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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Matters Of Measurement: Investigating The Universal Welfare State, Kaitlin Pauline Wannamaker Aug 2023

Matters Of Measurement: Investigating The Universal Welfare State, Kaitlin Pauline Wannamaker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This master’s thesis investigates the mechanisms leading to the development of robust and generous welfare states, focusing on the ongoing debate around targeting versus universalism in welfare state studies. By leveraging multiple welfare state datasets and expanding the scope of welfare outcomes using cross-national time-series analyses, it uncovers the pivotal role that measurement plays in understanding universalism's effects. This research unveils substantial variations in outcomes based on the universalism measures used, thus highlighting how our perception of the welfare state is deeply entwined with our methodological choices. The findings of this study not only carve new paths in the field …

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Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development: A Theoretical Reflection On Applied Work, Darcy A. Ayers Aug 2023

Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development: A Theoretical Reflection On Applied Work, Darcy A. Ayers

Masters Theses

This capstone is a “theoretically and experientially informed report” of the work I began as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in August 2021 and now do as Program Director for SEEED (Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development), a small Black-led nonprofit working to address racialized generational poverty in the communities of East Knoxville. The report serves as a record and reflection of my experience doing front-line anti-poverty work, primarily directing the flagship Career Readiness Program (CRP). I begin this report with a short recounting of the history of Knoxville’s urban development through a Black geographies lens and continue with a review of …

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Addressing Health Crises Through Courts? Climate Litigation In Latin America, The Right To Health And Vulnerable Populations, Thalia Viveros Uehara Aug 2023

Addressing Health Crises Through Courts? Climate Litigation In Latin America, The Right To Health And Vulnerable Populations, Thalia Viveros Uehara

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

As Latin America faces increasing climate-related health crises that disproportionately affect populations experiencing poverty and social exclusion, it becomes increasingly urgent to realize the most vulnerable's right to health. While the region's new constitutionalism (NLAC) has made progress in protecting this right, it has only recently begun to intersect with climate change law through rights-based climate litigation. This dissertation takes a transdisciplinary multi-methods research approach to answer the following question: How do health crises emerge within, and how are they addressed by courts through, domestic climate litigation in Latin America? Specifically, it examines how health concerns for vulnerable populations are …

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Does Family Size Moderate The Relation Between Resource Transfers And Intimate Partner Violence Rates?, Paul Gramling May 2023

Does Family Size Moderate The Relation Between Resource Transfers And Intimate Partner Violence Rates?, Paul Gramling

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to physical, sexual, or psychological abuse within an intimate relationship. It is a global issue, particularly for women in developing countries where data show higher rates of IPV for these women than in developed countries. IPV can lead to physical harm, chronic health problems, and even death. It also has negative effects on mental health, economic stability, and the overall well-being of the woman and their children. Family size has been shown to be a predictor of IPV risk; women from larger families face a higher risk. Cash transfer programs in developing countries have been …

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Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez May 2023

Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Everyone’s Harvest (EH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates farmers’ markets. In order to reduce hunger in Monterey County, Everyone's Harvest offers several food assistance programs for low-income people including the Market Match (MM) incentive program which matches CalFresh money, modern day food stamps, dollar for dollar. The problem is that in Monterey County 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 3 children are food insecure. The purpose of the Food Navigator (FN) at EH is to engage with the local community and connect low-income people with food assistance resources, primarily the MM program. This project was a role development …

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Strengths-Based African Leadership Training: A Comprehensive Guide For Empowering Grassroots Communities, Henry Gwani Feb 2023

Strengths-Based African Leadership Training: A Comprehensive Guide For Empowering Grassroots Communities, Henry Gwani

Doctor of Leadership

This project portfolio addresses the following need, problem or opportunity (NPO): Hopelessness within African low-income communities highlights the need for equipping local agents with a Christian gospel that integrates discipleship with leadership development, vocational training, mental health and asset-based community development if we wish to see Shalom. Several insights emerged from this research. First, to foster holistic transformation within low-income communities, it is imperative for discipleship to include basic mental health and practical interventions such as vocational training. Second, each community, regardless of how impoverished, is blessed with assets (skills, experiences and relationships), that need to be leveraged for the …

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The Future Of Universal Basic Income: The Impact Of Organizational Strategies On Alleviating Poverty And Maximizing Outcomes, Anna Mathews Dec 2022

