College News

Sociology Professors Get Published

11/16/2010

St. John Fisher College sociology professors, Dr. Paul Fuller and Dr. Marta Rodriguez-Galan, recently had articles published in widely-read industry journals.

Dr. Fuller, assistant professor, has had an article accepted for publication in the next edition of Advances in Medical Sociology: Sociology of Diagnosis. His article, “Navigating Professional Knowledges: Lay Techniques for the Management of Conflictual Diagnosis in an ADHD Support Group,” explores how professional and lay communities negotiate the meanings attached to the diagnosis of ADHD. Fuller’s analysis combines the work of French sociologist Michel Foucault with more classically informed sociologists in developing an innovative framework for understanding how the diagnosis of ADHD is open to a variety of interpretations across several social groups. He also looks at how these groups shape the meaning of the disorder based on their position within the social structure. With this latest publication, Dr. Fuller continues to build on his previously published work in this field.

Dr. Rodriguez-Galan, also an assistant professor, had an article accepted for publication in the journal, Activities, Adaptation, and Aging (2010, volume 34, pages 1-25.) Her study examines patterns of social activity engagement in a sample of older Hispanics and compares these patterns with a non-Hispanic White group. Ethnicity and various sociodemographic and health variables are also considered within this study. Dr. Rodriguez-Galan’s regression analyses indicates that Hispanic ethnicity and education are positively associated with being more engaged in activities with children and relatives, whereas being male (and especially being male and living alone) is inversely associated with this pattern. In addition, engaging in activities offered by senior services is only significantly associated with increased age and the number of health problems. This publication is a further important contribution by Dr. Rodriguez-Galan to the field of social gerontology.