Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of The Environmental Account Of Obesity As A Form Of Financial Neo-Imperialism, Zahara Alzubaidi

The Cardinal Edge

Socioeconomic developments of the past half-century have created mass social concern over an “obesity epidemic.” This concern is given a sense of legitimacy by studies that warn of a totally obese America in only a few decades, and children being more likely than ever to be diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The “environmentalist account” of obesity asserts that factors like genetics, food availability, and social or political climate are the major determinants of an “obesogenic environment” – that is, an environment of obese adults likely to raise obese children. Some feminist thinkers argue that the environmentalist account is necessary to …

“You Could Have Did Us Better Than This”: Reparative Housing Policies And The Struggle To Right Harms To Black Communities, Amie Thurber, Lisa K. Bates, Susan Halverson, Keisha Muia

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature related to reparative planning, with an emphasis on housing policy. After exploring the state of theorizing related to reparative planning, this paper describes its three central dimensions: public recognition, material redistribution, and social/spatial transformation. The authors use these dimensions to evaluate a housing policy designed to repair harms to Black residents in Portland, Oregon. This in-depth analysis draws on survey, interview, and focus group data to explore the degree to which residents’ experiences of the policy reflect these three dimensions. The paper concludes with implications for other municipalities considering reparative housing policies, namely …

10 Years Of Dialogue: Highlights From 2014–2022 [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal Of Popular Culture And Pedagogy, Volume 10, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)], Anna S. Cohenmiller, Karina A. Vado, Barbara Perez, Tyler Sheldon

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

10 Years of Dialogue: Highlights from 2014–2022 [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Volume 10, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)]

Editorial

Challenging Conventions: Provoking Thought with Engaged Teaching and Learning in Popular Culture, Anna S. CohenMiller, Karina A. Vado, Barbara Perez, and Tyler Robert Sheldon

Articles

2014 (Online only)

O Homer, Where Art Thou? Teaching the Iliad and the Odyssey through Popular Culture, Mallory Young

The Odyssey and Its Odyssey in Contemporary Texts: Re-visions in Star Trek, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and and The Penelopiad, Mary Economou Bailey Green

2015

Learning about People, Places and …

Engaged Popular Culture And Pedagogy: Awareness, Understanding And Social Justice [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal Of Popular Culture And Pedagogy, Volume 7, Issue 2 (Summer 2020)], Anna S. Cohenmiller, Kirk Peterson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Engaged Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Awareness, Understanding and Social Justice [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Volume 7, Issue 2 (Summer 2020)]

Editorial

Can popular culture speak to issues of equity in educational spaces? Anna S. CohenMiller and Kirk Peterson

Guest Editorial

Cruel Summer, Travis D. Boyce

Articles

Triple Threat or Triple Opportunity: When a Pop Culture Course Goes Online at a Community College, Lance Eaton and Alex Rockey

Cultivating Anti-Racist Feminist Pedagogy Queerly, Laurie Fuller

Afrosurrealism, Aristotle, and Racial Presence in Netflix’s Luke Cage, Angela DeAnn Mack

Sexual Harassment Effects on Bodies of Work: Engaging …

Hell You Talmbout: Mixtapes As Method For Online Environmental Justice Pedagogy, Elspeth Iralu, Caitlin Grann

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This paper takes on the mixtape as a pedagogical method for approaching urgent and critical topics within the undergraduate online classroom. Drawing on two case studies from different sections of an introductory course on environmental and social justice taught in an American studies department, we demonstrate how mixtape-inspired assignments offer a method for theorizing and enacting the connections between popular culture and critical scholarship around injustice in the humanities and social sciences while also altering the space of the classroom to promote deeper student engagement, comprehension, and reflection. We argue that introducing popular culture as both content and method within …

Editorial: Can Popular Culture Speak To Issues Of Equity In Educational Spaces?, Anna S. Cohenmiller, Kirk Peterson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Editorial for Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Volume 7, Issue 2 (Summer 2020), Engaged Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Awareness, Understanding and Social Justice.

