Theresa Morris | Trinity College, Connecticut (original) (raw)

Papers by Theresa Morris

Contexts, 2017

The rise of the c-section is tied not to maternal or fetal outcomes, but to organizational and le... more The rise of the c-section is tied not to maternal or fetal outcomes, but to organizational and legal imperatives. To those ends, a woman’s rights to bodily integrity and decision-making–even the right to refuse surgery–are frequently challenged in childbirth.

Sociology of Health & Illness, 2015

The Sociological Quarterly, Aug 31, 2008

This article examines causes of product-line diversification in the largest 200 U.S. corporations... more This article examines causes of product-line diversification in the largest 200 U.S. corporations between 1986 and 1996. The analysis shows that some corporations decreased their level of diversification. However, in contrast with previous studies, other corporations became more diversified. Change in the number of first-level subsidiaries and the value of mergers and acquisitions influenced corporate diversification. In contrast with the multidivisional form, the organizational characteristics of the multilayer-subsidiary form give management greater capacity to socialize capital, pursue mergers and acquisitions, and manage a large and diversified corporation. This multilayer-subsidiary form limits the managerial problem of bounded rationality by organizing product lines and product groups in legally independent subsidiary corporations that are embedded in their respective markets.

Sexual & reproductive healthcare : official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives, 2014

A known racial disparity in medical care is that white women receive epidurals more often in labo... more A known racial disparity in medical care is that white women receive epidurals more often in labor than do women from other racial and ethnic groups. Medical researchers have framed this disparity as due to some women's lack of access to anesthesia. Further, an unexamined racial disparity in medical care is that anesthesia failure in labor and birth may also have racial disparity. We explore the organizational processes that may lead to racial disparity an epidural use and regional anesthesia failure in labor and birth. We draw on semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 83 women in June through December, 2010 the day after they gave birth at a New England tertiary care hospital. Among women who did not plan to have an epidural, women of color were more likely to face pressure to accept the epidural by hospital medical staff. Further, among women who received anesthesia (either during vaginal delivery or a C-section), women of color were more likely to experience fail...

Sociological Quarterly, 2008

Studies abound documenting racial disparity in mortgage lending, yet lenders insist that they do ... more Studies abound documenting racial disparity in mortgage lending, yet lenders insist that they do not use race in their decision-making process, but rather rely upon credit scores as an objective financial predictor of an applicant's ability to repay a loan. However, I suggest that because on average blacks and Latinos have lower credit scores than whites (Sheila D. Ards and

INTRODUCTION: The current U.S. cesarean section rate (32.2%) is recognized as too high in light o... more INTRODUCTION:
The current U.S. cesarean section rate (32.2%) is recognized as too high in light of its negative health impacts on women and infants. Efforts are underway in several states and individual hospitals to lower the rate of cesarean section among low-risk women, defined as nulliparous (first birth), term (≥37 weeks gestation), singleton (one baby), vertex (head down presentation; NTSV).
OBJECTIVES:
We conducted a case study of one hospital's experience with NTSV cesarean sections to see whether race and insurance status affect the probability of cesarean indication. Many cesarean indications are ambiguous, and biases may seep into decisions with ambiguous diagnoses.
METHODS:
We conducted a retrospective chart review of women who had NTSV cesarean sections at a tertiary care hospital in an urban New England city between June 2013 and November 2013. We analyzed the data using multinomial logistic regression to examine the marginal effect of race and health insurance status on the predicted probability for NTSV cesarean indication.
RESULTS:
We find that Black and Hispanic women have a lower predicted probability of having a cesarean section for cephalopelvic disproportion than do White women and that women with private health insurance have a lower predicted probability of having a cesarean section for nonreassuring fetal heart rate and for a clinical indication than do women without private health insurance.
DISCUSSION:
We suggest biases may seep into clinicians' decisions to perform an NTSV cesarean section. Hospital quality improvement efforts are aided by an examination of sociodemographic factors that influence clinician decision making in the specific hospital being studied.

