Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Improving Law Enforcement’S Victim-Centric Responses To Sexual Assault: Global Best Practice Catalog, Ayesha Ashraf, Sebastián Galleguillos Agurto, Frederick Geyer, Kamela Gjoka, Jasmine Hwang, Stanley Montinat, Jessica Moor, Pierre Reyes, Tara Ventimiglia, Hongda Xu

Publications and Research

This catalog was compiled as part of a U.S. State Department Diplomacy Lab Project entitled “Improving Law Enforcement’s Victim-Centric Responses to Sexual Assault,” in fall semester of 2019, for American Citizens Services, US Embassy Bangkok. It is intended to cover best practices in law enforcement response to sexual assault across the globe, including laws, policies and programs.Ten multilingual graduate students in the capstone seminar of the Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) established criteria for inclusion and standardized elements for each entry in this catalog. The ultimate aim …

Community-Based Responses To Negative Health Impacts Of Sexual Humanitarian Anti-Trafficking Policies And The Criminalization Of Sex Work And Migration In The Us, Heidi Hoefinger, Jennifer Musto, P.G. Macioti, Anne E. Fehrenbacher, Nicola Mai, Calum Bennachie, Calogero Giametta

Publications and Research

System-involvement resulting from anti-trafficking interventions and the criminalization of sex work and migration results in negative health impacts on sex workers, migrants, and people with trafficking experiences. Due to their stigmatized status, sex workers and people with trafficking experiences often struggle to access affordable, unbiased, and supportive health care. This paper will use thematic analysis of qualitative data from in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with 50 migrant sex workers and trafficked persons, as well as 20 key informants from legal and social services, in New York and Los Angeles. It will highlight the work of trans-specific and sex worker-led initiatives …

Say You Want A Renovation: Using Instagram To Document A Library Renovation At Lehman College, John Delooper, Michelle Ehrenpreis

Urban Library Journal

This paper discusses how the Leonard Lief Library at Lehman College is documenting its renovation via the social media platform Instagram. It discusses the origin of project, why we chose Instagram and how we chose to highlight that social media platform on our Library’s web page. We explain what choices we have made and what strategies we chose to effectively document the renovation. We also discuss the challenges we have encountered, and how we overcame those challenges to reach student audiences in new and engaging ways.

Say You Want A Renovation: Using Instagram To Document A Library Renovation At Lehman College, John P. Delooper, Michelle Ehrenpreis

Publications and Research

This paper discusses how the Leonard Lief Library at Lehman College is documenting its renovation via the social media platform Instagram. It discusses the origin of project, why we chose Instagram and how we chose to highlight that social media platform on our Library’s web page. We explain what choices we have made and what strategies we chose to effectively document the renovation. We also discuss the challenges we have encountered, and how we overcame those challenges to reach student audiences in new and engaging ways.

Twitter Use By Academic Libraries In New York State, Sheena Philogene

Urban Library Journal

Twitter can be a productive tool for academic libraries to use when sharing information, marketing services, and building relationships with students, yet it is difficult to know whether academic libraries are utilizing this platform by creating an independent library account. Furthermore, if academic libraries do have accounts, it is valuable to understand what academic libraries use Twitter for, and what kinds of media they share. The purpose of this study then is to investigate whether academic libraries in New York State (NYS) use Twitter, and if they do, how and why. Based on a sample of 226 academic libraries of …

The Free Education Project: Higher Education Funding, E2 Implementation, And Crowdsourcing Crypto Development, Louis Carter, John R. Ziegler, Ovidui Purice, Edward Lehner Ph.D.

Publications and Research

This short paper, written in three different sections, explores how a cryptocurrency’s issuance and network effects could fund higher education. Synthesizing research from the Bronx Community College Cryptocurrency Research Lab, Bernard Lietaer’s notion of creating money for the needs of society, lessons learned by Galia Benartzi and the Hearts Project, and an exploration of how communities coalesce around open-source cryptocurrency projects, the authors provide an overview of the problem of funding higher education, the ways in which money that is needed could be created, and the key components to building a highly effective developer community. These three distinct yet vitally …

The Heritage Of The Spanish Antilles, Daniel Nieves

Open Educational Resources

This course seeks to explore the heritage of the Spanish Caribbean—primarily Cuba, Dominican Republic/Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. We will place particular emphasis on the historical, cultural and ethnic forces that have shaped the character of the people of these islands. As well we will explore the variety of societies and cultures of the Spanish Caribbean in their historical and contemporary setting up to and including the (im)migration experience of Spanish Caribbean people to urban North America.