Healthcare-Seeking Behavior In A Toxic Landscape: Investigating Cancer Care Awareness In Louisiana's Cancer Alley, Moumita Roy

LSU Master's Theses

The fossil fuel and petrochemical sector in the Louisiana region, known as "Cancer Alley," has a devastating impact not only on the environment but also on the health and lives of the local population. Extreme pollution from the petrochemical industry not only elevated cancer rates in this region but also maternal, reproductive, and newborn health harms, respiratory diseases, and other complex health issues. This study examined the healthcare-seeking behavior of some residents and their awareness of cancer facilities within a 100-mile radius of their homes and identified key challenges, such as proximity of cancer care and accessibility, financial constraints, and …

Data-Intensive Convergence Science For Analyzing Place-Based Spatial Accessibility, Alexander C. Michels, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

Place-based spatial accessibility is a critical tool for measuring the health, resilience, and sustainability of communities. Accessibility methods are employed by a wide range of fields to measure access to food, healthcare, infrastructure and other critical needs. While measures of access are relatively simple, they attempt to capture the complexities of human mobility and spatial decision-making to assess how well populations are served by the infrastructure, resources, and services at their disposal. This paper describes four key areas where data-intensive convergence science can revolutionize our understanding of place-based spatial accessibility by addressing issues of scale, spatial impedance, diversity, and accessibility. …

Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated (Iuu) Fishing As Pathways To Human Trafficking: Navigating The Trafficked State Of Migrant Filipino Fishermen In J.W. Henley’S Migrante, Mary Harmony I. Guevarra

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

This study focuses on how J.W. Henley’s Migrante (2020) illustrates the synchroneity of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing to the human trafficking dynamics at sea, in which the maturation and onset of its male protagonist’s psychological and physiological damages confirm his trafficked state. This paper offers further scrutiny on the gendered footing of human trafficking and opens a reframing of its discourse. Migrante tells the painful story of Rizal, who finds employment in a fishing vessel on the shores of Su’ao, Taiwan; as his crew go about their routine at sea which is interspersed with illegal trades in the …

Environmental Justice And Social Work: A Study Across Practice Settings In Three U.S. States, Lisa Reyes Mason, Sierra Roach Coye, Smitha Rao, Amy Krings, Julia Santucci

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Environmental justice is essential for improved quality of life and sustainable wellbeing. This study examines how environmental issues and related injustices are surfacing in U.S. social work practice and social work readiness to respond, and what resources social workers are most interested in. Data are from an online survey of U.S. social workers (N = 337) in Colorado, Ohio, and Tennessee. Participants answered questions about their social work background, current job, environmental issues in practice, resources, and demographics. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. For nine issues, at least 30% of participants reported these as surfacing sometimes or often, with …

Prevailing Issues And Actions In Urban Best Practices Across Latin America And The Caribbean, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

This research examines urban best practices (BPs) across Latin America and the Caribbean to illuminate the prevalent issues and actions associated with these locally implemented initiatives. An analysis of 45 BPs from the UN-Habitat repository was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods, organized into three phases. The first phase focused on collecting data such as BP sources, countries of origin, and years of implementation. The second phase identified common problems and actions within the BPs. The third phase involved a cross-sectional analysis to identify significant patterns and trends. The study found that many BPs originated from the Dubai International …

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

The (Im)Possibility Of Anti-Systemic Politics: Uprisings, Exilic Spaces, And Alain Badiou, Jason C. Mueller

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The world-system is in crisis, and a flurry of uprisings challenge the mantra that 'there is no alternative' to capitalism. However, some questions remain. What will replace the global capitalist mode of production, and how will those aspiring to transform the system do so? These questions are of relevance to three separate but related domains of research: (1) the study of anti-systemic movements by world-systems analysts; (2) the study of exilic spaces by scholars using an anarchist perspective; and (3) the work of French Philosopher Alain Badiou. This article stages a discussion between these three areas, locating areas in each …

Msw Portfolio Narrative, Katherine P. Blaedow

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The Council on Social Work Education and University of Montana School of Social Work require the mastery of ten competencies before graduates are awarded their Master of Social Work degree. In this paper, I share my experiences in mastering these ten competencies and reflect on my graduate degree experience.

Msw Portfolio, Briar Gaither

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

A look at my personal journey through the MSW program, what I experienced and learned, and what I gained. Features my many papers and projects from the program

Solar Photovoltaics As Climate Change Adaptations For Farmers In West Bengal, India: Barriers Within A Food-Water-Energy Nexus Approach, Emily Rochford

Capstone Collection

This capstone research project seeks to identify and address barriers to the use of solar photovoltaics (PV) as an adaptation method to climate change for farmers in West Bengal, India. These barriers are examined within the context of the food-water-energy nexus, particularly concerning the ability of many small holder farmers to produce their own food and sustain their livelihoods. Previous studies have examined both energy access and renewable energy development in West Bengal, and also the food-water-energy nexus in its application to climate change. However, there is minimal literature on how renewable energy development should be applied within the nexus …

Addressing Transportation Equity For Local Populations Using Emerging Technologies, Marcus Peoples

Theses & Dissertations

ADDRESSING TRANSPORTATION EQUITY FOR LOCAL POPULATIONS

USING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

By

Marcus Peoples Jr

This qualitative study examines the persistent issue of transportation inequity in the United States, focusing on its impact on marginalized and underserved populations. The study employs a generic qualitative inquiry from Social Justice Theory to investigate how senior public transportation decision-makers perceive and address institutional barriers, technological opportunities, and strategic improvements in transportation equity. The study underscores the pressing need to address the intricate interplay of socioeconomic conditions, racial and ethnic diversity, and varying levels of urbanization that contribute to transportation inequity. Historical and contemporary factors, such …

Msw Professional Portfolio, Michelle Davis

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

A comprehensive review of the professional development required for an advanced integrated social work practitioner.