Social Thought and Research, Jan 1, 1999

This study examines the capacity of modernization theory, dependency theory, world-system analysi... more This study examines the capacity of modernization theory, dependency theory, world-system analysis, and political democracy theory to explain the determinants of income inequality in less-developed countries before and after major structural economic changes,stemmingfrom the collapseofthe Bretton Woods system in 1971 and the OPEC oil crisis in 1973 and 1974, occurred in the global economy. Data from two cohorts of countries are used to test these theories. The first cohort contains thirty-three countries with data on income inequality between 1968 and 1973, and the second cohort contains thirty-one countries with data on income inequality between 1985 and 1992. The results suggestthat world-system analysis and some aspects ofdependency theory are relevant to explaining income inequality both before and after the global changes.. However, modernization theory and political democracy theory are only predictive of levels of income inequality before changes in the global economy occurred. Overall, the results ofthis researchhighlight the importance of integrating historical shifts in the global economy into theories ofincome inequality.

Sociological inquiry, Jan 1, 2003

... The author thanks Sam Cohn, Howard Kimeldorf, Kevin Leicht, Harland Prechel, Beth Rubin, Stev... more ... The author thanks Sam Cohn, Howard Kimeldorf, Kevin Leicht, Harland Prechel, Beth Rubin, Steve Valocchi, B. Dan Wood, and Tim Woods for their comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. Page 15. UNIONIZATION MATTERS 259 ...

American Sociological Review, Jan 1, 2010

This article examines the causes of financial malfeasance in the largest U.S. corporations betwee... more This article examines the causes of financial malfeasance in the largest U.S. corporations between 1995 and 2004. The findings support organizational-political embeddedness theory, which suggests that differential social structures create dependencies, incentives, and opportunities to engage in financial malfeasance. The historical analysis shows that neoliberal policies enacted between 1986 and 2000 resulted in organizational and political structures that permitted managers

Birth, Jan 1, 2010

Background: Reality-based birth television programs in the United States warrant close analysis b... more Background: Reality-based birth television programs in the United States warrant close analysis because many women watch these shows to learn about birth. The purpose of this study was to understand how reproduction and birth are portrayed in these shows. We hypothesized that women's bodies are displayed as inferior and in need of surveillance and that this inferiority of the female body is solved through technology and a medical approach to birth. Methods: We performed a content analysis of 85 reality-based birth television shows, depicting 123 births, aired in the United States on Discovery Health and The Learning Channel in November 2007. Results: The study hypotheses were largely supported. Women's bodies were typically displayed as incapable of birthing a baby without medical intervention. The shows also lacked diversity in the representations of birthing women and, in particular, overrepresented married women and heterosexual women. Conclusions: This research suggests that reality-based birth television programs do not give women an accurate portrayal of how women typically experience birth in the United States, nor are the shows consistent with evidence-based maternity practices. (BIRTH 37:2 June 2010)

Sociological Forum, Jan 1, 2004

Over the last 30 years, American banks transformed their organization through mergers and concent... more Over the last 30 years, American banks transformed their organization through mergers and concentration. Which organizational theory better fits banks' responses to the four distinctive regulatory policy environments they faced over these years? An event-history analysis of mergers suggests that resourcedependence theory has a better overall fit than organizational ecology theory. However, the balance of influence shifted from external environmental causes toward internal organizational causes as deregulation created competitive pressures. Organizational efficiency had little bearing on the likelihood of a bank's being involved in a merger.

American Review of Canadian …, Jan 1, 1996

Page 1. Comparing Canadian and American Values: New Evidence from National Surveys JON P. “ TON ,... more Page 1. Comparing Canadian and American Values: New Evidence from National Surveys JON P. “ TON , THERESA M. MORRIS, and ARNOLD VEDLITZ his article examines portions of Seymour Martin Lipset&amp;#x27;s thesis con-T ...

The Sociological Quarterly, Jan 1, 2007

How do internal and external constraints impact the likelihood that organizations enact organizat... more How do internal and external constraints impact the likelihood that organizations enact organizational change? Resource dependence theory argues that organizational change is a response to internal and external constraints. However, the interaction of these constraints remains theoretically and empirically underconsidered. Using longitudinal data from the U.S. banking industry, I examine this question from a resource dependence perspective and I also incorporate explanations from transaction cost economics, organizational ecology, and institutional theoretical perspectives. I find that external constraints limit the impact of internal constraints on organizational change. I explore how this finding fits within resource dependence theory.