Digital Commons Network^™

Tattoo For Life And Afterlife, Kimberly Chin

Capstones

Man has searched for ways to live forever from time immemorial. But a curious group of tattoo enthusiasts developed a way to preserve one’s tattoo skin (at the least) post-mortem. Here’s a cultural exploration of a small albeit growing trend in which people’s perception of tattoos, burial rites and how to commemorate loved ones is examined and re-examined.

https://kimberlychin.atavist.com/tattoo-skin-preservation-capstone

Of Rats And Men, Thomas S. Walsh

Capstones

This capstone is a data-driven investigation into New York City's rat problem. By using publicly available government data to map rat activity in NYC, I identified several socio-economic variables that correlate with rat populations at the community district, borough, and city-scale. I used these findings (mainly that rat problems are linked to lower incomes) as the basis of an investigation, which includes interviews with residents, experts, and city officials. Prof. Bobby Corrigan, urban rodentologist and formerly with the NYC Department of Health criticizes the city's efforts for the first time on the record.

https://thomasseiyawalsh.wixsite.com/ratstone

Hair Is The Root Of A Revolution: How Black Women Are Embracing Their Identity With Hair, Shanel Dawson

Capstones

For years, black women have been demeaned for their features; their noses, complexions and hair. Straight hair and wavy hair have been considered “good hair.” And for centuries these ideas have been perpetuated by images in the media, cultural messages and even policies in schools and professional settings.

Today black women, nationwide, are rejecting straightening chemicals and embracing their natural hair as a point of pride. I spoke with several black women who are attempting to distance themselves from these negative narratives by honoring their roots.

For black women in America, hair has been the easiest way to connect on …

Inside The Grassroots Money Machine, Elizabeth Tung

Capstones

In the year since Donald Trump’s election, grassroots canvassing groups have generated millions of dollars for nonprofits like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. These groups’ growing profile correlates with a post-election spike in liberal giving, and the rise of face-to-face fundraising in the US. But despite their progressive affiliations, several groups have come under fire for abusive labor practices and a lack of financial transparency. This piece looks at two of the biggest players in the canvassing industry, the Fund for the Public Interest and Grassroots Campaigns. Both groups are headed by the same person - a man named Doug …

Prodigal Father, Robert John Exley Jr

Capstones

Prodigal Father tells the story of one man’s journey from teenage drug addiction to joining one of the most violent white supremacist gangs in the country and now, nearly 20 years after turning his life around, he is dealing with the aftermath of a lifetime of bad decisions.

Bobby Exley, a former Nazi Low, spent most of his adult life in prison or on parole battling a 20-year heroin addiction. His wife, Rhonda, stuck by his side throughout his many incarcerations while raising their eight children. The Prodigal Father, told through the eyes of namesake son, filmmaker, Robert Exley Jr., …

When Stigma Kills: Why Abortion In India Is Lethal Even Though It’S Legal, Mallory Moench

Capstones

Tanvi and Meera both went to get abortions this year, but only one survived. Even though abortions before 20 weeks have been legal since 1971, as many as three women die every day from unsafe abortions, government data shows. Half of all pregnancies in India are unwanted, resulting in more than 15 million abortions a year. Many go unreported, taking place in the shadows because of stigma. Although a new generation in India is growing more open about sexuality, getting pregnant outside of marriage can still ruin a woman’s reputation, shame her family and damage her future prospects. Even if …

“It’S A Kind Of Killing:” Afghan Refugees In Shadow Of The Eu Fear They’Re Forgotten, Kyle Mackie

Capstones

For Karimi Wahab, an Afghan refugee currently accommodated at a center for asylum seekers in Sjenica, Serbia, watching refugees from other war-torn countries get moved along into the European Union has become routine. Afghans make up nearly two thirds of Serbia’s stranded migrants and refugees. In Sjenica, it’s been more than a year since any Afghan got onto the list maintained by Hungarian immigration authorities that allows 10 migrants to enter the country from Serbia each business day. Compared to Syrians and Iraqis, Afghans have also been granted asylum less frequently across the EU, on average, every year since 2014. …

Only The Strong Live, Dewayne Gage

Capstones

This is a documentary about the life of Cadeem Gibbs. A glimpse of his past that lead him to incarceration for six years. After being released in 2013, Gibbs is dealing with the life outside of incarceration as he uses his life to inspire others and connect with the youth.

