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.