Social Justice Commons^™

Re-Imagining Mandatory Reporting: Professionalization's Complicity, Sam Harrell, Stephanie Wahab

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mandatory reporting of child abuse is a part of the civil legal system that can activate a policy cascade disproportionately criminalizing racialized and marginalized communities. While social work scholarship has explored ways to increase provider compliance with mandatory reporting laws, there is a dearth of research focused on how social work education guides future providers towards the praxis of mandatory reporting discourses. This article presents findings from a content analysis of social work textbook excerpts focused on mandatory reporting of child abuse in the U.S. We found that textbooks affirm social work’s loyalty to the State by approaching mandatory reporting …

Understanding The Lived Experience Of The Embodiments Of Catholic Social Teaching By Doctoral Alumni From A School Of Education Of An Independent Catholic University: A Phenomenological Study, George Munjanattu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

This study set out to understand how the doctoral alumni from the School of Education of an independent Catholic university experience embodiments of Catholic Social Teaching in their everyday lived experiences. The conceptual framework of seven Catholic teaching embodiments allowed the researcher to explore the perspectives of the doctoral alumni about their experiences with their values and beliefs about family, community, solidarity, human dignity, different responsibilities in their lives, care for creation, and their current engagement with various social justice activities. This research was a phenomenological qualitative study using interviews and artifacts review. Twelve participants were interviewed to explore their …

Don't Say Gay: How Laws Are Tools For Hate, Discrimination, And Violence, Christina Hartman

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

American society teaches the narrative that the law is preeminently fair and just. The law is not now and never has been a bulwark for the rights of the marginalized, voiceless, or those who remain powerless. Instead, states effectively wield law to alter the social meaning behind thought patterns and behavior—whether through the writing of new laws, passing of new laws, or the disregarding of current laws—to mobilize a large population to accept a group as different or other. Florida’s 2022 “Don’t Say Gay” law is an example of that method aimed at the LGBTQ+ community and part of a …

Examining Social Determinants Of Health Of Formerly Incarcerated California Students Who Graduated From Project Rebound, Ashley C. Adams

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Project Rebound is an educational based program that supports justice impacted individuals in obtaining higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore specific social determinants of health for these justice impacted students, and how these social determinants may improve after graduation. Specifically, this study will examine participants’ housing, mental health, substance use, employment, and finances during and after their participation in Project Rebound. This study is important, as there is little research on Project Rebound, their alumni, and how social determinants of health may be impacted by enrollment. This study is quantitative, and uses online surveys to gather …

Alternative Approaches To Police Interventions When Responding To Mental Health Crises Incidents, Karen Rivera Apolinar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored mental health workers perspectives on alternative approaches in responding to mental health crises.

The study was carried out in Southern California, in collaboration with mental health workers who currently work or previously have worked in mental health crisis. It adopted a post-positivists paradigm and data was gathered through individual interviews with mental health workers who have direct experience with mental health crisis response in the community and with the police. The twenty participants in the study were men and women working in the mental health field, and of various backgrounds, licensures, and ages.

The study found …

On Income Inequality And Poverty In Egypt: Is Prosperity Immoral?, Mohamed Karim Lotfy Abdelkhalek

Theses and Dissertations

There are varying perspectives on, and divergent solutions to, the phenomena of income inequality and poverty. There seems to be polarizing views on both of these sensitive topics. One side of the argument believes income inequality should in itself be mitigated through redistribution measures, while the other argues that this should not be the focus of policy makers, as it deters them from facing the more pressing issue facing society – which is absolute poverty. The relationship between income inequality, poverty, and citizen well-being in Egypt is one that warrants further research, and this paper aims to fill this lacuna. …

Bridging Knowledge Systems In The Peruvian Andes: Plurality, Co-Creation, And Transformative Socio-Ecological Solutions To Climate Change, Domenique Ciavattone

Capstone Collection

In the current era of anthropogenic climate change, Quechua farmers in the Peruvian Andes are some of the most impacted by, yet some of the lowest contributors to global warming. Dominant Western systems alone have proven insufficient in tackling the climate crisis, and there have been increasing efforts to elevate and center Indigenous voices and epistemologies when addressing climate change. Researchers and communities are calling for a bridging of knowledge systems, in which Indigenous and Western methods collaborate to co-create innovative solutions to climate challenges. This research sought to explore methods and successes in bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge systems …

