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Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Sociology
Contested Landscapes, Disputed Realities: An Investigation Of Socio-Environmental Conflict From Mining In Northern Ecuador: An Honors Thesis, Ian F. Hirons
Student Works
For decades, Ecuador has been one of the preeminent petrostates in South America. However, in response to recent drops in global demand and pricing for oil products, the country has made serious commitments to further develop its mineral resources. By opening a new natural resource sector, Ecuador has firmly cemented itself as a primarily extractivist nation. In the process, the national government has frequently come into conflict with activist and community groups who protest the encroachment of extractive industry. This thesis explores the various dimensions of socio-environmental conflict created by large-scale mining projects in northern Ecuador with specific attention to …
A High-Frequency Mobile Phone Data Collection Approach For Research In Social-Environmental Systems: Applications In Climate Variability And Food Security In Sub-Saharan Africa, Stacey A. Giroux, Inna Kouper, Lyndon Estes, Jacob Schumacher, Kurt Waldman, Joel T. Greenshields, Stephanie L. Dickinson, Kelly K. Caylor, Tom P. Evans
A High-Frequency Mobile Phone Data Collection Approach For Research In Social-Environmental Systems: Applications In Climate Variability And Food Security In Sub-Saharan Africa, Stacey A. Giroux, Inna Kouper, Lyndon Estes, Jacob Schumacher, Kurt Waldman, Joel T. Greenshields, Stephanie L. Dickinson, Kelly K. Caylor, Tom P. Evans
Geography
Collecting high-frequency social-environmental data about farming practices in sub-Saharan Africa can provide new insight into environmental changes that farmers face and how they respond within smallholder agro-ecosystems. Traditional data collection methods such as agricultural censuses are costly and not useful for understanding intra-annual and real-time decisions. Short-message service (SMS) has the potential to transform the nature of data collection in coupled social-ecological systems. We present a system for collecting, managing, and synthesizing weekly data from farmers, including data infrastructure for management of big and heterogeneous datasets; probabilistic data quality assessment tools; and visualization and analysis tools such as mapping and …
Coastal Plastics Abatement On Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island: Stakeholder Perspectives And Lessons Learned, Paige Myatt
Coastal Plastics Abatement On Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island: Stakeholder Perspectives And Lessons Learned, Paige Myatt
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
This practitioner research focuses on the stakeholder perspectives and lessons learned about mitigating plastic pollution in the marine environment of Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. It uses a mixed method approach of surveys, interviews, focus groups, and active participation in mitigation strategies to answer four main research questions. These questions aim to gather perspectives on the problem from multiple stakeholders in the community, including the general public, the restaurant industry, and local and state governments. This research also investigates what factors make this community a leader in igniting social change and reducing plastic pollution. The active involvement of the researcher via …
Analysis Of Worcester's Youth Employment Sector, Laurie Ross Phd, Ramon Borges-Mendez Phd, Alex Rothfelder
Analysis Of Worcester's Youth Employment Sector, Laurie Ross Phd, Ramon Borges-Mendez Phd, Alex Rothfelder
Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise
Overall, the employment rate for Worcester youth has improved since 2000; yet mirroring the nation, Worcester continues to have a smaller share of youth 16-24 employed. This situation is intensified for youth of color and young people facing barriers such as homelessness, exiting foster care, juvenile justice involvement, and limited English proficiency. Mass, Inc. estimates that in Worcester there are 3400 disconnected youth—756 are between 16-19 and 2644 are between 20-24. From the youth employment program inventory, we learned that the city’s programs offer many opportunities for “first job” experiences; has some exemplary programs that integrate youth development and workforce …
A Partnership's Capacity For Community Impact Understood Through Neoliberal Technologies Of Risk And Responsibilization: A Look At Worcester Massachusetts Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initative Partnership Worcester Massachusetts’ Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative Partnership, Katie Byrne
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
Since 2006, the Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative has sought to reduce youth and gang violence in multiple Massachusetts cities through partnerships of community organizations, research institutions and police departments. Worcester, Massachusetts was an original recipient of Shannon funding due to its historic and increasing problem of youth and gang violence. Using a framework of governmentality, one of the ways crime is problematized and controlled is through the use of neoliberal technologies of risk and responsibilization, underscoring neoliberalism’s emphasis on personal responsibility. When risk is used to govern and assigned to individuals and groups of people living in …
Does Crime Correlate With Fear?: Analyzing The Spatial Relationship Between Perceptions Of Safety And Crime Using Sketch Maps And Geographic Information Systems (Gis) In The Main South Neighborhood Of Worcester, Ma, Marina Khananayev
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
The relationship between reported crime and residential perceptions of safety is understudied and inconclusive due to its highly complicated nature. This study seeks to narrow this gap by using sketch maps collected from residents about their safety and crime data. Two methods, one visual, the other statistical (Bivariate LISA), were tested using data from sketch maps drawn by about 95 survey respondents and crime data spanning three years (2011-2014). Data was disaggregated by gender, age, and length of residency. Visual analysis of results show that perceptions of safety occur at a fine scale. Respondents marked sketch maps at varying scales …
Problem Analysis In Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma As A Driver Of Youth And Gang Violence, Laurie Ross Phd, Samantha Arsenault, Sergeant Miguel Lopez
Problem Analysis In Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma As A Driver Of Youth And Gang Violence, Laurie Ross Phd, Samantha Arsenault, Sergeant Miguel Lopez
Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise
Problem analysis conducted by a university-based research partner can provide communities with data-driven options to address the local drivers of serious youth and gang violence. Situated in Worcester, Massachusetts, this article describes how after early childhood trauma was identified as a potential driver of adolescent and young adult violence, problem analysis using local data confirmed that being the victim or witness of a traumatic incident before the age of 12 was significantly correlated with involvement in violence in adolescence or young adulthood. While there is a robust literature on the relationship between early childhood trauma and later delinquency, local decision-makers …
Vulnerability, Risk Perception, And Health Profile Of Marginalized People Exposed To Multiple Built-Environment Stressors In Worcester, Massachusetts: A Pilot Project, Timothy Downs, Laurie Ross, Robert Goble, Rajendra Subedi, Sara Greenberg, Octavia Taylor
Vulnerability, Risk Perception, And Health Profile Of Marginalized People Exposed To Multiple Built-Environment Stressors In Worcester, Massachusetts: A Pilot Project, Timothy Downs, Laurie Ross, Robert Goble, Rajendra Subedi, Sara Greenberg, Octavia Taylor
Sustainability and Social Justice
Millions of low-income people of diverse ethnicities inhabit stressful old urban industrial neighborhoods. Yet we know little about the health impacts of built-environment stressors and risk perceptions in such settings; we lack even basic health profiles. Difficult access is one reason (it took us 30 months to survey 80 households); the lack of multifaceted survey tools is another. We designed and implemented a pilot vulnerability assessment tool in Worcester, Massachusetts. We answer: (1) How can we assess vulnerability to multiple stressors? (2) What is the nature of complex vulnerability-including risk perceptions and health profiles? (3) How can findings be used …