Floquet Energies and Quantum Hall Effect in a Periodic Potential

The Quantum Hall Effect for free electrons in external periodic field is discussed without using the linear response approximation. We find that the Hall conductivity is related in a simple way to Floquet energies (associated to the Schroedinger equation in the co-moving frame). By this relation one can analyze the dependence of the Hall conductivity from the electric field. Sub-bands can be introduced by the time average of the expectation value of the Hamiltonian on the Floquet states. Moreover we prove previous results in form of sum rules as, for instance: the topological character of the Hall conductivity (being an integer multiple of e^2/h), the Diofantine equation which constrains the Hall conductivity by the rational number which measures the flux of the magnetic field through the periodicity cell. The Schroedinger equation fixes in a natural way the phase of the wave function over the reduced Brillouin zone: thus the topological invariant providing the Hall conductivity can be evaluated numerically without ambiguity.Comment: LaTex (revtex), 18 pages, 10 figures in .eps using epsf.sty. Changes in eq. (3.2). References adde

The methodological inclinations of gender scholarship in mainstream sociology journals

This article examines the types of research methods sociologists studying women and gender use in articles published in mainstream journals. The research is based on an analysis of 1,826 gender-content articles published between 1984 and 1993 in 15 major sociology journals. Specifically, we explore whether feminist-oriented articles use different types of data, data collection methods, and statistical techniques than other articles addressing women and gender. The relationship between the rank of an academic journal, author's sex, and type of research method is also examined. We find that a large majority of gender-content articles are based on secondary, quantitative data. When the first author is a man, articles are somewhat more likely to be based on secondary data and to use quantitative statistical techniques. In general, we find that feminist research in the discipline is based on a melange of methodological approaches,reflecting the contested nature of feminist epistemologies

A View from the Top: Gender Differences in Legislative Priorities Among State Legislative Leaders

Women are no longer token participants in the governing process in U.S. state legislatures. Rather, they comprise more than one fifth of the state legislative membership and have become a visible force in leadership, holding about fifteen percent of all leadership positions. Unfortunately, there has been no systematic effort to examine the differences between the issue priorities of men and women leaders. Given the growing number of women in leadership and the importance of leaders as agenda setters, this question warrants attention. Our results indicate that while women are a growing part of modern legislative leadership teams, they are less prominent in key leadership positions. Women leaders in our sample do have legislative agendas distinct from their male counterparts. Specifically, women leaders are more likely to report issues of traditional concern to women: health care, social services, women’s family and children’s issues, and the environment as priorities. They are less likely than are men to emphasize taxes, budget matters, public safety, institutional regulation and matters of insurance or product liability as legislative priorities. Further, we find that differences between women and men leaders remain significant when controls for party, race, experience, type of leadership position and region are included in the model

Learning by doing: group projects in research methods classes

In this paper we describe an approach to teaching research methods that involves student group projects.1 Many authors acknowledge the merits of group or collaborative learning at the college level (Bouton and Garth 1983; Bruffee 1984; Helmericks 1993; Hilligoss 1992; Hylton and Allen 1993; Ingalsbee 1992; Katz and Henry 1988; King 1990; McKinney and Graham-Buxton 1992; NIE 1983; Rau and Heyl 1990; Taub 1991; Whipple 1987). The literature suggests that group learning requires careful planning and implementation; yet strategies to support this form of learning have not received sufficient attention (Atwater 1991; Hayes 1989). Our purpose is to describe the rewards of using group research projects and to discuss some ways of coordinating, organizing, and evaluating the projects

Gender inequality in education and employment in the scheduled castes and tribes of India

