Larry Irons, PhD

Biography
Dr. Irons teaches courses in sociology in the following primary areas; Technology and Society, Globalization and Social Change, Community-Based Research, Urban Sociology, Social Problems, and takes great interest in refining the learning experience for students through course design and a range of interactive technologies.

Education
B.A. Florence State University, 1970 (Sociology)
M.A.  Western Kentucky University, 1976 (Sociology)
Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis. 1992 (Sociology)

Published Works

Books
Baldwin, C., Irons, L. and Palin, P. 2008. Catastrophe Preparation and Prevention for Law Enforcement Professionals. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Baldwin, C., Irons, L. and Palin, P. 2008. Catastrophe Preparation and Prevention for Fire Service Professionals. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Book Chapters
Gordon, J. and Irons, L. 2012. “Consumer Anthropology as a Framework For The Use of Ethnography in Market Research”, Leading Edge Market Research (eds.) Kaden, Robert, Linda, Gerry and Prince, Melvin.  Sage Publications.  pp. 178 – 194.

Irons, Larry  R.  “The Limits of Anytime, Anywhere Customer Support: Distributed Work and Home-Based Agents”(2010)  Handbook of Research on Electronic Collaboration and Organizational Synergy (eds.) Salmons, Janet and Wilson, Lynn. IGI Global.

Articles
Irons, Larry R. (2008) “Recent Patterns of Terrorism Prevention in the United Kingdom” Homeland Security Affairs Vol. 4, Issue 1.

Irons, Larry R. (2005) “Hurricane Katrina as a Predictable Surprise” Homeland Security Affairs Vol. I, Issue 2, This article was extensively excerpted in Chapter 12 (12-7, 12-9 - 12.10) of the Independent Levee Investigation Team Final Report Investigation of the Performance of the New Orleans Flood Protection Systems in Hurricane Katrina and Appendix II (F-66 - 69) of the same report, August 29, 2005.                     

Irons, Larry R., Keel, Robert O., and Bielema, Cheryl L. “Blended Learning and Learner Satisfaction: Keys to User Acceptance?” Journal of the United States Distance Learning Association 16, 12 (December 2002).

Irons, Larry R., Jung, Donald J. and Keel, Robert O., “Interactivity in Distance Learning: The Digital Divide and Student Satisfaction,” Education, Technology, and Society 5, 3 (2002), pp. 175-188.

 Irons, Larry R. "Organizational and Technical Communication: Terminological Ambiguity in Representing Work," Management Communication Quarterly 12(1), August 1998, pp. 42-71.

Book Reviews
Review of Marike Finlay  Powermatics: A Discursive Critique of New Communications Technology, Theory and Society  vol. 18 (1989), pp. 547-60.

Review of Steve Taylor Durkheim and the Study of Suicide, Contemporary Sociology vol. 13, no. 1 (January, 1984), pp.

Essay Review, "The Czechoslovakian Context of Dialectics of the Concrete," New German Critique, no. 18 (Fall, 1979), pp. 167-75.

Review of Norman K. Denzin Childhood Socialization Mid-American Review of Sociology vol. IV, no. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 71-74.

Review of Michael E. Tigar and Madeline R. Levy Law and the Rise of Capitalism Mid-American Review of Sociology vol. III, no.1 (Spring, 1978), pp. 109-13.

Dissertation
Designing Knowledge: Knowledge Acquisition for Knowledge-Based Systems.  Washington University in St. Louis. 1992.