Several of our students presented posters at the College of Social and Behavioral Science’s 7th Annual Research Conference on April 11.

Yvette Alaniz: “Race and ethnic variations in relationship quality between parents- and children-in-law”

Cynthia Cantu: “Inter-generational conflict among Hispanic Families and Social Change”

Victor Palacios: “The long- and short-term effects of bullying and its origins”

Lisa Peña: “Truancy among middle school and high school students in the Rio Grande Valley”

Geoffrey Schwarz and Victor Martinez: “Massive Open On-Line Courses: Potentials and Pitfalls” and “Cross border healthcare utilization and the national healthcare crisis”

Igor Ryabov:

Colorism and School-to-Work and School-to-College Transitions of African American Adolescents

The Influence of Co-Racial Versus Inter-Racial Peer Friendships on Academic Achievement of Asian-American Adolescents

Obesity in Mexican-American Adults: Interplay of Immigrant Generation, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status

Stephen Merino:

Contact with Gays and Lesbians and Same-Sex Marriage Support: The Moderating Role of Social Context

Religious Social Networks and Volunteering: Examining Recruitment via Close Ties

Jori Sechrist:

Changing Views on Intergenerational Ties

Parent-Adult Child Relations in Later-Life Families (book chapter)

Dr. Stephen Merino was recently interviewed by Michael Lopez at KVEO News Center 23 for a story on the growth of religious “nones” in the United States. The story was prompted by a recent Pew Forum report indicating that one in five American adults have no religious affiliation, including one in three adults under the age of 30. Dr. Merino had previously published an article that examines the growing percentage of Americans who report nonreligious upbringings.

We’re excited that three new faculty members will be joining us starting Fall 2013. Salvatore Restifo is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Ohio State University. His research focuses on racial/ethnic stratification, immigrant incorporation, and social movements. William Donner is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. William’s research focuses on understanding how interactions between environment and society shape exposure to hazards. Steven Foy is a Doctoral Candidate at Duke University. His research focuses on the origins, experience, and consequences of stigma. He is also interested in religion and health.

Several sociology undergraduate and graduate students will be presenting at the UTPA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 7th Annual Research Conference to be held April 11-13, 2013. Here’s a list:

Victor Palacios: “The long- and short-term effects of bullying”

Geoffrey Schwarz and Victor Martinez: “Massive Open On-Line Courses: Potentials and Pitfalls”

Cynthia Cantu: “Inter-generational conflict among Hispanic Families and Social Change”

Yvette Alaniz: “Race and ethnic variations in relationship quality between parents- and children-in-law”

Lisa Peña: “Truancy among middle school and high school and its social effects”

At last year’s conference, graduate student Araceli Chavarin won second prize for her poster “The Act of Tattooing: A Social and Cultural Analysis of the Rio Grande Valley.” Undergraduate sociology major Yvette Alaniz won third prize for her paper entitled “A Comparison of a Hispanic Adult Parent-Child Relationships to the Inter-generational Solidarity Model.”

We’re proud of our students!!

Two recent graduates of our MS program, Victor Martinez and Geoffrey Schwarz, had their photo essay “Visualizing Modernity: The Appeal of Cross-Border Healthcare Providers Along the Texas-Mexico Border” published in the newsletter of the International Sociological Association’s Thematic Group on Visual Sociology. In their essay, Victor and Geoffrey examine how both border residents and Winter Texans cross the border to utilize healthcare services and purchase medications in Mexico.

Victor and Geoffrey also presented at the National Association of Chicana & Chicano Studies (NACCS) Tejas Regional Conference, held here at UTPA February 21-23. Victor presented their paper on cross-border healthcare utilization and Geoffrey presented a paper entitled “Critical Pedagogy and Massive Open On-Line Courses: Potentials and Pitfalls.” UTPA Provost Dr. Havidán Rodríguez chaired the session.