Interesting Links, 8/30/11

Well, I have been busy.  A week in Las Vegas spent mostly conferencing, then coming back to campus and jumping straight into a very busy semester has meant less time for the blog than I might like.  But, I have still gathered up a few interesting links to share...

Here is a relatively thorough article about sociologists' reactions to having a conference in Las Vegas, along with some video.  While I was there, it was interesting listen to folks discuss and debate the city as a venue for an academic gathering.  Hanging out in Las Vegas certainly stimulated conversations about gender performance, conspicuous consumption, and inequality.

This would have been a fun way to tour around Las Vegas last week.

If someone writes that "academic blogging is an important new outlet for demonstrating impact," then they have got my attention.

Here are two stories about surprisingly positive things happening in U.S. cities.  First, the arenas recently built in Kansas City, MO and Tulsa, OK seem to be doing better than expected during the recession.  Next here is an article from Scientific American with Edward Glaeser writing about how some cities have bounced back from adversity, often by right-sizing, and others have not.  Though right-sizing might be a good idea, making it work isn't always easy.  While urban farming could be an important part of the right-sizing process, it can also lead to difficulties in local neighborhoods.

Speaking of the Midwest, how about a video showing US expansion through post offices? Manifest Destiny!

This fall I am teaching a Sociology of Childhood class. Sadly, child poverty is up in at least 38 states, and about 20% of America's juvenile population was living in poverty in 2009.  Meanwhile, the benefits available to severely disabled children are being scrutinized.

Just like the author of this blog, I am always learning something new about Pittsburgh, like the fact that Pittsburgh has a Bible Lands museum.

While we are on Pittsburgh, stories like this one, about a family moving to Pittsburgh after living in places like D.C. and Boston, and underscoring how much they feel like part of the community in Pittsburgh keep popping up on my radar.  Seems that Pittsburgh is a great location for family's that want to right-size their lifestyle. And the couple states that while Pittsburgh is "not perfect," they feel that "things are getting better" and that they believe "Pittsburgh will do better in the coming decades." Good stuff.

Du[a]ling Quotes #5, ASA 2011 Meeting Edition

Well, I just returned from Las Vegas where I attended the 2011 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. I thought for this set of du[a]ling quotes I would share two of my favorite comments I heard during the conference. Here they are:

"Questions are good things. Comments are welcome."
     - Diane Pike, beginning her opening discussion at the ASA Section on Teaching Learning Pre-Conference Workshop "The Best Teachers We Can Be: Learning Scholarly Teaching."

"We all have limitations, that is why we are here. ... Economists have more limitations."
     - Remark by a session presider, discussing "limitation" slides in presentations.

Interesting Links, 8/18/11

I am about to head to the airport, on my way to Las Vegas for the 2011 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. I am participating in the Section on Teaching and Learning's Pre-Conference workshop and I am presenting a research paper.  This will be my first visit to Las Vegas, and my third ASA annual meeting. Very excited.

Here are some links before I go...

First a bit of an update: Here is a great reflection on the UK riots and the academic and media responses by a sociologist with working class roots who is originally from London.

Very interesting story on "social engineering," or a form of low-tech hacking, performed in front of a group of peers.

Scientific American just released an issue on cities. Good stuff.

Here are three sociology related links I found first on Twitter. The first is about inequality and let's you ask how well you are doing.  The next is a a suggestion from a sociology professor on how to turn Grandmother's "passing away" on exam day as a teaching moment.  Finally, as the tweet that linked to this story suggested, food deserts don't exist only in urban areas, they also exist in rural areas..

I am all about government efficiency, but I worry about what the future reduction in jobs and services from the Postal Service will mean for America.

Here is a fun story about how the Bat Signal came to shine over the city of Pittsburgh.  Also fun is the idea of a food fight between Detroit and Flint.