The Future Of Universal Basic Income: The Impact Of Organizational Strategies On Alleviating Poverty And Maximizing Outcomes, Anna Mathews

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Universal basic income is gaining traction, with pilot programs being conducted all over the world. These programs are all organized differently, from their sources of funding to their eligibility criteria. This research draws correlations between organizational strategies of UBI programs and the outcomes their recipients experience. Specifically, it analyzes three contemporary UBI programs within the United States: the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (APFD), and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians per capita payments (EBCI). The research assesses the physical health, mental health, and economic outcomes of the participants in each case study, in order to …

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Examining The Effects Of Family Stress And Family Strengths On The Quality Of Mother-Child Relationships In Married And Unmarried Black Families, Deonte Hughes Aug 2022

Examining The Effects Of Family Stress And Family Strengths On The Quality Of Mother-Child Relationships In Married And Unmarried Black Families, Deonte Hughes

Masters Theses

Mother-child relationships are complex, diverse, and change in response to internal and external factors that affect families and family life. For instance, Black children are more likely to live in households with unmarried parents. Even more, Black families are disproportionately more likely to be in poverty than the general population. Research on Black families tends to center association between family structure and poverty as mechanisms affecting mother-child relationships. There is little research on the role of economic hardship on familial relationships in Black families. Additionally, there is little research on the role of family strengths on familial relationships in Black …

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The Effects Of Poverty On Students' Mental Well-Being, Esther P. Nyagwencha-Nyamweya Jan 2022

The Effects Of Poverty On Students' Mental Well-Being, Esther P. Nyagwencha-Nyamweya

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Poverty is a global problem that has impacted the mental well-being of students. Research shows that in the US, one out of five children under the age of 18 live in poverty. This literature review sought to determine the effects of poverty on students’ mental well-being. Researchers have done in depth studies on poverty and their findings illustrated a close connection between poverty and an increase in mental health risks. Children born in poverty experience the effects of poverty early in life which affects their physical, behavioral, and developmental health. The gap between children from low economic status and those …

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Purpose Built Communities: A Concentrated Urban Poverty Intervention, Shannon R. Bergman Jan 2022

Purpose Built Communities: A Concentrated Urban Poverty Intervention, Shannon R. Bergman

Theses and Dissertations

This collective case study research evaluated how the concentrated urban poverty revitalization model administered by Purpose Built Communities (PBC) works to mitigate or eliminate intergenerational poverty and create thriving neighborhoods. There are 5 elements to the PBC revitalization model: (a) mixed-income housing, (b) a cradle-to-college educational accountability system, (c) focus on community health, (d) a tightly defined geographic neighborhood, and (e) the assignment of a Community Quarterback (CQ). This research demonstrated iterative improvements in the socioeconomic well-being of adults and children from the inception of the revitalized community. This was evaluated by adult employment rates, childhood educational achievement, and health …

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Journeyman International: Dwell Being Jonestown, Mississippi, Autumn Wagner Jun 2021

Journeyman International: Dwell Being Jonestown, Mississippi, Autumn Wagner

Architectural Engineering

Journeyman International is a non-profit organization that works with countries all over the world to support humanitarian projects by pairing clients with design professionals and volunteers to oversee the design and construction of projects. This specific project partners with Third Lens Ministries and But God Ministries, two organizations that are hoping to empower the community in Jonestown, Mississippi. Dwell Being promotes sustainability and affordable housing in a new housing community in Jonestown that is designed for healthy living and community interaction. Jonestown is a very small 0.4 square acre town that has roots in systemic racism and oppression. A once …

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An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos May 2021

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

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Can Small-Scale Poultry Initiatives Alleviate Food Insecurity And Increase Empowerment For Women In Economically Disadvantaged Areas?, Patrick Daniels May 2021

Can Small-Scale Poultry Initiatives Alleviate Food Insecurity And Increase Empowerment For Women In Economically Disadvantaged Areas?, Patrick Daniels

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the summer of 2019, I, along with 8 other students from the University of Arkansas departed the United States for the Central American country of Belize. Despite our limited knowledge of what Belize held in store for us, we were enthusiastic about the coming months. While we had different projects, we all set out with the same universal question in mind. How can we use the knowledge we have gained through education to make a positive impact on the lives of people living in an impoverished town? Some of the members of our team worked alongside local businesses to …