The Promise Of Happy Cows: How American Milk Brands Persuade Consumers Regarding Farm Animal Welfare Conditions And How Consumers Respond To Incidents Of Being Misled, Chelsea Newson

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how American dairy companies employ language and imagery in brand communications (marketing, advertising, and public relations) to persuade consumers regarding farm animal welfare (FAW) conditions on supplier farms, and to examine how consumers respond in instances in which conditions on supplier farms are shown to be counter to what is depicted in brand communications. In other words, it examines how the dairy industry communicates its FAW-related values and promises to consumers and investigates consumer tolerance for being misled regarding FAW conditions. This project is thus intended as an exploration of the intersection …

Editorial: Fostering Creative Organizations: Antecedents, Processes, And Consequences Of Individual And Team Creativity, Sujin Lee, Mary C. Kern, Sukanlaya Sawang

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Heterogeneity And Change In The Urban Structure Of Metropolitan Areas In The United States, 1990–2010, Stefan Leyk, Deborah Balk, Bryan Jones, Mark R. Montgomery, Hasim Engin

Publications and Research

While the population of the United States has been predominantly urban for nearly 100 years, periodic transformations of the concepts and measures that define urban places and population have taken place, complicating over-time comparisons. We compare and combine data series of officially-designated urban areas, 1990–2010, at the census block-level within Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with a satellite-derived consistent series on built-up area from the Global Human Settlement Layer to create urban classes that characterize urban structure and provide estimates of land and population. We find considerable heterogeneity in urban form across MSAs, even among those of similar population size, indicating …

A Shot At Freedom: The Story Of Lance Sessoms, Trone L. Dowd, Rosemary Misdary

Capstones

Lance Sessoms has served 32 years in prison for a crime he committed. He has spent the entirety of his long term sentence turning his life around and helping any and everyone that he's crossed paths with. Now, Sessoms is hoping a life of servitude and being a model incarcerated person will afford him a second chance at life and with his family.


https://medium.com/@tljdowd/a-shot-at-freedom-the-story-of-lance-sessoms-d3f190e0b81a

Getting Out: Bruce Bryant’S Climb To Redemption Inside Prison, Rachel M. Rippetoe, Sean Sanders-Mills

Capstones

Bruce Bryant, 50, was convicted of the murder of 11-year-old Travis Lilley in June 1996. Bryant maintains he never fired a weapon that day in 1993. But he recognizes that his lifestyle as a young person — he started dealing drugs when he was 14 — contributed to an environment in which a stray bullet could take a young life. And for that reason, he’s spent most of his 25 years in prison working to help young people.

With at least 12 more years on his sentence, Bryant is now asking the governor for early release, with the hope that …

Aging Intimately, Niamh Mcdonnell, Giulia Hjort

Capstones

We’re both familiar with grief after the loss of family members over 75. This project is our way of giving back in a small way by listening, but also as a way of remembering the people we unexpectedly lost. Each person we’ve met on this journey has inspired us in their own way, with their stories of resilience through grief and aging. All of our collaborators on this project are constantly learning, taking risks, and moving forward through loss and pain. They aren’t defined by their age. Rather, they embrace it with a willingness to reinvent their approach to romance …

Latinx Millennials Won’T Surrender To Tech-Industry Bias, Josefina F. Bruni

Capstones

Organizations like Techqueria, which seek to improve the odds of Latinx in the tech labor market, have been popping up since 2014 among minorities and other marginalized social groups, with names like LGTBQ in Tech, Blacks in Technology, Latinas in Tech and Lesbians Who Tech. They’re free, fluid and informal, with members constantly exchanging information and support. While they offer many opportunities for face-to-face gatherings, they are powered by social media.

