Digital Commons Network^™

Ssw 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, Ian G. Williams

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus is an Open Educational Resources (OER) remixed version of SSW 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, which is taught at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. This version updated the content and integrated additional OER materials, as part of the Summer 2026 cohort of The Open Knowledge Fellowship at the Mina Rees Library. It is a Zero-Textbook (ZTC) cost course and integrates materials from a range of academic disciplines. Official course description is as follows:

"This foundation course furnishes you with the orienting knowledge and skills needed to examine social welfare policies and to understand their relevance …

Keeping It Real With Responsible Futuring: Reflecting On The Epistemic And Political Ambition Of A Transdisciplinary Approach For Societal Transitions, Cristina Zaga, Julieta Matos Castaño, Mascha Van Der Voort

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Amidst the upheaval of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the threat of the Sixth Extinction, designers focus on approaches that help communities connect and imagine alternative, desirable futures. Transdisciplinary approaches promise more sustainable and just transitions by valuing and integrating diverse forms of knowledge to co-shape more equitable design interventions. However, these ambitions often fall short. Transdisciplinary practices may be reduced to justice-washing or corporate co-optation, frequently failing to achieve epistemic and social justice. This paper introduces Responsible Futuring, a transdisciplinary design-led approach that enables communities to actively shape their future trajectories, embracing collaboration and diverse perspectives as catalysts for …

Msw Portfolio, Kadie A. Baney

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio documents my development as a Master of Social Work student at the University of Montana and demonstrates my achievement of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) competencies through integrated coursework and practicum experience. Grounded in an advanced integrated practice framework, this portfolio reflects my emerging professional identity as a rural social worker committed to supporting students and young adults. My practice is informed by systems theory, the strengths perspective, trauma-informed care, and the Just Practice framework, which together guide ethical, culturally responsive, and socially just practice.

Across ten competencies, this portfolio illustrates growth in ethical and professional …

Show And Tell: Integrating The Arts Into Transdisciplinary Public Health And Community Organizing Education, Bree L. Hemingway, Margaret Hawkins

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This field note examines the integration of arts-based pedagogy into a transdisciplinary graduate course that brings together students from public health, medicine, the social sciences, humanities, education, technology, and the arts. Central to the course is the Show and Tell assignment, in which students select and present a work of art connected to a social movement. Over three years and 42 student submissions, this assignment has served as an accessible entry point for exploring how artistic expression shapes activism, fosters community, and deepens understanding of justice-oriented work. Through an inductive content analysis of student-selected artworks and presentations, five major thematic …

Opening Remarks At The Launch Of Lagff-Doc And The Inaugural Lmu Prize For Social Justice For Documentaries: The Lmu–Lagff 10-Year Educational Partnership, Katerina Zacharia

Classics and Archaeology Faculty Works

This document comprises two speeches delivered by Professor Katerina Zacharia on January 31, 2026, at Loyola Marymount University. The first speech marks the launch of the inaugural Los Angeles Greek Documentary Film Festival (LAGFF-doc) and celebrates a decade of educational partnership between LMU's Department of Classics & Archaeology and the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF). It reflects on the program's growth since 2014 — encompassing over 220 student interns, 135 students in Greek cinema courses, and 15 School of Film and Television faculty jurors — and articulates LMU's Jesuit mission of educating the whole person through experiential learning, critical …

Sustainable Justice: A Critical Contemplative Approach To Sustainability In Higher Education, Jessica A. Reneau

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The field of sustainability studies increasingly asks students to confront ecological crises alongside considerations of power, privilege, and unequal environmental harm. This work can be emotionally challenging as well as intellectually complex. Contemplative practices, such as meditation and yoga, may offer meaningful pedagogical support, helping students cultivate the attention, reflection, and emotional capacity needed to stay engaged with justice-centered sustainability learning. Although the use of contemplative pedagogies is growing in higher education, little research has examined how these practices shape justice-orientated learning outcomes in sustainability education. This dissertation addresses that gap by exploring how both student and instructor experience contemplative …

