Dr. Konstantinos Zougris is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the Division of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii-West O’ahu (UHWO). Dr. Zougris’s educational background consists of a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Texas (specializing in Hybrid Research Methods Methods/Data Science, Social Inequality, Global Comparative Societies); a Master’s Degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Stratification from Western Illinois University; a Master’s Degree in Economics with an emphasis in Economic Development from Western Illinois University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Management and Economics from Park University.
Dr. Zougris has taught various foundational and specialization courses in Sociology including Methods and Techniques in Social Science Research (Quantitative and Qualitative Research), Quantitative Data Analysis (Statistics), Quantitative Data Collection, Social Stratification, Globalization and Society, Digital Society and Big Data, Social Movements, Analysis in Economy and Society, Survey of General Sociology, Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory, Introduction to Sociology, Philosophy of Social Sciences, and more.
Dr. Zougris maintains an active research agenda constituted by peer-reviewed articles, chapters in edited volumes and professional/government reports in several topics within the fields of methodology, text analytics, sociology of knowledge, socioeconomic inequality, political sociology, sociology of news media, social development, world systems, digital societies, and reentry programs. His current research focuses on the Modern Practices of Textual Content Analysis and their Applications in Digital Social Science Research, Methodenstreit in Topic Domains across National Sociologies, the Effect of the Economic Austerity Measures in the Process of European Integration, and the Social Factors affecting perceptions of Xenophobia and National Pride across European States.
Dr. Zougris has served in and contributed to numerous standing committees including General Education Committee, Budget and Resources Committee, Program Review Committee, Curriculum Committee, and International Studies Committee at UHWO. Dr. Zougris is currently the chair of the Contemporary Ethics-subcommittee at UHWO and a member of the Research Ethics Committee at the UH-System, as well as a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Engaged Scholarship at UHWO. He has been a member of the American Sociological Association, the Pacific Sociological Association, and the Hawaii’s Sociological Association. Finally, Dr. Zougris serves in several editorial review boards of academic journals including the Review of European Studies, Journal of Social Science Studies, Societies, and Philosophies.
- Ph.D. in Sociology, University of North Texas
- M.A. in Sociology, Western Illinois University.
- M.A. in Economics, Western Illinois University
- B.A. in Business Administration-Management/Economics, Park University
2020-Present Associate Professor of Sociology - Division of Social Sciences/Sociology
University of Hawaii- West O’ahu
2015-Present Assistant Professor of Sociology - Division of Social Sciences/Sociology
University of Hawaii- West O’ahu
2010-2015 Instructor/Teaching Fellow - Department of Sociology
University of North Texas
2011-2014 Research Associate- Department of Sociology, University of North Texas
2013-2014 Instructor- Department of Social Sciences, North Texas Central College
2010-2011 Research Assistant- Department of Sociology, University of North Texas
2008-2009 Teaching Assistant – Department of Sociology, Western Illinois University
2008-2009 Research Assistant- Survey and Research Center, Western Illinois University
2006-2008 Research Assistant- Office of Budget and Planning, Western Illinois University
• SOC 100 - Survey of General Sociology
• SSCI 210 - Statistical Analysis I
• SSCI 300 - Philosophy of Social Sciences
• SSCI 301- Methods and Techniques of Social Science Research
• SOC 310 - Globalization and Society
• SOC 311 - Social Stratification
• SOC 312 - Social Movements
• SOC 315 - Digital Society and Big Data
• SOC 321 - Survey of Sociological Theory
• SOC 413 - Analysis in Economy and Society
• SSCI 486S - Senior Project in Sociology
• SSCI 490S - Senior Practicum in Sociology
SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2019: Detecting Topical Divides and Topical “Bridges” Across National Sociologies. The American Sociologist 50(1): 63-84
2018: Communities of Scholars: A Conceptual Scheme of Knowledge Production. Societies 8(4):118-130
2016: A Meta-Analysis on the Constitution and Configuration of Alternative Food Networks Pp. 467-487 in Conversations in Food Studies, edited by C.R. Anderson, J. Brady, and C.Z. Levkoe. Canada: University of Manitoba Press.
2016: Converging Economies of a Diverging Union: A Sub-systemic Analysis of Income Inequalities and Economic Growth across the E.U. Member States. International Journal of Social Science Studies 4 (11)
2016: Sentiment Analysis of Polarizing Topics in Social Media: News Site Readers' Comments on the Trayvon Martin Controversy. Studies in Media and Communication 11(1).
2015: Regional Development, World System’s Taxonomies and Inequality: A Meso-Domain Approach.” International Journal of Regional Development 2 (1).
2009: Metro-Nonmetro Economic Growth and Convergence in the Plains States; Rethinking the Rural-Urban Relationship in a Global Economy. The Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy 4 (1).
PROFESSIONAL REPORTS
2018: Reentry Academy for Training and Entrepreneurial Resources (RAFTER): A Feasibility Study. Legislative Report, State of Hawaii.
2009: The 2009 Quad Cities Poll. Quad Cities City Council, Illinois.
• Modern Practices of Textual Content Analysis; An Overview of Topic Extraction and Its Application in Social Science Research (status: in progress).
• Effective Practices of Reentry: A Sociological Approach. (status: in progress).