Climate And Extreme Weather Event Impacts On Administrators, Direct Care Staff, And Residents In Oregon Assisted Living, Residential Care, And Memory Care Communities, 2024, Dani Himes, Jacklyn Kohon, Madeline Fox, Laura Rodriguez, Sarah Dys, Diana Jacoby, Paula Carder

Institute on Aging Publications

This brief report on AL/RC staff and resident experiences with climate events highlights the voices of AL/RC direct care staff, former direct care staff, residents, administrators, and management representatives to promote well-being in these care settings. This study can inform Oregon’s efforts to support long-term care workforce readiness for future climate emergencies and inform future quantitative data collection on AL/RC and other long-term care workers, including those employed in home health agencies, nursing facilities, and adult foster homes.

From Steps To Strides: My Evolving Journey Into Social Work, Lacresha N. Ffrench

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This paper reflects on my journey, shaped by my heritage as a first-generation Jamaican-American and my experiences in education. The narrative begins with the story of my parents, Desmond and Pauline Ffrench, who immigrated from Jamaica with the hope of providing me with greater opportunities. Their sacrifices and unwavering support have been instrumental in my success. My career in education began in 2019, where I transitioned through various roles, from an educational assistant to the restorative practices coordinator. These experiences, coupled with my deepening commitment to advocating for students, led me to pursue a master's in social work. Encouraged by …

Gender, Security, And Climate Change Nexus: Taking Violence Prevention Seriously In The Global South, Laila Hanifah Ms

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

According to prior studies, a significant proportion of individuals affected by conflict regularly demonstrate that women experience violence to a greater extent. As the Cold War era came to an end, trends in major armed conflicts began to shift. Climate change has emerged as a new non-traditional security threat around the world, similar to traditional security challenges. The UNFCC recognises that women are disproportionately vulnerable and bear a greater burden from the impacts of climate change. Yet despite this, women are often marginalised from discourses on security. Research on security, gender and climate change shows that the consequences of climate …

Fighting Erasure And Dispossession In The San Francisco Bay Area: Putting Archaeology To Work For The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Lee M. Panich, Monica V. Arellano, Michael Wilcox, Gustavo Flores

Faculty Publications

The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe has long been involved in the archaeology and stewardship of their ancestral homelands, both through their own cultural resource management (CRM) firm and though collaborations with academic and CRM archaeologists. In this article, we build on the past 40 years of archaeological collaborations in the southern San Francisco Bay region and offer examples of how archaeologists can support tribal heritage and environmental stewardship by using the traditional purview of material culture in combination with a broader array of evidence and concerns. As presented in our brief case studies, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and scholars are working …

An Assessment Of Equity, Compounding Disasters, And Climate Change In Hazard Mitigation Planning For The Portland Metro Region, Chris Lower

Geography Masters Research Papers

Hazard mitigation plans (HMPs) are strategic documents or policies developed by governments, communities, and organizations to identify risks and reduce the impacts of natural and human- made hazards. These plans aim to minimize loss of life, property damage, and disruption from floods, wildfires, snowstorms, heatwaves, and other disasters. While useful, these plans infrequently and unevenly address the lived experiences of marginalized populations who bear the disproportionate impacts of recurrent disasters. Technocratic planning goals exacerbate these impacts by failing to center inclusive and equity-focused approaches, thus eroding the resilience capacities of many vulnerable groups including the poor and communities of color. …

