Racializing Captain America: How Racial Attitudes Affect Perceptions of Affirmative Action and Diversity Initiatives in Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 683-703
Author(s):  
S. R. Gubitz ◽  
Denzel Avant
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Racial Attitudes ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Diversity Initiatives ◽  
Captain America ◽  
Attitudes Toward Diversity ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Hispanic White

Is announcing a commitment to diversity enough to activate attitudes toward diversity initiatives? And what are the spillover effects of these programs? To address these questions, we conduct an experiment imbedded in a nationally representative survey of non-Hispanic White Americans ( n = 1,519). We inform respondents that the White actor who plays Captain America will be replaced, while varying whether there is a reference to a diversity initiative and whether the replacement is White or Black. We find that reference to diversity initiatives on its own has no effect but the action of displaying diversity affects marketplace preferences and attitudes toward diversity initiatives.

scholarly journals Blacks’ Diminished Health Returns of Educational Attainment: Health and Retirement Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. e000212
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Education Quality ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Hispanic White

Background: Education level reduces the risk of health problems such as poor self-rated health (SRH), high body mass index (BMI), and depressive symptoms (DS). Marginalization – related Diminished Returns (MDRs), however, refer to smaller health benefits of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators particularly educational attainment for the members of racial minority groups such as non-Hispanic Blacks compared to the majority group (non-Hispanic Whites). It is not known, however, if MDRs also hold for middle-age and older adults over a long period of time.  Aims: The current study used a nationally representative data set to explore racial variation in the predictive utility of baseline education level on protecting people against poor SRH, BMI, and DS.  Methods: Data for this analysis were borrowed from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 1992-ongoing), a nationally representative longitudinal study that followed 10,023 middle-aged and older adults (50+ years old) for up to 26 years. From this number, 1877 (18.7%) were non-Hispanic Black Americans, and 8,146 (81.3%) were non-Hispanic White Americans. Education level was the independent variable. We used cluster analysis to categorize individuals to low and high-risk groups (outcome) based on SRH, BMI, and DS over 26 years. Age and gender were the covariates. Race was the moderator.  Results: Overall, high education level reduced the odds of poor SRH, BMI, and DS over the 26 years of follow up. Interactions were observed between race and education on all three health outcomes indicating smaller protective effects of baseline educational attainment on poor health over time, regardless of the outcome.  Conclusions: In line with the MDRs, highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans remain at high risk for poor health across domains, a risk which is unexpected given their education. The risk of all health outcomes, however, is lowest for non-Hispanic White Americans with highest education. Policies that exclusively focus on equalizing racial gaps in SES (e.g., education) may fail to eliminate the racial and ethnic health inequalities because of the racial inequalities in the marginal health return of education. Public policies must equalize education quality and address structural and environmental barriers that are disproportionately more common in the lives of non-Hispanic Black Americans, even at high education levels. Future research should test how contextual factors, segregation, labor market practices, childhood poverty, and education quality reduces the health return of education for highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans.

scholarly journals Combined Effects of Ethnicity and Education on Burden of Depressive Symptoms over 24 Years in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Hispanic White

Ethnicity and educational attainment are among the major social determinants of depression in the general population. While high education credentials protect individuals against depressive symptoms, this protection may be weaker for ethnic minority groups such as Hispanic Whites compared to the majority group (non-Hispanic Whites). Built on marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs), the current study used 24-year follow-up data from a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults to explore ethnic variation in the protective effect of education levels against the burden of depressive symptoms over time. Data for this analysis were borrowed from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 1992–ongoing), a nationally representative longitudinal study. HRS followed 8314 middle-aged and older adults (50+ years old) for up to 24 years. From this number, 763 (9.2%) were Hispanic White, and 7551 (90.8%) were non-Hispanic White Americans. Education level was the independent variable. We had two outcomes. Firstly, using cluster analysis, individuals were categorized to low- and high-risk groups (regarding the burden of depressive symptoms over 24 years); secondly, average depressive symptoms were observed over the 24 years of follow up. Age and gender were the covariates. Ethnicity was the moderator. Linear and logistic regression were used for analysis. Logistic regression showed that, overall, high educational credentials reduced the odds of chronic depressive symptoms over the 24 years of follow-up. Linear regression also showed that higher years of education were associated with lower average depressive symptoms over time. Both models showed statistically significant interactions between ethnicity and graduation, indicating a smaller protective effect of high education against depressive symptoms over the 24 years of follow-up time among Hispanic with respect to non-Hispanic White people. In line with the MDRs, highly educated Hispanic White Americans remain at high risk for depressive symptoms, a risk that is unexpected given their education. The burden of depressive symptoms, however, is lowest for highly educated non-Hispanic White Americans. Policies that exclusively focus on equalizing educational gaps across ethnic groups may fail to eliminate the ethnic gap in the burden of chronic depressive symptoms, given the diminished marginal health return of education for ethnic minorities. Public policies must equalize not only education but also educational quality across ethnic groups. This aim would require addressing structural and environmental barriers that are disproportionately more common in the lives of ethnic minorities across education levels. Future research should test how contextual factors, residential segregation, school segregation, labor market practices, childhood poverty, and education quality in urban schools reduce the health return of educational attainment for highly educated ethnic minorities such as Hispanics.