• The Effect of the Austerity Measures on Euroscepticism in times of Economic Crisis: A Comparative Analysis.
• Xenophobia and National Pride in the European Union States: A Comparative Study of Attitudes on Immigration across European States.
- Reentry Academy for Training and Entrepreneurial Resources (RAFTER): A Feasibility Study. Department of Economic Development, Business and Tourism, State of Hawaii.
- Conference Travel Grants, University of Hawaii-West O’ahu
- Conference Travel Grants, University of Hawaii-West O’ahu
- Conference Travel Grants University of North Texas
- Economic Sustainability/ Office of Institutional Research, Western Illinois University
Sociological Applications of Topic Extraction Techniques; Two Case Studies.
Methods and Techniques in Social Science Research
Data Science
Global Comparative Societies
Social Inequality
Digital Sociology
Economic Development
Comparison of Income Inequalities in Rural and Urban Areas of Illinois: A World Systems’ Theory Approach.
SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2018 Communities of Scholars: A Conceptual Scheme of Knowledge Production. 5th Conference of Oceanic Popular Culture Association, May 27th-28th, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI. (Presented)
2017 Tracking Topic Bridges across National Sociologies: A Comparative Study. Hawaiian Sociological Association, 38th Annual Meeting; February 25-26, Honolulu, HI. (Presented)
2016 Detecting Publication Preferences in Academic Research: A Topic Extraction Approach.
4th Conference of Oceanic Popular Culture Association, May 27th-28th, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI. (Presented)
2016 Text Analytics and Academic Topic Profiling: A Comparative Study of the Fractural Thematic Domains of Sociological Academic Journals. Southwestern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; March 23-26, 2016, Las Vegas NV (Presented)
2016 Conceptualizing Perceptions of Deviant Social Behavior on Twitter: An Exploratory Study. Southwestern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; March 23-26, 2016, Las Vegas NV (Presented)
2016 The Impact of the European Debt Crisis on Intra-National Income Disparity: A Comparative Analysis between the European Core and Peripheral Countries. Hawaii’s Sociological Association, 37th Annual Meeting; February 20-21, Hilo, HI (Presented)
2015 Multi-level Structural Reflections: A World-Systems Approach.” Southwestern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; April 8-11, Denver, CO. (Presented)
2015 The Impact of the European Debt Crisis on Euroskepticism: An Opinion Mining Approach.” Southwestern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; April 8-11, Denver, CO. (Presented)
2015 Studying Social Media Opinion Polarization with Topic Discovery and Sentiment Analysis. Eastern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; February 26th- March 1, New York, NY. (Presented)
2014 Topic Discovery with Sentiment Evaluation for Analysis of Opinion Polarization. Social Media and Society. Conference on Big Data and Society; July 27-29, Toronto, Canada. (Presented)
2014 Topic Modeling with Sentiment Evaluation for Analysis of Opinion Polarization.
American Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; August 16-19, San Francisco, CA. (Presented)
2014 “Topic Cycles” in Sociology: Latent Semantic Analysis and Trends of Sociological Research Abstracts from 1983 to 2012. Southwestern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; April 16-19, San Antonio, TX. (Presented)
2013 The European Systemic Crisis and its Consequences on National Level Economic Growth and Income Disparity. Southwestern Sociological Association, Annual Meeting; March 27-30, New Orleans LA. (Presented)
2012 The Impact on Extended Commuting for Employment on Couples from Israel and the United States: Implications for Satisfaction and Dissolution.
International Sociological Association; September 12-15, Leuven, Belgium,(Presented)
2011 Comparison of Income Inequalities in Rural and Urban Areas of Illinois: A World Systems` Theory Approach. Midwest Sociological Society, Annual Meeting; March 24-27, Saint Louis MO. (Presented)
2008 Quality of Life, Levels of Development across Illinois Counties- The Racial and Rural Differential. Rural Sociology Society, Annual Meeting; July 28-31, Manchester NH. (Presented)
- Dissertation Research Fellowship, Toulouse Graduate School, University of North Texas.
- Doctoral Fellowship and Academic Achievement Award, Toulouse Graduate School, University of North Texas.
IT Training and Skills
- Statistical software: IBM SPSS, SAS, STATA, Minitab
- Text Analytics software: SAS Enterprise Miner, SPSS Modeler
- Data Collection software: Helium Scraper, Outwit Hub, Qualtrics, and SNAP surveys
- Web-based learning management systems: Blackboard Learning Plus, Canvas, Laulima, and Angel.
University of Groningen (Holland)
American College of Thessaloniki (Greece)
- American Sociological Association
- Pacific Sociological Association
- Chair of the Contemporary Ethical Issues Committee, UH-West O’ahu
- Member of the General Education Committee, UH-West O’ahu
- Member of the Research Ethics Committee, UH-System
- Institute of Engaged Scholarship Advisory Committee Member, UH-West O’ahu
- Data Bull Pen Advisory Committee Member, UH-West O’ahu
- Faculty Senator, Elected Representative of the Division of Social Sciences at UH-West O’ahu Faculty Senate
- Program Review Committee Member, UH-West O’ahu
- Curriculum Development Committee Member UH-West O’ahu
- Budget and Resource Committee Member, UH-West O’ahu