Green Space: Investigation Into The Role Pocket Parks Play In Biodiversity And Human Well-Being, Jacalyn Speicher

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Natural communities and the birds that inhabit them are essential to the physical and emotional well-being of human residents in urban settings. The action research undertaken in this study addresses the social and environmental justice issues of equity, accessibility, and diversity afforded avian and human communities in the design of pocket parks within the urban landscape. As urbanization consumes the natural landscape, people and birds must adapt to the novel challenges of a changing environment. I studied 10 pocket parks identified in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between January and June 2026. This time frame spanned the seasons from winter to …

The Justice–Empowerment Nexus: Pathways To Inclusive And Sustainable Tourism Development, Raymond Rastegar, Siamak Seyfi, Mostafa Rassolimanesh

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

As the pursuit of sustainability increasingly calls for social inclusion and equity, this study examines how social justice shapes community empowerment in tourism destinations. Although justice is central to sustainable development discourse, limited empirical understanding exists of how its dimensions collectively influence empowerment. Focusing on the tourism across three major tourism destinations, Australia, the UK, and the USA, the research examines the relationships between recognition, procedural, and distributive justice and different dimensions of community empowerment including psychological, social, economic and political empowerment. Utilizing a quantitative approach and guided by equity and social justice theories, the study employs partial least squares …

Holding Space, Creating Change: A Journey Through Social Work, Angela M. Millet

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

Holding Space, Creating Change reflects my journey through the Master of Social Work program and the personal, academic, and professional growth that shaped my emerging identity as a social worker. Rooted in a person-in-environment perspective and guided by trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and justice-oriented frameworks, this portfolio integrates my learning across coursework, practicum experiences, and community-based work. I trace my development from an early interest in macro-level advocacy to a deep commitment to clinical practice grounded in empathy, connection, and humility.

Throughout this portfolio, I demonstrate competence across the advanced generalist dimensions of ethical practice, ADEI engagement, research-informed practice, policy analysis, …

Interrogating The Racial Wealth Gap: Thinking Locally -- Event Program, Lender Center For Social Justice

The Lender Center for Social Justice

A pamphlet for the Interrogating the Racial Wealth Gap: Thinking Locally event.

2024-25 Lender Report -- Report, Lender Center For Social Justice

The Lender Center for Social Justice

The 2024-25 Lender Report, encompassing the year's events and research.

Tennessee Journal Of Race, Gender, And Social Justice Vol. 14, Iss.2 (Full Publication), Editor In Chief

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

For The Marginalized: A Purposeful Path To Social Work, Sarah Christina Stenseth Mathias

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

In For the Marginalized: A Purposeful Path to Social Work, I reflect on the journey that led me from education into social work, grounded in a commitment to advocacy, ethical practice, and systemic change. Using my experiences in a therapeutic day-treatment school setting, I integrated trauma-informed, culturally responsive approaches with evidence-based practice to support marginalized students navigating mental health challenges, systemic barriers, and educational inequities. My portfolio highlights growth across the Five Elements of Advanced Integrated Practice, focusing on self-reflection, social justice advocacy, interdisciplinary collaboration, research-informed practice, and leadership. Throughout this journey, I remained anchored in the belief that …

"Do Not Be Daunted": Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Marit Olson

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio outlines my growth and development in meeting the competencies of social work and advanced integrated practice.