The complex stratification systems in India give rise to a multiplicity of social categories which often obscure the relative status of women and men within the more disadvantaged segments of the population. The focus of this study is on the situation of women in scheduled castes and tribes - groups which are referred to as "weaker sections of people' and granted special safeguards and concessions under the Indian constitution. Women in these underprivileged groups are doubly disadvantaged: their minority group status interacts with India's patriarchal culture to produce deplorable living conditions. Drawing from both ethnographic and statistical sources, the paper presents a descriptive profile of scheduled caste and tribe women's status in Indian society. Using Indian Census data, the study documents extreme degrees of gender inequality among the scheduled groups. Findings indicate that relative to men, women in these groups have far more limited access to both educational and employment resources. This research also suggests that socioeconomic development serves to reduce the disadvantage of scheduled group women relative to men. Among the scheduled groups considered to be more developed according to standard indicators, findings indicate less gender inequality in education and employment

The Incorporation of Gender Scholarship into Sociology

The prospects of an intellectual revolution in sociology informed in part by a feminist perspective loomed large in the early 1970s. Following Ward and Grant's (1985) empirical examination of gender and feminist scholarship in sociology journals between 1974 and 1983, our research provides an empirical assessment of the "second ten years" after the feminist critique of the discipline, 1984-1993. Specifically, we examine the incorporation of gender content scholarship into mainstream sociology journals. Our research also assesses the extent to which gender-content scholarship published in these journals is feminist-oriented or not and the extent to which this is influenced by the sex of authors, the type of journal, and the sex composition of editorships and editorial boards. Our findings indicate that although there were more gender- and feminist-oriented articles published in the recent ten-year period proportionally there were fewer feminist-oriented articles than in the previous ten-year period. Our findings suggest that a feminist revolution in sociology is not likely to occur anytime soon, although the assimilation of feminist scholarship into sociology is occurring along the lines of other critical intellectual movements in recent decades

Psychic Powers, Astrology & Creationism in the Classroom? Evidence of Pseudoscientific Beliefs Among High School Biology & Life Science Teachers

Many authors and researchers have noted the popularity of pseudoscientific beliefs in the United States.1,2 Although pseudoscience is not a new phenomenon (it has been around at least as long as science itself [Trefil 1978]), some suggest that pseudoscientific beliefs have become even more widespread in recent decades.3 The last three decades have also seen a decline in scientific literacy in the general public (Hively 1988). Unless the simultaneity of these two trends is purely coincidental-which seems highly unlikely-it may well be that understanding the mechanisms behind the origin and transmission of pseudoscientific beliefs will shed some light on the decline in scientific literacy.It is scarcely necessary to argue that knowledge and understanding of science has become more and more vital in this increasingly complex, high technology world. A much wider cross-section of the population is today asked to decide on matters involving issues with a substantial high technology component (e.g., SDI, space and environmental programs). To the extent that the promulgation of pseudoscientific beliefs is interfering with this knowledge and understanding, it must be addressed if we are to reverse the rising tide of scientific illiteracy. This paper examines one important potential source of pseudoscientific belief in the population-the extent to which those given the responsibility of transmitting knowledge of science to our high school students actually hold pseudoscientific beliefs themselves. The first section of the analysis presents evidence for the prevalence of pseudoscientific belief among the general public. Previously suggested sources for pseudoscientific beliefs are explored in the second section. We then focus in detail on one potential source of pseudoscientific belief-science teachers. The extent and specific types of pseudoscientific belief held by a sample of high school life science and biology teachers are examined, as well as the demographic and social correlates of such beliefs. Finally, the implications of high school science teachers' pseudoscientific beliefs for science education are discussed