http://www.dewaynegage.com/blog/2017/1/9/filling-the-void-1

Without A Caveat: How An Ethiopian Immigrant Deconstructs Race In America, Priscilla Alabi

Capstones

The story is about how an Ethiopian immigrant, Mariya Abdulkaf is dealing with the effects of the racism she experienced while growing up in Texas. However, she is one of many women of color who continue to educate and awaken the communities to which they belong. In a social climate where, according to a study done by the Pew Research Center, 60 percent of Americans believe race relations have worsened a year into the Trump Administration; and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and others assert that women of color are “bearing the brunt of a mass of …

Super-Diversity As A Methodological Approach: Re-Centering Power And Inequality, Sofya Aptekar

Publications and Research

Super-diversity as a methodological lens calls for a study of dynamics of new and diversified social groups that moves away from more traditional approaches focused on ethnicity. In examining the potential of super-diversity as a methodological lens, I identify a risk of downplaying the effect of “old” categories of difference that are likely to continue to shape social structures as well as space. I propose a re-centering of power and inequality in the study of super-diversity by situating its study within an urban culturalist approach, with sociological tools borrowed from ethnomethodology and symbolic interactionism. This proposal is illustrated through the …

Roadblocks To The Implementation Of Problem-Oriented Policing In Montevideo, Federico Del Castillo

Student Theses

In the broad context of Uruguay’s police reform, the Ministry of Interior is implementing a pilot Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) program in Montevideo since late 2012. This research examined the obstacles confronted by the program throughout its implementation. Using a grounded theory approach, qualitative data was collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with members of the Uruguay National Police (UNP) of different ranks. Findings were analyzed based on the following categories: a) contextual factors; b) theoretical and practical inaccuracies; c) characteristics, skills and actions of project managers; d) resistance and motivational issues; e) resources; f) external support and cooperation. Consistent with research …

Multiple Perpetrator Sexual Assault: The Relationship Between The Number Of Perpetrators, Blame Attribution, And Victim Resistance, Yi Jin Genevieve Lim

Student Theses

Sexual assault has been and continues to be a prevalent public health and social problem that can lead to severe ramifications for the victim. There has been growing research on multiple perpetrator sexual assault (MPSA) and how it qualitatively differs from single assailant offenses. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating the differences between sexual assault perpetrated by duos versus three or more individuals and how it affects victim behavioral responses and blame attribution. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the perceived level of victim blame and the number of perpetrators in MPSA cases contingent on the …

Fear Of Terrorism In Armenia: Anxiety, Moral Panic And The Role Of The Media, Gurgen Balasanyan

Student Theses

In the aftermath of 9/11, terrorism has become a prominent area of research across multiple disciplines. Recent polls and surveys in the USA, Europe, and other countries directly affected by terror attacks show a substantial increase in the level of fear of terrorism. However, there is lack of research on the phenomenon in countries that do not have a recent history of terror attacks, nor are militarily involved in the global war on terror. The findings of this cross-sectional exploratory study are based on an online survey with 419 (N=419) respondents in one such terrorism-neutral country, Armenia. By applying the …

911 Dispatchers: Their Role As Evidence Collectors, Brittany P. Kassis

Student Theses

911 dispatchers are often the first point of contact after an individual is in an accident, needs emergency assistance, or witnesses a crime. In an emergency involving a crime, a dispatcher can play an important role in assisting the investigative process and collecting evidence, such as an eyewitness’ description of the suspect. While trained in how to gather situational and locational information from a caller so that relevant first responders can be notified, dispatchers may not be trained on how the specific language they use with a caller can impact the caller’s memory for the event. Thus, if dispatchers are …

Latino Voter Registration And Participation Rates In The November 2016 Presidential Election, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

The Latino electorate, citizens 18 years of age and older, has increased impressively between 1992 when it stood at approximately 8.8 million eligible voters and 2016 when there were 26.6 million eligible Latino voters. Yet, in every presidential election from 1992 through 2016 about 47% to 48% of all potential Latino voters actually went to the polls.

Methods:

These data are based on the data presented by the U.S. Census Bureau for each presidential election and accessible on the Bureau’s Voting and Registration web site at https://www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/voting/data/tables.html. The 2016 data, released on May 11, 2017 are based on samples …

Twitter And White Supremacy: A Love Story, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

Social media is a haven for hate groups, who use the instantaneous medium to organize and troll. So why do the platforms continue to protect them and not those they abuse?