System Change, Not Climate Change: Collaborative Development Of A Few Nexus Experiential Learning Course For A Justice-Centered Comparative Study Abroad Program, Sonya Ahamed

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

The International Honors Program (IHP) on Climate Change: The Politics of Land, Water and Energy Justice has been offered by the School for International Training (SIT) since 2013. This thematic multidisciplinary program currently travels to Morocco, Nepal, and Ecuador for one month each, introducing students to local food, water, and energy challenges in the context of a changing climate. In updating the program following its relaunch in 2023, renewed attention was given to the food, energy, and water nexus from a comparative perspective across and within these countries. This presentation will focus on the development of experiential learning cycles for …

Pumped Storage Hydropower In The United States: Emerging Importance, Environmental And Social Impacts, And Critical Considerations, Surabhi Karambelkar, Alida Cantor, Thien-Kim Bui, Bethani Turley, Maryalice Fischer, Shannon Ames

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pumped storage hydropower is a widely used, long-duration energy storage system that sits squarely at the water-energy nexus. Bold decarbonization goals have propelled a rapid resurgence of interest in pumped storage hydropower in the US, given its ability to provide bulk energy storage, manage grid reliability, and support increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources. Drawing on published research from both technical and social science perspectives, this paper provides an overview of pumped storage hydropower technology, the project development pipeline, potential social and environmental impacts, including a comparison of open-loop and closed-loop design configurations, and critical considerations for project development. …

Spatial Vulnerability Towards Flooding And Mitigation Of Three Coastal Cities: Charleston, South Carolina | Passaic City, New Jersey| Virginia Beach, Virginia, Kory Abbott

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This meta-analysis investigates the impact of flooding on three coastal communities along the Atlantic Coast: Charleston, South Carolina; Passaic City, New Jersey; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. One goal of this paper is to determine the adequacy or inadequacy in the flood mitigation responses of these communities so that future actions can be taken to improve flood mitigation measures. Another goal is to consider whether the cities experience environmental injustice in terms of flooding mitigation. This paper draws from governmental documents, news reports, local experiences, updated storm management systems, and scholarly articles. The methodology used in this meta-analysis is as follows: …

Master Of Social Work Portfolio: Rooted In Community, Whitney Wb Pratt

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

“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 …

Jaha At Scientific Sessions 2023: Moving Toward Social Justice In Cardiovascular Health In The United States, Carissa M. Baker-Smith, Salina P. Waddy, Sara Hassani, Mahasin Mujahid, Tochi Okwuosa, Emmanuel Peprah, Bernadette Boden-Albala

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Attention to social justice is essential to improving cardiovascular health outcomes. In the absence of social justice, equitable cardiovascular health is impossible. This viewpoint provides a brief synopsis of the 2023 Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA)–sponsored session titled “Moving Towards Social Justice in Cardiovascular Health.” We define social justice and summarize the burden of cardiovascular disease inequity in the United States. We also highlight strategies for achieving social justice, including addressing workforce diversity, integrating social determinants into cardiovascular research, designing cardiovascular interventions to close the equity gap, and improving inclusivity in cardiovascular disease trials.

'Higher' Education: Incorporating Cannabis As Interdisciplinary Curricula, John W. Lipford, A. Scott Rood

Journal of Tourism Insights

This paper details successful efforts undertaken, at a Midwest (U.S.) university to address the significant lack of cannabis-centered academics within U.S. higher education. The foci of this paper for interdisciplinary cannabis curricula at the subject university is three-fold: student-centered, industry-centered, and community-centered. The curricular innovation was designed, presented, and now implemented, in a form of stackable credentialling; through which students develop fundamental knowledge about cannabis (badge in ‘cannabis operations’), apply that knowledge in a holistic way to local regions (certificate in ‘cannabis & community planning’), and culminate their learning experience with advanced topics and experiential learning components via an academic …

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

Msw Portfolio Paper, Kortni Sims

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio paper integrates personal experiences with academic and professional development. She is reflecting on her progression as a social worker. The paper focuses on food security and social justice, examining the impact of systems theory and conflict theory in her practice. Sims demonstrates her proficiency in the ten social work competencies, highlighting her ability to engage in critical self-reflection and advocate for marginalized communities. The paper concludes with a reflection on her past, present, and future as an advanced integrated social worker, committed to ongoing personal and professional growth.