Incorporating Social Justice Education Into Teacher Education: A Book Review Of Communicating Social Justice In Teacher Education: Insights From A Critical Classroom Ethnography, Angga Hidayat

The Qualitative Report

Aubrey Huber's book is of great value to aspiring and current educators alike, providing a comprehensive analysis of how qualitative critical classroom ethnography can be applied to support social justice in the field of education. Through this text, readers will gain an understanding of the unique opportunity that classroom ethnography provides in terms of utilizing it as an actionable mechanism to respond to social injustices while balancing intertwined multiple perspectives. Teacher educators who use this text will obtain a deeper appreciation for the instrumental role qualitative research such as classroom ethnography plays in improving and reforming education. All in all, …

Being Multicultural In The Workplace, Fiorella Morales

Dissertations

As the workforce becomes increasingly diverse and organizations elevate their efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), it is critical to engage in a deeper investigation of the experiences of multicultural individuals at work. In this qualitative study, nine multicultural individuals were interviewed using a sociological lens to gain their perspective on the relationship between their identity and their work experiences. The primary research questions that guided this study were: (a) how do multicultural individuals influence the workplace? In turn, (b) how do their workplace experiences affect their identity and sense of self? Data was coded and …

The U.S. Should Increase Access To Medication For Opioid Use Disorder Among Incarcerated Individuals, Cody Nagle

Population Health Research Brief Series

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is among the most common medical diagnoses for people in jails and prisons. Those leaving incarceration without substance use treatment are 40 times more likely than the general public to have a fatal overdose, making it the leading cause of death for people recently released. This brief describes the use of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) as realistic and legally protected approaches to reducing overdoses upon exiting incarceration. It also calls for federal regulation and guidance on the use of MOUD in prisons, jails, and drug courts to ensure each …

Shared Learning Spaces: Peer And Faculty Mentors Develop Skills While Supporting Minoritized Health Sciences Students, Keshrie Naidoo, Shweta Gore, Martha Mckean, Margaret Mullins, Garrett Bowdle, Amanda Mack, Laura Plummer

Health Professions Education

Purpose. To explore the effect of virtual mentoring on (1) the development of cross-cultural psychological capital among a group of mostly White health sciences faculty mentors and (2) the effect of perceived competence in mentoring for second-year peer mentors from minoritized backgrounds enrolled in health sciences programs. Method. This mixed-methods study leveraged an explanatory sequential design with quantitative (survey) data collected before qualitative data (focus group interviews). Four first-year physical therapy students and four first-year nursing students were each matched with a faculty mentor and a peer mentor from a minoritized background. Seven peer mentors and eight faculty mentors completed …

Seeing And Unlearning Whiteness: A Mindfulness Workshop For Racial Justice, Emily Haranas

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Racism is a deeply embedded, foundational aspect of American society. However, because the privilege of Whiteness insulates White individuals from the workings of systemic injustice and oppression and enables them to choose the conditions of their accountability in the movement for racial justice, many remain painfully blind to this fact. As such, there is a significant need for those who have been racialized White to develop a critical awareness of the powers and privileges ascribed to their racial identity. The working premise of this thesis is that mindfulness can assist White individuals in unlinking the socialized habits of mind that …

Still, We Thrive: Understanding How Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men (Gbtmsm) Experience Structural Barriers & Facilitators To Wellness, Lucas Gergyek

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Historically and concurrently, structural violence has been a significant force influencing the sexual health and broader health of gay, bisexual, transgender and other men who have sex with men (GBTMSM). Yet to date, the majority of projects exploring the health inequities facing GBTMSM have focused on intrapsychic and behavioural factors as most related to poor health outcomes. As well, these studies are sometimes deficits focused, and fail to evaluate how GBTMSM continue to thrive, and maintain positive health. As a result, the ways in which systems and policies underlie and perpetuate health inequities facing GBTMSM have been somewhat obscured. Connectedly, …

College Students’ Perceptions Of The Efficacy Of Different Strategies To Reduce The Rate Of Abortions, Sophia B. Doros

Honors College Theses

This study examines college students’ perceptions of different strategies and the efficacy of those strategies to reduce the rates of abortions. Factors such as comprehensive, medically accurate sex education, widespread accessibility and affordability of contraception, and affordable and accessible pre-natal care are all factors that the literature has established lower the rates of abortions. Factors such as waiting periods of 24 hours or more to perform a surgical abortion, restricting state funding for abortions, and legal bans of abortions altogether are factors that do not reduce the rates of abortions (Medoff, 2015); they may even be counterproductive to their original …

