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Three Card Spread: Theorizing Queer And Trans Futurity For Tenure-Track Faculty Through Divination Dialogues, Justin A. Gutzwa, Sergio A. Gonzalez

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This article lies betwixt methodological, conceptual, and empirical scholarship, queering traditional presentations of qualitative research to imagine what a future in the academy could look like for queer and trans faculty if the academy instead prioritized queer and trans joy, thriving, and life. The authors, two queer and trans early-career tenure-track faculty, utilize divination dialogues, or conversations that take place during and following a divinatory practice such as tarot reading, as a liberatory politic of community building and co-theorization on how to actualize our own futures in a colonial, neoliberal academy. In presenting excerpts from the conversation that took place …

Understanding The Challenges Of Perspective Transformation In Prison: Biographical Narratives Of Foreign National Students Of A Second Chance School In Greece, Antigoni K. Efstratoglou, George A. Koulaouzides

Journal of Prison Education Research

Education has borne the burden of prisoners’ reform since the early days of modern prison. Several studies attest to its transformative potential, taking a short-term perspective. Rarely the experience of being a student, while incarcerated, is examined in the context of the wider biography. This paper uses perspective transformation theory as a point of departure to study how imprisonment influences adult learning. Building on biographical narratives of ten foreign national students of a Second Chance School at the largest Greek remand establishment, and participant observation of relevant class discussions, we argue that imprisonment impedes perspective transformation, strengthening structural inequalities and …

Commonwealth Times 2024-04-24

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

The Changing Nature Of Education In Youth Justice Centres In New South Wales (Australia), Laura Metcalfe, Cathy Little Dr, Garner Clancey Dr, David Evans Dr

Journal of Prison Education Research

Education is an important protective factor in preventing involvement in crime. For those young people that enter the youth justice system, and especially youth justice centres, education is a critical, but infrequently explored part of their time in custody following generally disrupted schooling experiences. There are currently six youth justice centres in New South Wales, Australia. Each of these centres have an Education and Training Unit which are schools funded by and staffed with Department of Education personnel. There is evidence that young people accessing these schools regard them very positively. However, this article, drawing on publicly available information, raises …

Commonwealth Times 2024-03-27

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

"In Some Ways They’Re The People Who Need It The Most": Mobilizing Queer Joy With Sex Ed Teachers In New Brunswick, Canada, Casey Burkholder, Melissa Keehn

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Teaching about sexuality can be messy. What does it mean to incite queer joy as an educational language in sex education? In this article, we explore how queer joy can be used by teachers as a language to confront this messy work of sex education and teach in more pleasurable, joyful, and inclusive ways. In our analysis, we draw upon the conversations and visual data we created alongside 43 teacher-participants from New Brunswick, Canada in a series of participatory media-making workshops and describe how queer joy informs the artful praxis that transpired in these spaces. In these workshops, we observed …

Graying Incarcerated Persons And Education Programs In Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ijeoma B. Uche Phd, Agnes E. Okafor Phd, Okala A. Uche Phd *Corresponding Author

Journal of Prison Education Research

Correctional education programs are rehabilitation programs designed for incarcerated persons in Nigerian correctional institutions. However, getting the graying incarcerated persons to participate in education programs becomes quite challenging. This study investigates graying incarcerated persons and education programs in one correctional centre. Data were collected qualitatively from fifteen (15) incarcerated individuals aged 60 years and above using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was employed in analyzing the data generated for the study. Findings show that there are no available education programs for graying incarcerated individuals. The study also revealed that designing education programs in such a way that it will accommodate the …

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses (2024), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2024-2025 year.

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin (2024), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Undergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2024-2025. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate programs.