Some of these collective efforts are no more than Slack workspaces. Others cross multiple platforms or even have web pages. Some have even incorporated. But all …

Coming Home: Veterans Leaving Service Face A Deadly Identity Crisis, Alexandria M. Hammond

Capstones

Many veterans are not adequately prepared for the psychological challenges they will face when leaving the military and transitioning to civilian life. Researchers, advocates and veterans themselves are beginning to realize how this "transition stress" is contributing to the high rates of veteran suicide in the United States.

Link to Capstone: http://monroehammond.com/uncategorized/coming-home-veterans-leaving-service-face-a-deadly-identity-crisis/

Rural America Faces Roadblocks In Joining The Internet Highway, Spencer C. Lee

Capstones

In the span of just a few decades, broadband – or high-speed – internet has become a standard 21st-century tool both in the workplace and at home. Yet a surprising number of rural communities in the U.S. currently lack access to speeds fast enough to complete regular household or school tasks, with some areas forced to go without wired connections altogether. The holes in internet connectivity across the country are placing barriers to career and educational growth, suppressing rural incomes and home values and causing population declines. Without faster technology, the future survival of many rural towns is at risk. …

More Than A Century After Problem Emerged, Manhole Explosions Still Injuring Dozens In New York City, Gaspard Le Dem, Gabriel Sandoval

Capstones

Since the early days of electrification, New York City has been rattled by manhole explosions –– underground blasts that injure residents, damage buildings, force evacuations, cause power outages and traffic disruptions.

Consolidated Edison, the city's largest electric provider, has for decades blamed manhole issues on bad weather and road salt that erodes underground wires. But some experts and former utility workers say lack of maintenance is at the root of the problem.

Meanwhile, city and state officials have failed to rein in the problem through weak laws and loose oversight. As a result, unsuspecting drivers and pedestrians continue to be …

219 West Editing Reel, Karina Meier

Capstones

This is a collection of broadcast pieces that I edited and either shot/produced during the fall semester for 219 West on CUNY TV. There is a total of 3 short segments and the whole January program.

Link: https://medium.com/@karimeiers/219-west-editing-reel-bdefe8944c68

Rising Seas Are Coming For The Dead, Kristen Ancillotti

Capstones

When people think of preparing for a disaster, they focus on how to safeguard homes, prevent damage to roads, and create efficient flood drainage. But as sea levels rise, it’s not only the living that are affected. Coastal cemeteries are washing away or slowly turning into marshland, and in some instances, caskets can be seen floating in the streets after storms. Projections from NOAA indicate that the global mean sea level is likely to rise at least 12 inches by 2100, and in a worst case scenario in which greenhouse gas emissions are at their highest, as high as 8.2 …

Among America’S Oldest, Opioid Overdoses Are On The Rise, Emma Davis

Capstones

Often overlooked in coverage of the opioid crisis, American seniors have experienced a dramatic increase in addiction in the last two decades. Drug overdoses in adults ages 55-64 have risen six-fold since 1999, according to the Center for Disease Control, and emergency visits due to opioid misuse tripled among those over 65 from 2006-2014, a study from Towson University found. This print and video piece investigates how heroin and prescription opioid use among older adults in New York City has contributed to the overdose rate; the consequences of opioid restrictions for geriatric pain patients; and the treatment options for seniors …

Minimizing The Dangers Of Air Pollution Using Alternative Facts: A Science Museum Case Study, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

A science museum exhibition about human health contains an exhibit that minimizes health impacts of air pollution. Relevant details, such as the full range of health risks; fossil fuel combustion; air quality statutes (and the local electrical utility’s violations of these statues), are omitted, while end users of electricity are blamed. The exhibit accomplishes this, not through outright falsification, but through selected “alternative facts” that change the focus and imply misleading alternate explanations. Using two classical rhetorical concepts (the practical syllogism and the enthymeme) allows for the surfacing of missing evidence and unstated directives underlying multimodal rhetoric. By stating multimedia …

Acceptability Of A Vaginal Ring To Prevent Hiv And Pregnancy: Integrating Multiple Qualitative Methods, Dana Watnick

Dissertations and Theses

Heterosexual vaginal sex can simultaneously put women at risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, disproportionately impacting poor women around the world. Both unintended pregnancy and HIV are persistent public health concerns associated with negative outcomes for mothers, families and communities. The current mix of prevention tools available to women to protect against unintended pregnancy and HIV is limited. Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTs) are innovative products that simultaneously offer protection against pregnancy and HIV. However, MPTs will only be effective in reducing unintended pregnancy and incident HIV if women are willing to use them. With an …