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Compassion Fatigue And Intersectionality In Human Service Practitioners: Latina Low-Wage-Earners Fighting Poverty, Marlo Greponne Jan 2021

Compassion Fatigue And Intersectionality In Human Service Practitioners: Latina Low-Wage-Earners Fighting Poverty, Marlo Greponne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma among professionals are well-documented within clinical settings. Human service practitioners working directly with people experiencing poverty and trauma, hunger, homelessness, victimization, and depression are considered at risk of experiencing compassion fatigue. Latina low-wage-earners may suffer compassion fatigue when handling cases mirroring their personal experiences with poverty. The purpose of this descriptive single case study was to explore marginalized workers’ experiences with compassion fatigue using intersectionality to understand what Latina low-wage-earning human service practitioners’ experiences with compassion fatigue were and what coping strategies they developed while serving people experiencing poverty. An intersectional approach …

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There Must Be Something In The Water: A Comparative Study Of Ground Water Contamination In The U.S.A. And Canada, Kathleen Spooner Jun 2020

There Must Be Something In The Water: A Comparative Study Of Ground Water Contamination In The U.S.A. And Canada, Kathleen Spooner

Honors Theses

The regions of Nova Scotia and New Hampshire are naturally susceptible to arsenic water contamination due to their geological makeup. These locations are relatively rural, with many of their citizens reporting low incomes and lacking education, the majority of which are unaware of the risk of arsenic poisoning. There is also a high dependency on private wells which are not regulated in terms of water quality under federal law in both countries. Arsenic water pollution is undetectable as it is both odorless and tasteless and potentially very dangerous, and therefore water testing must be performed on wells, which is currently …

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Health Care Access For Children In Latinx Immigrant Families In The Greater Philadelphia Area, Sophia King May 2020

Health Care Access For Children In Latinx Immigrant Families In The Greater Philadelphia Area, Sophia King

Politics Honors Papers

This work examines the gap that exists in access to health care in the Greater Philadelphia Region for children of Latinx immigrant families in comparison to other children in the nation. It provides a critical analysis of the gap in access to coverage, noting that this exists despite wide support for a human right to health. This study draws on existing scholarly research as well as interviews with staff at two health clinics and one community outreach center that are located in Greater Philadelphia. It demonstrates that Latinx immigrant families are less likely to have health insurance and get primary …

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Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, And Action, Joseph W. Johnson Jan 2020

Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, And Action, Joseph W. Johnson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In small-town rural America, we do not tend to see poverty. Poverty is relatively invisible, especially among our youth and children. Invisible Poverty explores the issues, challenges, stereotypes, and causes of small-town rural poverty while presenting possible solutions. Drawing from Alvin Luedke, Craig Van Gelder, Alan Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Cynthia Duncan, and Shannon Jung, Invisible Poverty presents a missional theology of accompaniment seeking justice and avoiding shame. In an effort to understand the complexity of rural poverty, Invisible Poverty asks; How might Action Research interventions affect awareness, attitudes, and actions of the congregation concerning the issues of poverty?

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Understanding The Role Of Art Programming In Mitigating Social Exclusion As Experienced By People Experiencing Poverty, Emmalee Harper Jan 2020

Understanding The Role Of Art Programming In Mitigating Social Exclusion As Experienced By People Experiencing Poverty, Emmalee Harper

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Inspired by her own work in the art programs in Denver’s own The Gathering Place, the author explores the role that art programs play in the lives of people experiencing poverty. This interdisciplinary thesis challenges our traditional notions of poverty-alleviation services that would construe art programming as a misappropriation of limited resources. The author explores social isolation and social exclusion in the lives of people experiencing poverty through the broad framework of intersectionality. Art programming is offered as one potential way we could navigate intersectional concerns of exclusion, and this programming is explored through the framework of Relational-Cultural Theory. Art …

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The Weaponization Of Poverty: An Investigation Into United States Military Recruitment Practices In High Schools Of Low-Income Communities In The Inland Empire, Michael Springer-Gould Jan 2020

The Weaponization Of Poverty: An Investigation Into United States Military Recruitment Practices In High Schools Of Low-Income Communities In The Inland Empire, Michael Springer-Gould