An Exploration Of The Black Female Cosplay Experience, Geneisa B. Ragin, Geneisa Ragin

Honors College Theses

Cosplay is the practice of dressing up as a fictional character whether it's from a television show, video games, or even a book series. Many people participate in cosplay to show their dedication or admiration for their favorite character and sometimes cosplay a character that helps reflect their own character or personality. This thesis will mainly focus on the experience of being a Black female cosplayer in pop culture, social media, conventions, and other places where people can share and communicate. In this thesis’s research, participants' answers about their experiences were centered around their inspiration to start cosplaying, their ways …

Not Beloved, Only Broken: Sex Dolls, Robots, And Woman Hating: The Case For Resistance By Caitlin Roper (Spinifex Press, 2022), Donovan Cleckley

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Ukrainian Women Refugees In Italy And Their Risk Of Sexual Violence: An Interview With Luisanna Porcu, Lepa Mladjenović

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Chapter 6 - Empowerment Programming: Case Study Of How Intentionality And Consideration Create Breakthrough Elevating Graduate Programs, Brendon Fox

Management Faculty Publications

Administrators in the upper echelons of higher education face an array of dilemmas that impact and inform institutional priorities around how to serve various student populations best. Chief among those considerations is how to empower historically disenfranchised students toward a deeply substantive experience that inspires them intellectually and involves them in areas of social justice. This chapter provides an explanatory case study of a successful program launched by two vice presidents of a small, Predominately White Institution (PWI) in rural Kansas. It shows how deeply impactful outcomes for black male students can be achieved through intentional Elevating Educational Intentional Practice …

Intersectionality Of Self-Reported Food Insecurity And Perceived Stress Of College Students At A Land-Grant Southeastern Higher Education Institution During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kendra Oonorasak, Makenzie Barr, Michael Pennell, Dylan Hardesty, Kotomi Yokokura, Samantha Udarbe, Tammy Stephenson

Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs

College food insecurity (FI) and poor psychosocial health are prevalent public health issues in the U.S., yet often overlooked. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, repercussions on these critical inequity issues remain unclear. During the summer months of 2020, this cross-sectional survey examined associations between students’ self-reported FI and perceived stress (PSS-10), one aspect of poor psychosocial health. An anonymous online survey was distributed to a convenience sample of college students at a land grant institution of higher education in the southeastern U.S., and $10 e-gift card was provided to survey respondents. The survey response rate was 26.2% (n=235) and participants were …

Critical Representation: Mattering & Belonging For Students Of The Global Majority, Rebecca E. Haslam

Middle Grades Review

Critical representation in literature and curricula requires an emancipatory agenda and examination of the ways in which people of diverse racial, cultural, linguistic, and other socially marginalized identities are portrayed, an assessment of how relevant, affirming, and accurate those representations are, and a consideration of the impact on a child’s sense of self and ‘other.’ This essay includes sample audit criteria for critical representation highlighting five sections: Storyline & Sense of Justice; Affirmation & Self-Worth; Relationships Among People; Author/Illustrator Background; and Language & Terminology, all with a focus on ‘mattering’ and holistic wellbeing of students of the global majority. Audit …

The American Society Of Criminology’S 2022 Annual Meeting, Gary Kowaluk

Title III Professional Development Reports

Using Title III funds, I attended the American Society of Criminology’s (ASC) 2022 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, which took place from Wednesday, November 16th through Saturday, November 19^th. Of note was the Presidential address given by Janet Lauritsen of the University of Missouri at St. Louis who stressed how politicians should utilize lessons learned from localized efforts at fighting crime in formulating their crime policies. I did not present at the conference, rather I used the conference to formulate ideas about future research and teaching. In all, I attended sessions from Thursday through Saturday on: (1) prison-based …

Feeling The Heat: Climate Change Is Becoming A Big Factor In Business Decision-Making, Risk Assessment, Candace Beeke, Sahan Dissanayake, Jennifer Price, Moss Adams

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland Business Journal Publisher and President Candace Beeke spoke recently with PSU’s Sahan Dissanayake and Jennifer Price, with Moss Adams, about the direct and indirect effects of climate change on business, along with the physical impacts and economic hazards. Here are their insights.