The Punishment Marketplace: Competing For Capitalized Power In Locally Controlled Immigration Enforcement, Daniel L. Stageman

Publications and Research

Neoliberal economics play a significant role in US social organization, imposing market logics on public services and driving the cultural valorization of free market ideology. The neoliberal ‘project of inequality’ is upheld by an authoritarian system of punishment built around the social control of the underclass—among them unauthorized immigrants. This work lays out the theory of the punishment marketplace: a conceptualization of how US systems of punishment both enable the neoliberal project of inequality, and are themselves subject to market colonization. The theory describes the rescaling of federal authority to local centers of political power. Criminal justice policy activism by …

The Effects Of Cure Violence In The South Bronx And East New York, Brooklyn, Sheyla A. Delgado, Laila Alsabahi, Kevin T. Wolff, Nicole Marie Alexander, Patricia A. Cobar, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

New York City launched its first Cure Violence program—which uses community outreach to interrupt violence—in 2010 with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. By 2017, there were 18 programs around the city. This report examines Man Up! Inc. in East New York, Brooklyn, and Save Our Streets South Bronx. Each neighborhood was compared to another neighborhood similar in demographics and crime trends but without a Cure Violence program. There is promising evidence that Cure Violence may help to create safe and healthy communities.

Repairing Trust: Young Men In Neighborhoods With Cure Violence Programs Report Growing Confidence In Police, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado

Publications and Research

Researchers at John Jay Research and Evaluation Center found evidence to suggest the presence of Cure Violence — a place-based, public-health approach to violence reduction that relies on “outreach workers” and “violence interrupters” to prevent high-risk individuals from using violence to resolve conflicts — increases confidence in police in affected neighborhoods.

Essays On Economics Of Inequality, Aboozar Hadavand

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters all around the subject of inequality. The first chapter provides a novel analysis of the trend in income inequality in the United States between 1979--2013. There are two ways in which this chapter contributes to the literature. First, I analyze how much of the existing inequality in the U.S. is due to the demographic changes that happened over this period. Using microdata from Luxembourg Income Study and after decomposing inequality into within- and between-age group components, I find that the within-group share of overall inequality in the U.S. is high and steady compared to …

Patriarchy And Varieties Of Violence Against Women: A Contextual Analysis, Margaret Schmuhl

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Violence against women (VAW) is a widespread social problem affecting nearly two million women in the United States each year (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). In recent years, feminist criminologists have called for the ‘resurrection’ of patriarchy as a theoretical explanation of VAW women (Hunnicutt, 2009) suggesting that the prior literature’s focus on gender inequality in social institutions must be broadened to include patriarchy’s ideological element. The empirical literature on VAW mostly examines the effects of gender inequality on rape and femicide often neglecting more common forms of violence that women experience. In addition, while there are some exceptions, this literature …

Hatred Simmering In The Melting Pot: Hate Crime In New York City, 1995-2010, Colleen E. Mills

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Hate crime proves prevalent in American society, inflicting a variety of harms on victims as well as society at large. Scholars have long sought to understand the motivations and conditions behind hate crime offending. Green and his colleagues conducted the classic neighborhood studies examining the conditions that foster hate crime (Green, Glaser, & Rich, 1998; Green, Strolovich, & Wong, 1998; Green, Strolovitch, Wong, & Bailey). Using data from the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force, the current study replicates and extends Green's neighborhood studies by investigating hate crime in New York City from 1995 to 2010. This study …

Preventing Sexual Violence Where It Most Often Occurs: An Investigation Of The Situational And Structural Components Of Child Sexual Abuse In Residential Settings, Nicole Colombino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Given that sex offenders tend to perpetrate crimes against people they know (e.g., Greenfield, 1997) and first encounter victims in residential locations (Colombino, Mercado, Levenson, & Jeglic, 2011), it is important that research examine the circumstances of sexual offenses within residential settings. Although previous research has examined the perpetration patterns of sexual offenses against children, especially related to grooming tactics (e.g., Conte, Wolf, & Smith, 1989) and situational factors (e.g., Wortley & Smallbone, 2006), there are few studies that specifically examine the correlates of child sexual abuse within residential settings. This type of data would allow for the development of …