Pitzer Senior Theses

Military recruitment in the United States is a highly contentious subject that has yielded a multitude of prior research across a variety of academic concentrations. To further the conversation, I narrow my focus to Southern California’s Inland Empire (IE) to explore practices of military recruitment in high schools that serve students in low-income communities. I begin with a general overview of life and labor in the Inland Empire before moving into prior research on military recruitment. My empirical research consists of five in-depth interviews documenting the lived experiences of individuals hailing from and attending high school in low-income communities of …

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An Intersectional Analysis Of The Role Race And Gender Play In Welfare Recipients’ And Case Manager Experiences, Stephanie Baran Dec 2019

An Intersectional Analysis Of The Role Race And Gender Play In Welfare Recipients’ And Case Manager Experiences, Stephanie Baran

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of food insecurity in Milwaukee and how people receiving benefit assistance understand themselves, others and how they thought others understand them. This frame was duplicated for social workers and poverty organizations in the Milwaukee area. Using a series of theoretical viewpoints, the study utilizes racial theories, as well as, symbolic violence and annihilation to discuss how various aspects of recipients, social workers and poverty organizations interact within the theoretical margins. Taking place over one and a half years and including 350 observation hours at a local food pantry, the study found that respondents feel …

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Residential Mobility And The Underclass: Impact Of Moving In The 'Hood, Michael A. Hollingsworth Jul 2019

Residential Mobility And The Underclass: Impact Of Moving In The 'Hood, Michael A. Hollingsworth

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Studies of residential mobility amongst disadvantaged populations and juveniles in particular have attracted a great deal of attention with projects such as the Moving to Opportunity Study and policies aimed at reducing concentrated disadvantage by providing alternative housing assistance to low-income families. The results of these studies, however, have been inconclusive and have often not concentrated on the effects of this mobility on a broad spectrum of delinquent behaviors. Previous studies have found that residential mobility negatively affects juveniles, while other studies find that there is little effect after controlling for a wide variety of variables with scant theoretical considerations …

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A Silver Lining: The Role Of Optimism In Overcoming Poverty In Early Life, Mary Brimmer May 2019

A Silver Lining: The Role Of Optimism In Overcoming Poverty In Early Life, Mary Brimmer

Sociology Senior Seminar Papers

Who is able to overcome adversity and experience upward mobility? Using cumulative inequality theory, which posits that the disadvantage or advantage associated with one’s social location impacts life trajectory and perceptions of such, I propose that level of optimistic outlook in individuals from low-income backgrounds increases their chances of financial success in adulthood. Analyzing data from the 2016 General Social Survey, a nationally representative survey administered to randomly sampled adults in the U.S., I examine a subset of 1,269 individuals from backgrounds of far below average or below average family income levels. In doing so, I determine how optimistic attitudes, …

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A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Exploration Of A Sense Of Safety In Three-Generation Low-Income Families, Kaitlin Brigid Mulcahy May 2019

A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Exploration Of A Sense Of Safety In Three-Generation Low-Income Families, Kaitlin Brigid Mulcahy

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Despite a wide body of literature that suggests safety as critical to human development and individual well-being (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Bowlby, 1969; Fosha, Siegel & Solomon, 2009; Marvin, Cooper, Hoffman & Powell, 2002; Porges, 2011; Tronick, 2007), a comprehensive review of the literature found a paucity of research that addresses the phenomenon of a sense of safety within family units. This study sought to fill this gap through an entirely strengths-based design that made use of post-intentional phenomenological methods and arts-based analysis. The research question that guided this study was: How is the phenomenon of a sense …

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Mn Food (In)Security: Are Anti-Hunger Interventions In The Twin Cities Perpetuating Food Insecurity And Poverty?, Emma Kiley Jan 2019

Mn Food (In)Security: Are Anti-Hunger Interventions In The Twin Cities Perpetuating Food Insecurity And Poverty?, Emma Kiley

Departmental Honors Projects

While anti-hunger organizations across the nation have been doing important work to address this issue, we have yet to see a significant decrease in food insecurity or poverty. This project uses a literature review and interviews with Twin Cities anti-hunger organizations to answer the following questions: How are anti-hunger interventions and the root causes of food insecurity mismatched? And what would it look like if anti-hunger organizations who are heavily engaged in the ‘feeding movement’ shifted their understanding to see food insecurity as a symptom of poverty, rather than an isolated issue? Working through themes of food charity models, privatized …

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Strategies For Increasing Self-Efficacy In Long-Term Welfare Recipients, Crystal Mcclure Jan 2019