Equivision Habitat: The Collective Dreamworks, Shixuan Zhou

Masters Theses

近年来，武汉这座充满活力的城市在经济快速增长的同时，也经历了重大的社会变革。城市的天际线不断扩大，新的商业和住宅区正在迅速涌现，吸引了更多的中产阶级家庭。作为武汉的长期居民和观察者，我看到了这种向中产阶级社会转变的诱惑力，但我也敏锐地意识到随之而来的社会成本。武汉向中产阶级社会的转变不仅体现在消费水平的提高和生活方式的转变上，更重要的是，体现在城市空间和社区角色的重新配置上。曾经为低收入居民提供住房的旧社区正在被改造成高端公寓和商业空间。虽然这种转变改善了城市的整体形象，但也导致了原住民的流离失所。这种深刻的变化凸显了中产阶级化的双刃剑性质。在这种背景下，我开始关注那些被这一进程边缘化的人的声音和需求。老年居民失去了熟悉的社区环境，年轻人尽管渴望加入新兴的中产阶级，但仍在为高昂的生活成本而苦苦挣扎。这种日益加剧的社会分层，让我深刻反思了城市更新的公平性和可持续性。本文提出了一种基于集体所有权和通过社区土地信托进行管理的社区模式。这种模式将土地所有权从个人转移到社区集体，确保开发活动优先考虑社区的长期福利，而不是短期的商业收益。其目的不仅是提供经济适用房，还旨在培养一个具有共同愿景的社区，探索在城市发展的同时维持社会多样性和包容性的方法。

Social Justice In Social Work: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Erica Fonseca

Dissertations and Theses

Social justice is central to social work and guides the profession's ethics, educational standards, and practices. It is aspirational and actionable, ideological and practical, and is simultaneously shaped by, and shapes in turn, social work. Consequently, this study understands social justice to be a discourse. Despite its ubiquity throughout the profession, what constitutes social justice, how it should (or could) be practiced, and what epistemologies orient social work to the concept continue to be debated. Given social work's express promotion of social justice and the myriad ideas and practices that follow from this critical value, the concept and the foundational …

U.S. International Climate Finance: An Analysis Of Historical Shortfalls And A Proposal For More Equitable Distribution, Maria-Cristina Kealey

Master's Projects and Capstones

Least-developed countries experienced 69% of deaths from climate disasters over the past 50 years despite comprising only 13% of the world’s population. Low-income and climate vulnerable nations around the world are suffering disproportionately as wealthy, high-emitting countries, such as the U.S., profit from the climate crisis. This research provides a comprehensive overview of past U.S. contributions to international climate finance efforts, assesses the climate finance deficit globally and specifically for developing countries, and proposes a more equitable share of U.S. funding from a quantitative and restorative climate justice approach. The primary analyses included quantifying the U.S. share of global greenhouse …

Crafting Community Solar Programs To Alleviate Energy Burdens And Empower Communities In Virginia, Elizabeth Anne Sekelsky

Master's Projects and Capstones

Low to moderate-income (LMI) groups usually suffer from high energy burdens and community solar is a renewable energy strategy that can save LMI groups on their monthly electricity bills. This research explores the intersection of renewable energy and energy justice, specifically the potential for community solar, energy efficiency, and home weatherization to alleviate Virginia's energy burdens. Included is an analysis of incentives, programs, and Greenhouse gas emission goals for the state, investigations on how low-income groups are receiving aid and what is available to them from programs and utilities, suitable sites for solar based on groups in need, and comparisons …

Evaluating Climate Migration Through Discourse Analysis Of International Policy Framework And “El Progreso” Community Blog, Olusola Akanni

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Environmental changes are driven by global warming, such as rising temperatures, melting ice, and increased natural disasters which directly affect the living conditions of huma thereby driving migration. This study highlights the inadequacies of current migration management policies as the United States is seeing a significant influx of migrants from Central America. The focus of this discourse analysis is on the role of inadequate policies and the failure of international efforts like the Paris Climate Agreement in addressing the issue of climate-induced migration effectively. Despite the goals set by such international agreements to mitigate the effects of climate change …

Chronic Inequities: Environmental & Structural Racism During Covid-19 And Hurricane Laura Disaster Recovery, Tomeka M. Robinson, Sabrina Singh

Critical Disaster Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the realities of systemic health inequities within the United States. While the virus has severely impacted the entire country, people of color bear the brunt of this pandemic, from surges of COVID-19 cases in their communities to spikes in unemployment rates. Simultaneously, citizens are dealing with the impacts of natural disasters such as hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. The common denominator concerning these two stressors is that they can be exacerbated by institutional racism. This can be seen in the case of a small city in Southwest Louisiana, namely, Lake Charles, which has become a …

Moral Arguments For Water Justice And The Jackson Water Crisis, Benjamin Oliver

Honors Theses

Across the United States, residents of towns and cities find themselves increasingly concerned with their water supply. In 2022, attention shifted to Jackson, Mississippi, as over 150,000 residents of the majority Black capital city were left without clean water. In this thesis, I discuss this case study as well as cases in Baltimore, Maryland, Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, finding that across these cities, there exist patterns of environmental racism and divestment in public resources. Crisis is soon to follow when these patterns compound with the climate change consequences of more intense weather and pollution. To discuss this pattern …