CAS CONNECT 2013

29 extreme conditions they expe- rienced during these Arctic/ Antarctic expeditions.” As Knottnerus and his collaborators examined the various crews, he found he could classify each expedi- tion as a failure, a success or a super-success. But those weren’t based on what the expedition itself brought back; it was based on team morale. “Super successful leaders were the ones who brought those items (music, choco- late, etc.) and who had much tighter crews,” he notes. Another research interest that Knottnerus is passionate about is nursing home condi- tions. He and Ulsperger wrote Elder Care Catastrophe: Rituals of Abuse in Nursing Homes & What You Can Do About It . In it, the two discuss how bureaucracy can lead to the objectification and neglect of nursing home residents. Nursing home residents are under the supervision of strangers, who often have little to no emotional connec- tion with their patients, Knottnerus says. The lack of such a connection can lead to insufficient care. Knottnerus also says that government regulations that require caretakers to spend excessive amounts of time filling out paperwork can impede creating those emotional connections. “I have a great deal of respect for [Knottnerus’] work on the book,” Ulsperger says. In his latest project, Knottnerus and his collabo- rators, professor and depart- ment head Duane Gill and graduate student Kevin Johnson, are studying the social response to the torna- does that swept through Moore and El Reno and how daily life in the Oklahoma cities was disrupted. The anal- ysis will be used to develop more sophisticated disaster response policies. Simple steps can help victims cope. Knottnerus suggests these steps can involve rituals such as talk- ing with victims, hosting social events or celebrations to highlight accomplishments or holding memorials for the lives lost in a disaster. Outside of teaching, Knottnerus has held posi- tions with the American Sociological Association, Mid-South Sociological Society and other professional associations. Knottnerus and his wife live in Stillwater. During his free time, he enjoys exercising, reading and traveling. Courtesy Basudhara Sen expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. A book on the results is under contract. So far, their research has turned up items brought to Antarctica that could be considered luxuries: musical instruments, wine, liquor and chocolate. “The Antarctic is the harshest climate on earth,” Knottnerus says. “Why did explorers bring such trivial items when they could have increased their margin of safety and brought more food or fuel?” The short answer could be: With music, chocolate and alcohol, life in such harsh conditions becomes more bearable. And that’s what Knottnerus found: “In this book, I argue that the ritu- als associated with these and other items increased people’s ability to cope with the Basudhara Sen ce l ebrates graduat ion wi th her mentor, David Knot tnerus .