Soc PhD Students Awarded NSF Grant

Congratulations to sociology Ph.D. students Amanda Bertana, Jennifer Tabler and Yvette Young who received NSF grants for their research! You can read their proposals and abstracts below.

Amanda Bertana
"Environmentally Induced Migration in Fiji"

This research will examine how a community in Fiji is experiencing and managing relocation as an adaptation to ecological degradation. In recent years, there has been growing concern on the part of governments, scholars, and environmentalists that ecological degradation will act as a trigger for population displacement. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimate that approximately 40 million people have been displaced in the last 30 years by slow-onset disaster. This number is expected to increase as sea levels are estimated to rise 3 feet by the end of the century, eroding coastal regions and possibly displacing the communities that live there. Although scholars are paying more attention to the relationship between migration and environmental quality, they often ignore how communities are managing relocation. For example, Pacific small-island developing states (SIDS), specifically Fiji, are already experiencing the impact of climate change and are resettling communities that are threatened by rising sea levels.

Jennifer Tabler
"Genetics, Environment and The Influence of Eating Disorders on Marriage and Fertility Trajectories"

This research assesses whether eating disorders act as a turning point that sets individuals on a trajectory whereby they do not have the same life chances or opportunities throughout their adult life. This dissertation research explores the relationship between eating disorders and outcomes related to family formation in particular, including marriage and fertility behaviors. Eating disorders are known to be the result of genetic and epigenetic factors, that is, the interaction between the environment and genetics. Biological siblings share similar genetic traits and generally develop in similar early-life environments. This project uses data from the Utah Population Database (UPDB), a population data resource with large multi-generational pedigrees linked to medical records. The familial records of UPDB allows us to engage in a sibling-comparison design to account for the wide-array of early-life and epigenetic factors that may be associated with both the etiology and consequences of eating disorders. Understanding the marriage and fertility behaviors of individuals with eating disorders is important because these behaviors are known to influence later-life health. Understanding how eating disorders affect other types of life opportunities and outcomes associated with adult development will help us identify which life experiences may exacerbate the health and mortality outcomes commonly associated with eating disorders. If clinicians have a better understanding of the life experiences and potential mechanisms through which individuals with eating disorders may be accruing risk for poor health, in this case, their marriage and fertility behaviors, intervention can be better tailored to address the unique life circumstances of individuals with eating disorders.

Yvette Young
"Toward a Livable Wage—Factors Affecting the Economic Integration of Refugees in Utah"

Each year the U.S. receives approximately 70,000 refugees for permanent resettlement. The principle goals of resettlement are integration and self-sufficiency, and refugee adaptation in these regards has been a persistent subject of inquiry for immigration research. Existing literature examines how diverse skills and life experiences, or capitals, have contributed to divergent trajectories of social and economic integration. Despite extensive research into the effects of human, cultural and social capital on the economic integration of refugees there is a great deal of variation in economic outcomes that we still don't understand. Existing research is patchwork in its exploration of capitals as causal factors, and very little research frames capitals within contexts of reception. Moreover, measuring the degree to which a refugee is capable of deploying their skills and training (capitals) has been quite difficult, and has rarely been done. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors contributing to the successful economic integration of refugees. It builds on the existing literature by examining both capitals and contexts with attention to the potential barriers that restrict the individual's capability of using their capitals (Nussbaum 2000; Sen 1999). In doing so, this paper contributes to an expanded theory of economic integration that emphasizes the intersection of capitals and contexts. It will use a mixed methods approach to analyze durations between arrival in the U.S. and attainment of several markers of economic integration including labor market participation, acquisition of a livable wage, and occupational mobility. Quantitative data for the study come from the individual case files of refugees seeking employment assistance at the Refugee and Immigrant Center of Utah. The sets of characteristics that comprise individual capabilities will be identified using Qualitative Comparative Analysis and employment outcomes will be analyzed using Event History Analysis. Qualitative data will be collected in a series of focus groups with local service providers and with refugees. The advantage of qualitative data for this type of investigation is its ability to help us understand why we are seeing certain patterns in the quantitative data. It can also highlight the perceptions of individual refugees about the process of their economic integration. Insights from focus groups will be triangulated with quantitative data to enhance our understanding of refugee capabilities and their relationship to economic outcomes. By better understanding the factors that shape the early economic integration experiences of refugees, we will be better equipped to promote sustainable self-sufficiency after resettlement.