

Native Children’s Research Exchange (NCRE) Scholars Program APPLICATIONS DUE August 7th, deadline extended!!! Applications are now being accepted for NCRE Scholars Cohort 12, which will start September 2023. NCRE Scholars is situated within the Native Children’s Research Exchange (NCRE) network. NCRE brings together researchers studying child development from birth through emerging adulthood in Native communities. NCRE Scholars provides career development support and mentoring to early career investigators and late-stage graduate students interested in research on substance use and disorder and Native child and adolescent development. Eligible applicants include junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and late-stage doctoral students in psychology, sociology, public health, social work, anthropology, education, or related disciplines. Applicants must intend to pursue a research career focused on substance use and disorder and Native child or adolescent development. Application materials should reflect this intent and focus. The application process is described below and, on our website (www.ncrescholars.org, click on the “apply” tab at the bottom of the page). Application Process The following must be submitted to ncre@cuanschutz.edu. Completed application form (attached and available on website) Curriculum vitae Personal statement (limit 500 words) highlighting previous research experience and career goals; describing how career goals align with NCRE's mission to support research on substance use and disorder and Native child and adolescent development. Concept proposal for a paper or grant application (1-2 pages) describing a manuscript for publication or a grant application to be developed and submitted with NCRE Scholars program support. The proposal should be clear in its link to research on substance use and disorder and Native child or adolescent development. Two letters of reference submitted directly to ncre@cuanschutz.edu by professors, supervisors, or colleagues who can speak directly to applicant’s research potential and need for career development support. #research #career #application #scholarship #substanceuse #childdevelopment #adolescentdevelopment #applynow #Indigenous #Nativetwitter #apply #funding #mentorship

During my final semester at BYU, I was asked to ideate and conduct a research study to answer a question I had in sociology using qualitative data. I chose to study whiteness at BYU. I have noticed that many people often criticize BYU, Utah, or LDS culture here, calling Utah and BYU a "bubble." Many worry that BYU students are naïve about diversity of opinion and thought and I wanted to test these ideas, and often criticisms about BYU come from BYU students themselves. While I do recognize that LDS members aren't well versed in all areas, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a global church and I hypothesized that the social phenomena that these criticisms stem from might have less to do with being a member of the Church or from Utah, but rather social adherence to whiteness as the root of these phenomena. I believe that collective whiteness can be linked to racial stratification and accidental but naïve perspectives that unintentionally alienate certain peers, particularly at BYU. Overall, I found that for many, BYU is the whitest space these students have navigated, and racial views can intensify and sort students depending on the interactions they have. College plays a unique role in providing opportunities where students can learn and interact with others from different backgrounds from them. Adolescence plays a foundation role in how a person develops their own racial identity and interprets racial differences around them. Factors like: - the racial composition of one's city - one's school - one's parents' racial views, and - the experiences one has with people of another race all lay a foundation of organizing and forming one's racial views. While there is plenty to be understood about this topic, conducting this study helped me come closer to painting a clearer and more objective picture of racial views and feelings on campus and understanding the perspectives of others better. Many white BYU students avoid situations where race is a topic because they fear they'll be judged or they'll offend someone. This leads to having less productive dialogue about race, more social distance from those who are different from them, and consequentially, more racially grouped social circles on campus. Understanding these key principles can transform how policymakers and social institutions address racial ignorance, racial bias, and racism by actually getting to the roots of these issues in a wholistic and accurate way. Read more here:

"The project resonates deeply with my expertise as a medical sociologist specializing in social determinants of health," Yiqing Yang, an associate professor of sociology at WCU, said. "What truly excites me is the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of the project, which brings together multiple universities, community organizations and both undergraduate and graduate students." The statewide project aims to expand COVID-19 data surveillance into North Carolina's six Medicaid regions. WCU is part of region one. The project provides crucial insights into the specific health impacts of the pandemic in North Carolina, informing targeted interventions and policies to address disparities. Read More ⬇️ https://bit.ly/3TQxpz

As a current graduate student at Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University former professor assistant and tutor and a younger person (depends on if you’re asking my professors or my nephews) myself, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for media and sociology studies. However, I find that traditional texts and outdated examples often fail to engage younger students, especially since some of these old scholars, while important, come with problematic histories that can create resistance to studying their work. In my studies, I’ve often been tasked with applying these classic concepts to contemporary contexts. One of my favorite examples is "The Hunger Games," authored by Suzanne Collins. For those unfamiliar (what are you even doing??) "The Hunger Games" is a dystopian series set in a future society where the government controls its citizens through televised gladiatorial combat involving children. It serves as a harsh critique of societal structures and human behavior. The series brings several sociological theories to life. The concept of Spectacle, coined by Debord and influenced by Marxism and the Frankfurt School, and mentioned by name in the prequal, is evident in the public display and manipulation of the Games. The Capitol uses these games to distract and control the populace, turning suffering into entertainment, much like Karl Marx's concept of religion as the "opiate of the masses." This reflects how modern media can prioritize sensationalism over substance to placate the public. Boundary work, coined by Gieryn and inspired by Bourdieu, is shown through both social and symbolic boundaries. In the Capitol, distinctions are made clear through fashion, language, and class. This becomes even more prominent in the newest prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," which delves into the Capitol’s internal class distinctions. Surveillance and the panopticon, one of Foucault’s key concepts, are depicted in the Capitol's control over the districts. Even though direct 24/7 surveillance is often impractical, the mere thought of being watched keeps citizens in line, reflecting Foucault’s idea of self-regulation under perceived observation. These themes and many more are not just limited to "The Hunger Games." They can be applied to numerous aspects of popular media and culture, such as TikTok trends, popular music, Netflix shows and other popular media and culture (Adorno is turning over in his grave). To truly engage students (as a few of my professors do, but unfortunately not enough of them), we must move beyond detached, antiquated methods and treat them as individuals who need motivation and interest to learn. Incorporating contemporary, relatable content into academia can ignite a passion for academic work and research, proving beneficial for society as a whole.