The Role Of Research In Enabling Systemic Racism In Tobacco Use In Black/African American Communities, Sophia Rodriquez, Heal-Va Lab Working Group, Mignonne Guy Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Predominantly Minoritized Neighborhood Racial Composition And Mindfulness Predicting Anxiety Symptoms Among Emerging Adult Students Of Color, Jason William Bonilla-Landers, Arlenis Santana Phd, Chelsea D. Williams Phd, The Spit For Science Working Group, Danielle M. Dick Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Association Between Emotion And Afro-Cultural Beliefs In African American College Students, Daniela Djeukeng, Miles Gomes Ba, Fantasy T. Lozada Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Primary Care Physician Trust: The Importance Of Early Medical Intervention For African American Children With Asthma, Harrish Ganesh

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Asthma is a prevalent condition characterized by an individual’s airway becoming inflamed, constricted, and leads to the formation of mucus and difficulty breathing. Nearly 27 million individuals are currently diagnosed with Asthma in the United States, and African Americans are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with asthma than Caucasians. This literature review analyzed multifaceted barriers that restrict African American asthmatic children from gaining consistent asthma treatment. Some of these barriers range from historical racial discrimination that leads to parental mistrust to financial and educational barriers that result in inconsistent pediatric care for asthmatic children. The combination of the above …

Examining Effects Of Perceived Discrimination And Loneliness On Overall Health Outcomes In Black Americans, Apoorva Saravanan

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

On average, Black Americans suffer more from a wide range of diseases when compared to White Americans. The national mortality rate for Black Americans is also 24% higher than their White counterparts. Although there are multiple factors contributing to such disparities, one line of research provides strong evidence that negative health outcomes are more likely to occur in Black Americans who experience racial discrimination than those who experience no discrimination. A separate line of research also provides evidence that loneliness is a major health risk factor. In fact, prior research indicates that the experience of discrimination and loneliness are both …

Art & Oppression: “Thin Blue Line”, Kade Mcgrail

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

In 2005, a sculpture titled “Thin Blue Line” was installed on the side of Richmond’s new Police Department Headquarters. The piece is made of metal bands woven together to resemble a giant face that looms a story above the road below it. Considering Richmond’s past use of public art as expressions of power, alongside the political evolution of the term “thin blue line,” this article seeks to deconstruct what this work conveys to its community and how it is received by its community. The aesthetic tradition both the piece and the artist evoke is Italian Futurism—a movement proven to be …

Actionable Advocacy Journalism: Embracing Bias And Empowering Audiences With Calls To Action, Megan T. Schiffres

Richard T. Robertson School of Communication Student Scholarship

This thesis outlines the principles of actionable advocacy journalism, a new theoretical framework designed to empower audiences to take action in their communities. This framework proposes an update of journalistic ethics including the elimination of objectivity and demonstrates the positive impact of biased journalism on improving audience trust and strengthening community ties. It explores the historical roots of advocacy in journalism, examines the factors that led to the journalistic philosophy of objectivity, and explains its fundamental flaws. This thesis also outlines strategies for transforming news into a practical resource. These strategies combine the principles of solutions journalism with evidence-based persuasion …

Trait Mindfulness And Political Polarization: Investigating Neural Responses And Emotional Orientations, Elif Z. Celik

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid escalation of political polarization has led to increased social distancing, aggressive partisan behavior, and discriminatory attitudes among Democrats and Republicans. Prior research has indicated that mindfulness is associated with increased compassion, reduced prejudice, and diminished aggression toward out-group members. This thesis investigates the relationship between trait mindfulness and political polarization by examining neural responses and emotional orientations in individuals with varying levels of mindfulness. This research measured brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while participants viewed emotionally charged political videos and neutral content. The primary hypothesis suggested that individuals with high trait mindfulness would exhibit left-lateralized prefrontal …

Developing And Testing A Model Of Discrimination, Internalized Oppression, Mental Health, And Suicidality In Disabled Transgender And Gender Non-Binary (Tgnb) Individuals, Stephanie L. Cull

