Gender Differences in Central Appalachian Students’ Attitudes towards Poverty, Welfare and Work
Nothing addresses the concerns of Americans more than employment. In the political sphere, Clinton’s first platform was based on the slogan, “it is the economy, stupid”. If political campaigns are anything to go by, voters also care about education, crime, punishment and moral behavior. But jobs, income and taxes drive an economy and no government will survive for long if these issues are not addressed. Certainly, welfare is a thorny issue because it is expensive to administer and there is a pervasive attitude that welfare recipients are lazy. Even though studies show that welfare provides barely enough income to support a family, citizens appear to resent this social safety net for supposedly wasting tax dollars on the unworthy poor. Thus, the question of welfare and anti-poverty programs have caused much controversy. To address such sentiments, several studies have sampled opinion amongst the general public.(Alston, J. & Dean, K., 1972; Kluegel, J., 1987; Schwartz, S., Robinson, M. , 1991; Griffin, W.E., Oheneba-sakyi , 1993 ) However, few studies have looked at the college student population and no studies have restricted their analysis to rural college students living in areas of high unemployment with an historical dependence on welfare. To counter this shortcoming, the study described below sought to analyze the attitudes of students attending an East Kentucky university in the later 1990s. and determine if there were any gender differences betweens students’ responses.
THE LEGEND OF OPAL MANN: RESISTANCE TO GENDER SEGREGATION
The Owens-Illinois glass factory in Huntington, West Virginia began automated production of bottles in 1914 and then ceased production in 1993. A year later, the Oral History of Appalachia Program at Marshall University sponsored the collection of interviews of several former employees of the factory . The life histories reveal a compelling story of gender-segregated work and unions and one woman’s resistance to the company’s institutionalized policy of gender discrimination.
The Status of Women in West Virginia Report: What Did We Learn? What Do We Do Now?
This paper will focus on the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) Status of Women in West Virginia report. Barb Howe and Joan Browning co-chaired the advisory committee of volunteers, educators, and professionals dealing with women’s issues in the state. We expect the report, including its policy recommendations, will be used as a reference text in classrooms, by researchers, and most significantly, by policymakers and advocates to support public policies promoting women’s equality and their full participation in society.
Gender-Mediated Conditions of Student Aspirations as Reported by Rural and Town Appalachian Early Adolescents
This factor analytic study of student aspirations in Appalachian early adolescents was derived from 3,240 seventh grade students involved in two West Virginia GEAR UP projects in 2001. Analyses were conducted on a survey created by AEL based, in part, on conditions the University of Maine had identified as supporting high aspirations in youth.1 These conditions are belonging, heroes, sense of accomplishment, fun and excitement, spirit of adventure, curiosity and creativity, leadership and responsibility, and confidence to take action.
Gimme That Old-Time Religion!: Gender and the May-November Homecoming Season
Southwestern West Virginia Cemetery Homecomings are family reunions in hillside graveyards with eastern orientations. These annual gatherings between May and November provide a setting for Sunday morning worship, Sunday Dinner following allowing for lots of visiting with the extended families in attendance. Begun in the nineteenth century, they are still prevalent in the twenty-first.
Appalachian Women’s Stories of Migration from West Virginia to Northeast Ohio: A Narrative Analysis of Interviews and Personal Observations
This is an exploratory study which sought to examine how women of Appalachian heritage, now living in northeast Ohio, perceived their “life story” within the context of their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The study was concerned with discovering subjective beliefs and meanings about being from Appalachia, specifically West Virginia.