Opinions And Perceptions Of Residents In New York City Public Housing. Map Evaluation Update Number 4., Sheyla A. Delgado, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gina Moreno

Publications and Research

This is the fourth of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice collaborated with survey specialists from NORC at the University of Chicago to collect data from two probability samples of residents in public housing developments in New York City. This first iteration of collecting survey responses will be compared to the next wave of response to get an understanding of the effectiveness of …

The Impact Of Callous-Unemotional Traits And Externalizing Tendencies On Neural Responsivity To Reward And Punishment In Healthy Adolescents, Yonglin Huang, Tingting Wu, Yu Gao, Yuyang Luo, Ziyan Wu, Shawn Fagan, Stephanie Leung, Xiaobo Li

Publications and Research

Both externalizing behavior and callous-unemotional (CU) traits in youth are precursors to later criminal offending in adulthood. It is posited that disruptions in reward and punishment processes may engender problematic behavior, such that CU traits and externalizing behavior may be linked to a dominant reward response style (e.g., heightened responsivity to rewards) and deficient punishment-processing. However, prior research has generated mixed findings and work examining both the sole and joint contribution of CU traits and externalizing problems related to functional brain alterations is lacking. In this pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we measured externalizing behavior and CU traits in …

Feeding The Future Meat Doesn’T Come Cheap, Lukas C. Southard

Capstones

Cultured – or as it is referred to by companies innovating the technology clean – meat is expected to be the next innovation to change the way the world gets its animal protein. Meat from animal cells grown in a lab seems like science fiction but it is around the corner from hitting your supermarket shelves. The technology has been developed but how these companies intend on scaling up their production to meet retail demands remains a mystery. So far companies have relied on seed and early stage investment from venture capital companies and private sources to fund research. Predictions …

Using Engagement Journalism To Serve The Needs Of Caregivers Of People With Autism, Ariam Alula

Capstones

I’m Ariam. I worked with a diverse group of families who are intimately impacted by the autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities through caring for a loved one with the diagnosis. During the program, I used my journalism education, advocacy work, and interpersonal skills to support the emotional and informational needs of the community. The majority of the caretakers I engaged over the duration of the program reside in the Bronx, my home borough. I chose to focus on the lived experiences of people in this community because they represent my own. I have an older brother on the spectrum …

Boys Will Be, Victoria Hoffman

Capstones

SocialJ Presentation

SocialJ Report

Not Manly Enough: Femmephobia’S Stinging Impact On The Transmasculine Community, Tat Bellamy - Walker

Capstones

My capstone project is about femmephobia in the transmasculine community. In interviews with at least six trans men and non-binary people, they explained the struggles they faced accessing health care and the discrimination they faced within their families for having a femme gender presentation. In the story, I speak to Rhea Hoskin, one of the leading researchers on femmephobia in Canada who details why this issue is harmful to the transmasculine community. Additionally, the director of the National Center for Transgender Equality talks about how femmephobia can rear its head and contribute to suicidality and depression in the transmasculine community. …

New York State's Landfill Problem, Olivia Raimonde, Chris Polansky

Capstones

Documents reviewed in a NYC News Service investigation of the environmental and health hazards caused by mismanaged landfills in New York State revealed problems at landfills that ranged from emitting dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air in close proximity to schools to leaching chemicals into nearby ground and surface water. The issues at these landfills — which are jeopardizing the safety of the environment and nearby communities — are causing activists, residents and experts to questions how well these facilities are being regulated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation, which is responsible for landfill oversight. …

Beyond The Elevators: How The New York City Subway System Can Better Serve Blind, Deaf And Cognitively Disabled People, Ethan B. Stark-Miller

Capstones

Many blind and visually impaired, deaf and cognitively disabled New Yorkers face challenges when using the subway. A large portion of the system is still missing key accessibility features that would make the subway usable for these groups. And while this problem is on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) radar – the MTA has launched a pilot program to address it – the agency still has no clear plan or timeline for quickly expanding these features to the entire system. Link to full project: https://medium.com/@tough_coquelicot_muskrat_287/beyond-the-elevators-132c31e3ef48