Selfie-Takers Prefer Left Cheeks: Converging Evidence From The (Extended) Selfiecity Database, Lev Manovich, Vera Ferrari, Nicola Bruno

Publications and Research

According to previous reports, selfie takers in widely different cultural contexts prefer poses showing the left cheek more than the right cheek. This posing bias may be interpreted as evidence for a right-hemispheric specialization for the expression of facial emotions. However, earlier studies analyzed selfie poses as categorized by human raters, which raises methodological issues in relation to the distinction between frontal and three-quarter poses. Here, we provide converging evidence by analyzing the (extended) selfiecity database which includes automatic assessments of head rotation and of emotional expression. We confirm a culture- and sex-independent left-cheek bias and report stronger expression of …

Gender Differences In The Leadership Styles Of Mpa Directors, Meghna Sabharwal, Helisse Levine, Maria J. D’Agostino

Publications and Research

A growing body of literature has documented leadership styles by gender. This study examines if directors of Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration exhibit gender differences in leadership styles. Such differences may affect the implementation of public administration and how effective MPA directors are in achieving positive outcomes. Using a mixed methods approach—specifically, exploratory sequential design utilizing qualitative data and analysis, followed by a quantitative survey—we find that there are some gendered differences among public administration directors. In particular, we find that women directors are significantly more likely …

Genealogy Of The Concept Of "Hate Crime": The Cultural Implications Of Legal Innovation And Social Change, Roslyn Myers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The term "hate crime" is new to legislative and public discourse, as well as legal and social science scholarship. A decade after the concept of a "hate crime" was introduced in Congress, the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), to punish criminal actors who target victims because of their characteristics (race, color ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, gender, gender identity, or disability). Using relevant archival sources, this project uses genealogical qualitative methods to examine the interplay of cultural elements manifested in this provocative term, which reflect dominance and subjugation among social groups (In- and Out-Groups) …

Mapping How Culture In New York City And London Influences Respectively The Iconic Fashion Brands Of Kors And Mcqueen: A Case Study, Carol Brathwaite

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis is an explanatory case study that applies geographic information systems (GIS) data, biographical data, and other secondary data. It includes mainly qualitative data collection and analysis; furthermore, the study examines quantitative data on the cultural events offered within each city. Overall, this case study adopts a theoretical perspective. The two individual cases (based on a multiple, holistic case-study design framework) of fashion culture in New York City and London, as per Michael Kors and Alexander McQueen respectively, represent ‘confirmatory cases or presumed replications of the same phenomenon’ (Yin 2014:59). Each describes the house’s fashion aesthetics as well as …

The Politics Of Shorter Hours And Corporate-Centered Society: A History Of Work-Time Regulation In The United States And Japan, Keisuke Jinno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Shorter working hours drew much attention as a means of fighting unemployment and crisis in capitalism during the first half of the twentieth century. Nowadays, shorter work-time is rarely considered a policy option to fix economic or social issues in the United States and Japan. This dissertation presents a history of work-time regulation in the United States and Japan to examine how and why its developments and stalemate took place.

In the big picture, developments of work-time regulation during the first half of the twentieth century were a part of concessional modifications of class relations, a common phenomenon in many …

The Queer Allure Of Digital Sociality, Benjamin Parrish Haber

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the resonance between queer sociality and emergent forms of digital communication. Drawing from queer theory and LGBTQ social histories, this dissertation charts the convergence of digital social modulation with the polyvalence, promiscuity, and mutability of queer sociality. A close analysis of the infrastructure and design of Facebook, Snapchat, Grindr, and other queered social media platforms demonstrates how digital capitalism’s desire for lifelong compulsive engagement is in part facilitated by an appropriation of the ongoingness of queer sexuality and relationality. In highlighting the key role of temporality, aesthetic, and affect in regulating the creation and circulation of digital …

Desisting In Prison: Myth And The Council For Unity Model, Kevin Moran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a qualitative examination of aspects of the desistance process among incarcerated men in both prison and jail. Data collection for this project occurred in and around the correctional version of the Council For Unity program, which is also examined in this write up. The premise of this project is that a minority of men do desist whilst incarcerated and thus the research presented here analyzes how prisoners act towards their attempts to desist from crime in terms of the meaning this process has for them, their interaction with others during this process, and the interpretative progression by …