I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology and a Research Associate in the University of South Alabama Youth Violence Prevention Program (YVPP). I received my PhD (2000) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I also have two Master's degrees from the University of Louisville, one in Social Work (MSSW 1982) and another in Sociology (MA 1994). I received my BA from the University of Mobile in Religion and Psychology in 1977. Prior to entering the academy, I practiced Social Work in Kentucky for more than sixteen years in both community and institutional settings. I have had a life-long interest in poverty, inequality, and work. My recent publications include "The Dark Side of the Protestant Ethic: A Comparative Analysis of Welfare Reform" in Sociological Theory (2005), and "The New Labor Market Segmentation: Labor Market Dualism in the New Economy," which is forthcoming in Social Science Research. My current projects include research on the relationship between poverty and youth crime and the contemporary conflict between modernity and religious fundamentalism.
My teaching responsibilities include the core research methods and statistics courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level for the Sociology program, and the research methods and statistics courses for the new BSW program in Social Work. In the past I have also taught courses in Work and Occupations, Complex Organizations, and Hierarchical Linear Models. My responsibilities also include statistical and research consulting for faculty and students in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work.
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