HOW RACIAL ATTITUDES AND IDEOLOGY AFFECT POLITICAL RIGHTS FOR FELONS

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Wilson ◽  
Michael Leo Owens ◽  
Darren W. Davis
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Racial Attitudes ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Collateral Consequences ◽  
Felon Disenfranchisement ◽  
Racial Resentment ◽  
Nationally Representative

AbstractThis research examines the extent to which negative attitudes toward African Americans influence public reactions to restoring political rights to felons. We argue that race-neutral policies, such as felon disenfranchisement laws, are non-separable from racial considerations, as images of criminals and felons are typically associated with Blacks. Such attitudes produce collateral consequences for felons, hampering the restoration of their full political rights and, ultimately, their citizenship. Predispositions, such as racial attitudes and political ideology, provide both racial and nonracial justifications for supporting these laws, yet, there are no empirical accounts of their relational effects on opinion toward felons’ rights. Using nationally representative survey data, we find that racialized resentment and ideology exert the most influence on the reactions to policies seeking political rights for felons as well as beliefs about the value of doing so. Consistent with much of the literature on attitudes toward ameliorative racial policies, higher levels of racial resentment strongly predict lower support for felons’ political rights among both conservatives and liberals, yet, racial resentment is most influential among liberals. Conservatives exhibit the highest levels of racial resentment, but its impact is depressed more by agreement on both racial attitudes and opposition to political rights of felons.

Flavour capsule cigarette use among US adult cigarette smokers

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 650-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Emond ◽  
Samir Soneji ◽  
Mary F Brunette ◽  
James D Sargent
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
Sociodemographic Characteristics ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Cigarette Smokers ◽  
Nicotine Dependency ◽  
Smoking Patterns ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Reasons For Use ◽  
Hispanic White

IntroductionFlavour capsule cigarettes are a recent product worldwide, and little is known about the epidemiology of their use. We used data from a nationally representative survey to understand the sociodemographic characteristics of flavour capsule cigarette smokers and reasons for flavour capsule use.MethodsData were from the nationally representative, U.S. Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health survey (2013–2014). Analyses included 7181 adults, aged 18–44 years, who were current or former established (≥100 lifetime cigarettes) cigarette smokers. Participants reported their usual brand of cigarettes which were classified as non-menthol, menthol or flavour capsule. Analyses assessed differences in participant demographics, smoking patterns and reasons for use by product type among those aged 18–24 years. Analyses were weighted to account for the survey design.ResultsFlavour capsule cigarettes were the usual cigarettes among 9.4% of smokers aged 18–24 years and 6.0%, 3.7% and <1% of smokers aged 25–34, 35–44 and ≥45 years, respectively. Among smokers aged 18–24 year, a significantly higher percentage of Hispanic smokers (17.3%) usually used flavour capsule cigarettes versus non-Hispanic white (8.4%, P<0.05) and non-Hispanic black (3.2%, P<0.05) smokers. Flavour capsule use was associated with later onset of smoking and lower levels of nicotine dependency and flavour capsule users placed more emphasis on taste, lower price and pack design than menthol or non-menthol users.ConclusionsFlavour capsule cigarettes use is highest in young adults, particularly Hispanics. Young adult predominance, lower level of addiction symptoms and emphasis on pack design by flavour capsule users suggest that these products may be positioned as starter products.