College Athletes, Social Justice, And The Role Of Social Workers In Advocating For Change, Lauren Mccoy, Evie Oregon, Dana J. Sullivan

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Social justice activism from college athletes is considered a rare occurrence often due to the intensity of negative public response and the possibility of athletic repercussions. The likelihood of negative reactions did not stop the unique, highly publicized protests at Grambling State University and the University of Missouri. These protests set the tone for college athlete unionization and a new era of college athlete activism. College athletes recognize their power as corporate brands and standing as a group made it so their voices had to be heard or else face financial consequences. While these protests achieved their initial goals, their …

Manywheres: In Pursuit Of Social Justice In Developmental Science, Gabriel M. Velez, Séamus A. Power

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

In this article, we articulate an innovative framework, manywheres, and argue that it can advance the work of fostering youth-led change and progressive world-making. We first root psychological and development science in an applied framework of developing more just, harmonious, and tolerant social worlds. Then, we introduce manywheres, a guiding framework of propositions of attending to the complexity and nuance of meaning-making across individuals without becoming lost in nihilism, relativism, or ethnocentric views of social justice. This leads to the construction of a more holistic developmental lens considering the age-related, contextual, and internal factors that shape meaning-making individual …

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 …

Searching For Justice: Incorporating Critical Legal Research Into Clinic Seminar, Priya Baskaran

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Article provides educators with a roadmap for incorporating Critical Legal Research into Clinical Pedagogy. Critical Legal Research is a social justice-oriented critical intervention that provides a theoretical framework and practical application. Critical Legal Research provides lawyers with tools to deconstruct but also reconstruct legal research and analysis modes to engender more just, client-focused outcomes that fall outside dominant legal narratives. The problematic advent of ChatGPT and the broader incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the legal research regime has made the Critical Legal Research project more urgent than ever. Ultimately, introducing Critical Legal Research in the clinic seminar is …

The Persistent Public Health Emergency, Yael Zakai Cannon

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

May 11, 2023 was ostensibly a day of celebration. With infections and deaths from COVID-19 down, the federal government announced the end of the official Public Health Emergency three years after its initial declaration. But the conclusion of the Public Health Emergency also signaled the termination of unprecedented health protection measures—outside the realm of healthcare—such as eviction and utility shutoff moratoria and emergency rental and utility assistance. These COVID-era measures successfully cut eviction filings nationally by more than half and provided people in many jurisdictions with the protections and assistance needed to maintain their electricity, heat, water, and gas. Now …

(How) Can Litigation Advance Multiracial Democracy?, Olatunde C.A. Johnson

Faculty Scholarship

Can rights litigation meaningfully advance social change in this moment? Many progressive or social justice legal scholars, lawyers, and advocates would argue “no.” Constitutional decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court thwart the aims of progressive social movements. Further, contemporary social movements often decenter courts as a primary domain of social change. In addition, a new wave of legal commentary urges progressives to de-emphasize courts and constitutionalism, not simply tactically but as a matter of democratic survival.

This Essay considers the continuing role of rights litigation, using the litigation over race-conscious affirmative action as an illustration. Courts are a key …

You Don't Need Green To Dream, Marisol Oriana Ruiz Gonzalez, Abdias Garcia Gabriel

Fiction and Poetry

YOU DON’T NEED GREEN TO DREAM ...you just need patience, love, and hard work. In this beautifully illustrated and bilingual children's book, you'll join the author on a journey from San Francisco to New Mexico, Texas, and Pasadena to find ways to help our environment without spending a dollar!

NO NECESITAS VERDE PARA SOÑAR...solo necesitas paciencia, amor y trabajo duro. En este libro infantil bellamente ilustrado, te unirás al autor en un viaje desde San Francisco a Nuevo México, Texas y Pasadena para encontrar formas de ayudar a nuestro medio ambiente sin gastar un dólar.