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender and gender nonbinary (TGNB) individuals experience high rates of discrimination and microaggressions that can lead to internalized cisgenderism and adverse mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Individuals with disabilities similarly experience high rates of discrimination and microaggressions that can lead to internalized ableism and increased adverse mental health outcomes. Although both of these populations have been researched separately, very little extant research has explored the intersections of disabled and TGNB identities. The purpose of this study was to explore a hypothesized pathway leading from microaggressions through internalized oppression and mental health to suicidal ideation within a …

Housing For Transgender And Gender Expansive People In The U.S. South, Aaron M. Kemmerer

Theses and Dissertations

Housing is a prominent issue for transgender and gender expansive (TGE) people around the world. There is a dearth of research about TGE people experiencing homelessness (TGE PEH) in the U.S. South. This dissertation aims to amplify the voices of TGE Southerners around the social concerns of housing and homelessness – this work also disrupts gendered and racialized narratives about housing injustice, exposing the salience of intersectional discrimination and cisgenderism in housing outcomes for TGE people. Using narrative and visual methods, this dissertation re-presents stories and recommendations from in-depth interview data collected from a small qualitative sample of Southern TGE …

Moonshine Babies, Arghavan Heydareslam

Theses and Dissertations

Moonshine Babies is a two-screen film made of collage/cut-out stop-motion and live-action. It is a visual poem based on my journals from when I recently started living in the US as an outsider. The experience left me feeling divided between the empty present and memories of the past. suggesting that there are collective memories among a group of interconnected individuals that unite them within a single narrative.

There was a moment when I asked, "If you are your memories, what does it mean to be somewhere you have no memories of and no one has memories of you there?"

Memories …

Family Rejection And Affirmation Experiences Among Racially And Ethnically Marginalized Youth Who Identify As Transgender And/Or Gender Diverse, Angela Matijczak

Theses and Dissertations

Relationships with family members can be a vital source of support, and significant stressor, that contributes to mental health outcomes among transgender and gender diverse young adults who are racially and ethnically marginalized (TGD REMY). Guided by a life history narrative approach, this qualitative study explored family affirmation and rejection among TGD REMY across three aims: (a) how TGD REMY define their experiences of family rejection and/or affirmation, (b) whether and how experiences of rejection/affirmation change throughout the lifetime, and (c) whether and how experiences of rejection/affirmation differ by each family member. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 TGD REMY …

Net Zero And Settler Futurity, Jesse Goldstein

Sociology Publications

Net Zero ideology promises that current and ongoing emissions can be partially offset by ‘negative emissions’ strategies such as carbon capture and sequestration, allowing carbon intensive firms to narrate themselves as agents that are solving – not causing – the climate crisis. This represents a shift in liberal and corporate environmentalism away from both denial and delay, towards a new strategy acknowledging the need to end fossil fuel use while urgently deferring transformations to a future made possible by not-yet developed technological innovations. This paper argues that a through-line of settler futurity provides affective infrastructure potent enough to transect opposing …

Latent Profiles Of Child Coping And Perception Of Experience Processes To Predict Long-Term Symptoms Of Depression, Intrusive Grief, And Suicidality Outcomes In Parentally Bereaved Children, Rebecca Hoppe

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood bereavement is a significant public health issue and the most distressing form of childhood trauma. The death of a parent can disrupt the course of a children's development and potentially predispose them to enduring adverse mental health outcomes, such as depression, intrusive grief, and suicidality. Recognizing grief as a dynamic process, theories have suggested that children’s unique coping and perceptions of experience can contribute to variations in individual adaptations to the death and the onset of mental health problems. The goals of this study were to (a) use latent profile analysis to empirically group recently bereaved children into distinct …

The Incoherence Of Orientalists, Sarah Zaid Alafifi

Theses and Dissertations

Orientalism, the Western practice of fetishizing cultures, extends beyond mere misrepresentation of the “other;” it epitomizes the underlying structures of colonialism and imperialism, infiltrating everyday life and eroding the moral fabric of Islamic society.