Strategies For Increasing Self-Efficacy In Long-Term Welfare Recipients, Crystal Mcclure

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the imposition of lifetime limitations on an individual's ability to receive cash assistance, there is a group of long-term Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients that have approached the lifetime limitation without becoming gainfully employed. Many long term TANF recipients report low levels of self-efficacy which inhibits their ability to successfully transition off welfare and into the workforce. However, most welfare-to-work programs do not address the emotional or psychological well-being of their clients, instead they focus on job placement and job readiness skills. The purpose of this sequential–exploratory mixed methods study is to identify the primary barriers to …

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Dropout Or Delinquent: An Ecological Analysis Of High School Attrition Rates In Correlation To Criminal Behavior, Mallory Kiley Jun 2018

Dropout Or Delinquent: An Ecological Analysis Of High School Attrition Rates In Correlation To Criminal Behavior, Mallory Kiley

Honors Theses

The high school student attrition rate in the United States is unexpectedly high. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate a correlation between high school non-completion and criminal arrest rates in order to establish the importance of improving the public school system in the country. I analyze dropout rates, crime rates, and demographic differences through an ecological study of the United States. States with high dropout rates also have high overall arrest rates, families living in poverty, and are more religious. These factors are particularly present across the Southeast United States as well as the Southwest, particularly those with …

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Poverty Through Simulation: Examining Concerns With Affordable Housing In Relation To The Cycle Of Poverty, Emily Mccaffrey Apr 2018

Poverty Through Simulation: Examining Concerns With Affordable Housing In Relation To The Cycle Of Poverty, Emily Mccaffrey

Community Engagement Student Work

This social justice-based project used evaluated the level of understanding that students of Endicott College had regarding poverty within the United States. This project provided a space for students to communicate with each other using discussion questions about poverty to guide the conversations. All students were given the chance to participate in an online simulation during class that provided them with an opportunity to live in someone else's shoes for thirty days, after losing their housing. This project was conducted with one traditional class setting while the other was conducted completely online using an online platform provided by Endicott. The …

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Incarceration Rates And Single Motherhood, Ethan Zurbrugg, Colt Hall Jan 2018

Incarceration Rates And Single Motherhood, Ethan Zurbrugg, Colt Hall

Student Scholarship - College of Business

Traditionally, the family unit consists of a mother, a father, and one or more children. There are many instances throughout the United States where this traditional family structure is not found. One of these situations, the single motherhood situation, occurs when a father figure is absent and the mother has to provide for her children on her own. Could the lack of a father figure in a child’s life cause them to be more likely to break the law and become incarcerated? Is there a causation between a state’s single motherhood rate and their incarceration rate, or are the two …

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Beyond The Reach Of The Safety Net: The Geography Of Social Service Provision In The Context Of Suburban Poverty, Christine Breit Jan 2018

Beyond The Reach Of The Safety Net: The Geography Of Social Service Provision In The Context Of Suburban Poverty, Christine Breit

Master's Theses

Poverty rates have risen across the United States since 2000, but the fastest growth in poverty is occurring in the suburbs (Berube and Kneebone 2013). Today, more poor people live in suburbs than cities (Berube and Kneebone 2013). Parallel to this increase in suburban poverty has been federal retrenchment in cash assistance in exchange for service-based assistance (Allard 2004). By and large, the federal government administers social service funds to state governments who then allocate the money to nonprofit entities. This reliance upon local providers creates an uneven patchwork of care (Peck 2008; Allard 2009; Berube and Kneebone 2013) as …

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Cumulative Disadvantage, Poverty, And The Role Of Community Capitals: A Spatial Analysis Of Uneven Development In The Multi-State Delta Region, Katrina Danielle Alford Jan 2018

Cumulative Disadvantage, Poverty, And The Role Of Community Capitals: A Spatial Analysis Of Uneven Development In The Multi-State Delta Region, Katrina Danielle Alford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding space and how space impacts uneven development is crucial when examining inequalities within sociology. Uneven development perpetuates the segregation of space, highlighting disparities in power and inequalities that are rooted in spatial design and relations. Characteristics like geographic location and history have long-term influences on development, yet are not able to be easily changed within a community. Historical events have helped shape the successes and failures of communities, creating a "path dependence" that goes beyond any one individual's control. There are, however, locally-modifiable characteristics of people in spaces, such as human and social capital. These community capitals can be …

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