Colorblindness as Identity: Key Determinants, Relations to Ideology, and Implications for Attitudes about Race and Policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 866-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Hartmann ◽  
Paul R. Croll ◽  
Ryan Larson ◽  
Joseph Gerteis ◽  
Alex Manning
Keyword(s):  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Racial Ideologies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Racial Lines ◽  
Empirical Implications

Colorblindness is often conceptualized as a set of deeply held but unrecognized ideological tenets. However, we believe that colorblindness has also now become an explicit cultural discourse involving self-conscious claims and specific convictions. To illustrate this point—which has both conceptual and empirical implications—we introduce the notion of colorblindness as identity. We define this concept as subjectively meaningful, self-asserted identification with colorblindness. We use data from a nationally representative survey to explore the social determinants of colorblind identification and assess its relationship to both colorblind ideologies and standard attitudinal measures. We find that a relatively large percentage of Americans across racial lines identify as colorblind. Furthermore, such identification is connected to racial ideologies but not all tenets of colorblind racism. For white Americans, colorblind identification is associated with decreased perceptions of social distance, but not support for policies designed to ameliorate the effects of racial discrimination. We conclude that colorblind identification is a unique social phenomenon, connected to views on race but not always in the ways that existing research would predict. We also suggest directions for further exploration of the depth of colorblindness as an identity form and implications for theorizing colorblind discourse more generally.

The Racial and Economic Context of Trump Support: Evidence for Threat, Identity, and Contact Effects in the 2016 Presidential Election

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Knowles ◽  
Linda Tropp
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Racial Identification ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Neighborhood Diversity ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
To Come ◽  
Neighborhood Level ◽  
Support Evidence

Donald Trump's ascent to the Presidency of the United States defied the expectations of many social scientists, pundits, and laypeople. To date, most efforts to understand Trump's rise have focused on personality and demographic characteristics of White Americans. In contrast, the present work leverages a nationally representative sample of Whites to examine how contextual factors may have shaped support for Trump during the 2016 presidential primaries. Results reveal that neighborhood-level exposure to racial and ethnic minorities is associated with greater group threat and racial identification among Whites, as well as greater intentions to vote for Trump in the general election. At the same time, however, neighborhood diversity afforded Whites with opportunities for intergroup contact, which is associated with lower levels of threat, White identification, and Trump support. Further analyses suggest that a healthy local economy mutes threat effects in diverse contexts, allowing contact processes to come to the fore.

Workplace “Digital Culture” and the Uptake of Digital Solutions

2020 ◽  
pp. 368-402
Author(s):  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Eleanor Lockley
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Company Culture ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Uk

This chapter reviews prior work on technology acceptance and then reports on a nationally representative survey of UK employees exploring both employee’s personal experiences of digital technologies at home and work and their evaluations of the effectiveness of the technologies and the “digital culture” in their organization. Presenting the results of 3040 UK workers, it seeks to explore the factors that influence digital roll-outs by focusing on the experiences and perceptions of the UK workforce as a whole, with the expectation that introducing new technology alone isn’t enough. This research explores how “digitally ready” organizations are in the UK in terms of people, processes, and company culture. It concludes that a large proportion of the UK workforce are not seeing the benefits of digital technologies. Importantly, there is a need for organizations to understand that making digital solutions a success is a process of cultural change in their organization.

Corruption, Opportunity Networks, and Gender

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Wiesehomeier ◽  
Tània Verge
Keyword(s):  
Conjoint Analysis ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Gender Stereotype ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Female Politicians ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Given the gender stereotype that women are more ethical than men, people should assess female politicians as being less corruptible. Yet information about access to networks suggests that opportunities to engage in unethical behavior may counter this perception. Using a conjoint analysis in a nationally representative survey in Spain, a country shaken by corruption scandals, we asked respondents to identify the more corruptible politician between two hypothetical local councilors by imagining an investor willing to offer a bribe to advance business interests. Results indicate that female politicians do symbolically stand for honesty. However, this assessment is offset by embeddedness cues signaling a woman politician’s access to opportunity networks. We discuss our findings in light of instrumentalist arguments for an increase of women in politics as a means to combat corruption.

scholarly journals When Helping Hurts: Nonabusing Family, Friends, and Neighbors in the Lives of Elder Mistreatment Victims

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 628-628
Author(s):  
Risa Breckman ◽  
David Burnes ◽  
Sarah Ross ◽  
Philip Marshall ◽  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Elder Mistreatment ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Research conducted by the NYC Elder Abuse Center (NYCEAC) at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues found that concerned persons experience significant distress knowing about elder abuse and trying to assist victims. Data will be presented from a nationally representative survey which included items on concerned persons in elder abuse. Thirty-one percent of all respondents reported that they had a relative or friend who experienced elder abuse; of these, 61% had attempted to help the victim and over 80% reported the experience is very or extremely stressful (2017). By both knowing about and becoming involved in elder abuse situations, concerned persons experience significant emotional and practical problems and often need professional help. NYCEAC’s Elder Abuse Helpline for Concerned Persons is the first of its kind in the country. The Helpline’s services and structure will be explained, and possibilities for replication in other locations will be explored.

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