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Violent Crime In The City Of Pittsburgh, Brittany Urban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine patterns of Part I crimes [including Part I Person/Violent: Homicide, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery, and Part I Property: Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Standards] in The City of Pittsburgh, framing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major stressor that Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory suggests may lead to increased opportunity for crime, due to the perceived unjustness of the associated lockdown orders and potential incentive for criminal coping (Agnew 1992). This descriptive analysis is based primarily upon …

For The Poor, It Was Just Friday: The Implicit Focus On Middle-Class Habitus In Conceptualizing Disaster, Amy Sorensen, Shelley Koch

Critical Disaster Studies

The importance of the academic study of disaster is in its potential application to policy and practice in times of dire circumstance and human suffering. In this paper, we situate the Covid-19 pandemic as an exemplar for an exploration of “disaster” using a framework that connects sociological theory and critical disaster studies. We use a Bourdieusian approach to situate the re-stabilization of the middle class habitus as implicitly central to disaster mitigation strategies. This theoretical approach illuminates the disconnect between critical disaster studies and on-the-ground disaster recovery approaches. It is this disconnect that leads to the disparate impact of disaster …

Hustle In H-Town: Hip Hop Entrepreneurialism In Houston, Brittany L. Long

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Imagine a sprawling, overheated American megalopolis that epitomizes diversity and segregation in one of the world’s youngest countries. Despite Houston’s history of structural racism and segregation, Houston Hip Hop entrepreneurs built communities and created storied businesses that culminate in a sense of local pride and Hip Hop identity that has not been replicated in the same manner in any other city. An examination of thought-provoking existing scholarship about the Hip Hop South and Hip Hop in Houston, as well as an examination of existing and collected primary sources (interviews) allow me to demonstrate two things: Hip Hop entrepreneurialism is a …

Advocacy Journalism And Climate Justice In A Global Southern Country, Shafiq Ahmad Kamboh, Muhammad Ittefaq

School of Communication Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Being among the world’s most affected countries by climate change, Pakistan is facing a variety of cases of climate injustice committed by internal and external drivers. Waisbord’s referred “Advocate-journalist” model carries a good potential to advocate these injustices to stimulate democratic dialogue among the audience that eventually pushes leadership to make eco-friendly policies. This study critically analyses advocacy journalism coverage of cases of local and regional climate injustice in the editorial contents of mainstream Pakistani newspapers by using the quantitative content analysis method. Results reveal that selected newspapers gave inappropriate coverage to climate injustice issues both in quantity and quality. …

Volume 5, Issue 2 (2022) 5.1.2 Migration, Community, And Environment During A Pandemic

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Foundational Support Through Professional Sport: A Case Study On The Chicago Bulls Charities, Austin Schroeder

Student Capstone Projects

This case study on the Chicago Bulls Charities (CBC) offers praise as well as criticism into the professional sport organization (PSO) as a whole along with their corresponding foundation. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are developed and provided by the Chicago Bulls PSO and is not an element of the CBCs mission, justifying a deep dive into the PSO and their CSR activities along with the foundation, the original focus of this study. With limited literature on the topic of corporate philanthropy in professional sports, and with more research in CSR in this field, CSR was added to the research …

How Can You Call Her A Woman? Male Soldiers’ Views On Women In The Drc Armed Forces, Dostin Lakika, Ingrid Palmary

Peace and Conflict Studies

There has been a longstanding body of literature on women in the armed forces at least since the 1970s (Segal, 1999). This literature varies considerably in its approach, from feminist work that reflects on the forms of masculinity produced through military and militarization, to work that considers women’s role in the army and attitudes towards women in the army. Furthermore, policy efforts to increase women’s participation in the army (such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325) have explicitly called for the inclusion of women in peace and security efforts. In this paper, we contribute to this literature by assessing how …

The Spirit Empowering Counselors To Be Culturally Competent In A Racially And Ethnically Changing Society, Sandra K. Richardson, Yasmine A. Godinez, Lemuel J. Godinez

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

Significant change in the counseling field begins in counselor education programs. Concerns of biased, incompetent, and ineffective counseling services for culturally diverse clients plague the mental health profession (ACA, 2021; Sue & Sue, 2016). Rapid shifts in the racial and ethnic demographic composition of American society and the overt expression of hate and violence on the lives of People of Color place a greater demand on mental health professionals to pursue and acquire multicultural competencies (Brown, 2020; Embrick, 2015). Cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills are needed to establish meaningful therapeutic relationships, to provide effective treatment, and to effectively advocate for …