In this latest post for my independent study (Masters in Sociology), I'm delving into some of the factors that complicate a "data-driven" decision to try to obtain a college degree or not, including research results demonstrating institutional challenges based on race, gender, and first-generation status. What are you seeing out in the world and what research articles have you seen on this as I start to wrap up this series? I look forward to your recommended readings and additional related topics. Also, thank you to everyone who has shared the survey I'm conducting as part of the mixed methods research I'm doing for my thesis! I'm starting to see some great data coming in, and am looking forward to how this compliments (or complicates) the semi-structured interviews I've gathered for this research project. If you know someone who can help spread the word for survey participants (U.S. Citizens or legal residents between the ages of 25-60 who have changed careers in the last five years) please feel free to share - I'd appreciate the assistance, thanks! (Survey link in comments below)

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month Undergraduate Student Highlight Paula Martinez de Pinillos is an undergraduate student majoring in Biology Pre-Professional Studies with a minor in Medical Sociology at UCF. Paula aspires to attend Med-School after graduating. She is passionate about learning about trauma and how to help individuals to overcome these experiences. Her research interests include trauma response, cultural influence, intimate partner violence, patterns of violence-aggression, mental health, and the effects of COVID-19. She recently presented her newest research project at the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at UCF, "Experiences of intimate partner violence and other stressors among Hispanic/Latina women during the COVID-19 pandemic". Paula's goal is to understand better the relationship between the cultural aspects of violence patterns and other factors that could lead to interpersonal violence. Why sociology: After I moved to the United States in 2016, I experimented with different processes of adaptation and acculturalization as an immigrant. As time passed, I became interested in investigating what makes every society and culture unique and the various situations and factors that could affect or influence an individual's life. What it means to be Hispanic/Latinx: Being Hispanic is to embrace my roots and my identity. It means community and love, a loving hand that's always willing to help. It's a smile in the face of adversity and a warm hug of encouragement, a family that's always there to support you. For me, it's unity in the midst of the differences! #UCFSociology #UCFSciences #MedicalSociology #HispanicHeritageMonth #LatinxHeritageMonth #VamosKnights #OrgulloLatinx #UnleashingPotential

Like my mentor, Eddie, said, “The boy from Corona is going coast to coast” to join the University of California, Berkeley Sociology Department as a Ph.D. student and Chancellor’s Fellow! Despite all that it’s taken to get this far, speaking in particular about the adversity, I’m consistently overfilled with gratitude for all the people, programs, and luck that have allowed me to reach unimaginable places (physically and mentally) and accomplish unimaginable feats. I’m especially thankful for all the people (family and friends, mentors, and all the people in between) who so graciously care/d for me, mentor/ed me, and support/ed me. Without you all, I wouldn’t have made it this far, nor would I be the person I am today. I dedicate all my successes to you and do my best to live a life with integrity and purpose to honor you all and forever make you all proud. Moments like these, I think a lot about my younger self, little Julio, and Angela, my mother, two people in awe of the incomprehensible and unimaginable life I’ve been living since 2016, the year I enrolled at Queensborough Community College. Quisiera darle a los dos un gran abrazo. Los amo. I’d also like to shout out the Urban Institute and the people I have worked there with since January 2022. Urban, its people, and the work I did there completely changed the trajectory of my life. At Urban, I realized I wanted to pursue a PhD and a life conducting research. Not to mention all the amazing work I was a part of, which can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gxVj_uKe Finally, I’m excited, nervous, and honored to center my research on second-generation immigrants and immigrant families who are multiply marginalized by society because they’re from a mixed-status or undocumented family, a “broker” for the family, they have little to no family, etc. in order to improve the macro- and meso-level structures causing this marginalization to see improved micro-level outcomes across the board. A future research agenda that draws on my experiences in Corona, Queens, NY, first-hand and vicariously as a second-generation immigrant, first-generation college and now graduate student from a low-SES background. I look forward to building at Berkeley and in the Bay! And a shoutout to my guy Hector for the photo.

I am thrilled to share the news that I got awarded The Jacquelin Goldman Spring Scholarship by the University of Florida, Department of Psychology. This scholarship provides support for a doctoral student conducting research in the field of Developmental Psychology. I will be conducting a meta-analysis on aging and navigation behavior in different modalities soon! 👩💻 #research #scholarship #metaanalysis

What are the racial characteristics of today's psychology graduate students? We looked at subfields and degree levels. We've been monitoring demographic trends for quite some time and will continue to do so. With the end of affirmative action, data similar to this Datapoint are vitally important to gauge diversity in higher ed. https://lnkd.in/eWR_RhiE

Hoping to become the first person in her family to complete a PhD, Julia Hall's research is uncovering how the pandemic affected child development. "For children, who grow so rapidly and have sensitive periods of development, the pandemic disrupted their daily lives to an extent that hasn't really been seen before or researched before." After finishing her Master of Psychology, Julia seized the chance to start a PhD in Education, combining psychology practice and research to help more people at different scales. "If you're going into practice, you're looking to impact your community in the area you live. But if you go into academia, you're looking to impact the whole community." Learn more about her life as a graduate researcher with The Faculty of Education at The University of Melbourne → unimelb.me/3x3Sayw