Rape rates of American Indians in Robeson and surrounding counties

American Indians experience rape at a disproportionately high rate compared to their representation within the United States population. Despite federal, state, and tribal interventions to combat sexual violence in Indigenous communities’ rape rates are still high. Underreporting of rape in Indigenous communities can be accounted for by patriarchal ideals that negatively influence the treatment and responses to rape. Victim-blaming attitudes and behaviors permeate criminal justice systems’ and Rape Crisis Centers’ interactions with Native rape victims and encourage and account for the underreporting of the crime. State-recognized tribes are particularly affected because of their lack of status and national focus. The Lumbee Tribe of Robeson County is the largest state-recognized tribe in North Carolina and must rely on North Carolina’s legislation, police forces, and Rape Crisis Centers to provide justice and advocacy for their communities’ rape victims. The Lumbee’s tribal-based Rape Crisis Center, Enlightening Native Daughters was created to provide culturally competent services to better assist their communities’; however, it fails to adequately address rape because of its emphasis on educating women and not cultural revitalization. In order to see permanent changes in rape rates of Indigenous people a paradigm shift in popular thinking needs to occur in which matriarchal gender roles and gender typing of masculinity and femininity are taught

Place attachment and the historic brewpub: a case study in Greensboro, North Carolina

Over the last couple decades, brewpubs have emerged as a cultural phenomenon uniquely positioned to tie together downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and community connections to local place. A common strategy for the locally-owned brewpub is to incorporate historic place into the business brand while simultaneously inhabiting buildings in historic downtowns. Brewpub owners are therefore making calculated decisions about the physical environment of the pub. This study seeks to understand how the benefits of historic preservation in brewpubs can extend beyond tax incentives to include positive social outcomes. In particular, the work here explores the types of attachments patrons may form to historic brewpub environments with an emphasis on the role of the physical built environment. Attachment to place in this study is understood through the lens of the PPP framework of place that emphasizes a multi-dimensional concept involving person, place, and process (Gifford and Scannell , 2010). This project involves a mixed-methods research design at a single case study site in Greensboro, NC. Natty Greene's Brewing Company is located along the main thoroughfare of historic downtown Greensboro. This brewpub's integral role in downtown revitalization and participation in a Historic Tax Credit-earning rehabilitation project make it a unique exemplar, and especially well-suited for research on place attachment in historic brewpub settings. Data were collected through a structured online survey (n=78) followed by a photography activity (n=7) that was more qualitative in nature. The survey results revealed that attachment to the physical environment along with customer satisfaction were among the strongest predictors of overall place attachment. In addition, some meaningful differences in place attachment based on demographic factors such as gender, age group, frequency of visits, and length of residency in Greensboro were shown to exist. The photography project offered a more in-depth view of patron reactions to the built environment of Natty Greene's. Nine major themes emerged from participant photographs, including: symbolic meanings, satisfaction, openness, diversity of social functions, positive reflection on downtown, location, historic feel, materials and textures, and design features. Taken together, the mixture the methodologies employed in this study indicate that designing a historic physical environment in brewpubs is a promising strategy for engendering attachment to place for visitors. In the end, emotional attachment to place matters because of the responses it may inspire. Person-place bonds can motivate the preservation of buildings, the revitalization of a downtown, or loyalty to a local business

Queer(ing) gender: a critical analysis of thinking, embodying, and living genderqueer

A purpose of this dissertation is to offer a new look at the genderqueer body and experiences in order to further queer our current frames of thinking about gender in ways that challenge hegemonic structures of analyzing, defining, and evaluating lived experiences in relation to more than gender alone. Informed by Queer Theory and Gender Studies, and hinged on Endarkened Feminist, Feminist, and Post-Structuralist epistemologies, this study encourages a shift from only acknowledging the social construction of gender (both inside and outside the binary), to acknowledging the social process of becoming. As such, this study encourages valuing the relationships between intersectionality, liminality, and assemblages as a part of rhizomatic qualities of gender. In order to accomplish the goals of the project, the researcher, along with nine participants, explored the genderqueer terrain of identity and representation through participatory action research, A/R/Tography, and Mindful Inquiry. Four critical questions helped aide in thinking about the genderqueer body: (1) What kind of body is the genderqueer body, and how is it understood and lived? (2) What is the liminal space in which genderqueer individuals occupy/navigate/live? (3) How is this liminal space productive or unsafe? and, (4) How can others embrace/utilize the productivity within the liminal spaces of their own identity in both social and educational spaces