Tag: Poster 148

Barriers based on Class and Ability in Community Engagement with Bark

Presenter(s): Shannon Ellis − Environmental Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Wald

Poster 148

Research Area: Social Science

There are many barriers that limit various stakeholders from being able to visit national parks and forests on a regular basis in a way that allows them to positively engage with nature. I will be working with Bark, a Mt. Hood National Forest-based non-profit, to analyze the different barriers based on class and ability that limit the participation of people that would like to involved with Bark. Some of the major barriers found for Bark so far include accessibility, availability to transportation, and potentially exclusive volunteer and engagement opportunities. I will be using scholarly and peer reviewed journals primarily, including articles from “Leisure Sciences; An Interdisciplinary Journal”, “The International Journal of Special Education”, and an article written by University of Oregon Professor Betsy Wheeler. I will also be gathering information from meetings with representatives from Bark. It is important to first acknowledge the potential barriers that restrict the participation of underrepresented stakeholders and groups in order to eventually make Bark a more inclusive, diverse and equitable organization.

Political Mobilization of the Pharmaceutical Industry: Interorganizational Ties, Interlocking Directorates, and Political Activism

Presenter(s): David Capelle

Faculty Mentor(s): Ryan Light & Michael Dreiling

Poster 148

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

The pharmaceutical industry holds a prominent position in the American political sphere. The degree and persistence of political mobilization among pharmaceutical firms warrants investigation into the conditions which account for patterns in their political behavior. This study aims to assess how pharmaceutical firms’ embeddedness in inter-organizational networks is associated with levels of political activism and political cohesion in the 2015-2016 election cycle. Inter-organizational networks are comprised of firm-to-firm board of director interlocks and membership in prominent policy-planning groups and trade associations. The maintenance of connections with outside companies and organizations represents opportunities for social cohesion and establishment of shared social perspectives among corporate elites, which is thought to precede unified political action among companies. Corporate political activity is measured through PAC donations and lobbying expenditures. By examining relationships between companies’ structural social network ties and political activity within a particularly influential industry, this analysis provides novel insight into the way power is exercised in an intra-industry setting. This analysis demonstrates that the political mobilization of the pharmaceutical industry is structured around positions in inter-firm networks, such that companies which maintain social ties to the broader corporate community through board interlocks and advocacy organizations engage themselves in politics more intensely. The results of this study inform positions regarding the conditions of class-cohesiveness among corporate entities, which possesses significant applications to the study of political science, economics, and sociology.