Sociology Graduade Students Present Papers For National Conference
27, 2000 -- Three
University of Virginia sociology graduate students were invited
to present papers at the Nov. 15-19 national meeting of the American
Anthropological Association in San Francisco.
"Culture and Census: Asian Attitudes Towards Privacy,"
Bhavani Arabandi pinpointed differences between Asian and American
perceptions of privacy in order to determine which census questions
may be perceived as intrusive and thereby inhibit survey responses
from Asians living in America.
with U.Va. sociology professor Rae Blumberg, Patricia Goerman studied
Latino immigrant families in Central Virginia. Using their findings,
the two suggested ways to improve census survey question accuracy,
particularly for categorizing the complex relationships existing
in non-nuclear immigrant households.
his paper, "The Predictable Nature of the Balinese Cockfight,"
Chris Stevens argued that sociological theory can be used to predict
cultural phenomena. "The value of this exercise is to illustrate
the scientific promise of sociology to predict and explain any aspect
of social life," Stevens said.
invitation to present papers at a major conference was an honor
not only because it was at the national level, but also because
it came from a sister discipline, said Blumberg. "This is a
very welcome recognition of the quality of U.Va.s sociology
grad students," she added.
Jessica Tyree, (804) 924-7116