This thesis analyzes colonial control through the exercise of political power and the production of knowledge, investigating key events related to Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign and the narratives of resistance that emerged in opposition to it.

Through the lens of this 18th-century expedition, the study examines how Western knowledge systematically contributed to the dismantling of Islamic systems of knowledge. Select phrases from Colonial-era printed proclamations are extracted …

Riverview Community Park Commoning Plan, Haley B. Keene

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Riverview Community Park began as an illegal DIY skatepark in the Maymont neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Now, although it is a city park, it is still entirely managed by volunteer community groups (skateboarders, the neighborhood Civic League, and a community garden) who view the park as a creative, experimental community-led spatial project. Due to a dearth of communication between the three groups, the park has suffered political strife between the groups and a chaotic physical atmosphere. This plan utilizes a commons governance framework and participatory, asset-based community design to usher in a new era of enhanced collaboration, common narratives, and …

Bottling The “Secret Sauce”: Capturing The Heart Of The East End At Peter Paul Development Center, Melissa E. Abban, Melissa Buckley, Marie Garrenton, Latonja Y. Wright

Doctor of Education Capstones

Peter Paul Development Center (Peter Paul) submitted a Request for Assistance (RFA) to obtain support from a Virginia Commonwealth University Doctorate of Educational Leadership (EdD) Capstone team with documenting programming and principles and evaluating them consistently. To address this request, the team analyzed the context and problem of practice through document review, empathy interviews, partner discussions and site visits. The literature review helped the team design and conduct research, fieldwork, and data analysis to support Peter Paul in standardizing procedures and programs, fostering a culture of institutional knowledge, and effectively communicating impact to stakeholders. The team used a Convergent Parallel …

Growth In Appalachia: Downtown Revitalization Strategies For Covington, Virginia, Tucker L. Keener

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This plan was created for the City of Covington, Virginia which is located in the Western part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This plan aims to identify the goals and desires of local community members and business owners that prioritize economic growth in the downtown core. The City of Covington has many great assets, and the goal of this plan is to leverage these assets to assist with downtown revitalization. Recommendations in this plan relate to ideas of enhancing downtown, creating and strengthening anchor institutions, and create downtown as a tourist destination.

Doing A Good Search: Basic Rules And Search Tips, Roy E. Brown

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This updated handout, previous version published in 2023, serves as a reference for individuals learning effective database search practices. It covers fundamental search principles, including Boolean operators, question types, and potential databases for various questions for assignments or in the clinical environment. Notably, this version incorporates a diagram illustrating the search process.

Remember, the search process is iterative, involving repeated cycles of refinement. Your approach will vary depending on the specific question you're trying to answer.

Update of Doing a Good Search: Basic Rules and Search Tips (2023)

The original version appeared in the following article:

McGrath, J. M., Brown, …

I Am Who I Am, Yifei Kong

Theses and Dissertations

I am Who I am

By Yifei Kong, MFA

My thesis research focuses on my cultural background and history as a Chinese woman. I explore the control and restraint of women from ancient times and highlight feminism. Traditional Chinese hair accessories reflect a type of control over women. Unlike traditional Chinese hair accessories, which use a lot of precious metals and precious stones, my work uses recycled aluminum cans. That is an exploration of contemporary jewelry materials and a reflection of women's independent right to choose. With my pieces, women can use their preferred colors without considering their class and …

“I Know What Nothing Means”: Nostalgia, Hope, And The Postmodern Search For The Sublime, Kathryn L. Donati

Theses and Dissertations

Amid simultaneous crises of self, nation, digital citizenship, global health, climate change, and socio-political polarization, to name but a few of the catastrophes that seem to define life in the global West in the twenty-first century, where do we find hope? Do we find it at all? Is there any hope to be found? These are the questions that serve as the genesis for this undertaking in which I locate the origin of these crises far before the events of the 2016 and 2020 elections, far before even the panic of Y2K. I begin my examination of hope in contemporary …