Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Research Skills Combining Microbes And Social Equity (Avs 590-0980), Sue Ishaq, School Of Food And Agriculture

General University of Maine Publications

To understand a microbiome, you must learn about the bustling community of microorganisms and the complex ecosystems they live in, because one cannot exist without the other. So, too, does microbiome research rely on understanding the lives and ecology of humans, because there is no aspect of human life which does not involve microbes in some way. To become better microbiome researchers, we must understand social and environmental contexts which affect humans and, in many cases, prevent them from making choices which result in beneficial microbial exposures. This symposium will focus on developing research skills to create transformative research, including …

Three Essays On Governance, Inequality, And Social Equity, Sarah Ausmus Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Comprised of three essays, my dissertation is linked by a common focus: the relationship between state or local governance arrangements and inequality or facets of social equity. I draw upon a range of literatures to motivate my research questions and inform my methodologies—welfare and social policy, public economics, intergovernmental relations, public finance and management.

In the first essay, I ask: does localizing welfare governance impact geospatial access to the social safety net? This is an important question because proximity is highly salient to program utilization. I geocode the location of human services nonprofits from tax filings in eight states using …

Addressing Social Inequity: A Case Study Of Success, Ed Tarlton, Robert Harper, Brandi Blessett, Brian N. Williams, Jarrad Carter

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Social equity is relatively easy to define but much harder to accomplish. As a result, achieving social equity continues to be difficult in American society and across the globe. We present a case study of a collaborative effort by two nonprofits to conduct a program for public high schools and local law-enforcement agencies across the United States. The program was designed to acknowledge and address the historic harms that impact police-community relations. Our paper delineates the origins of the problem and our approach, presents data that demonstrate the positive impact the program had on bridging gaps, changing perceptions, and lessening …

The Mcgillicuddy Fellowship Showcase: An Annual Opportunity For Enlightenment, Stella Tirone

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Michael Socolow, director of the Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center, and Karen Sieber, a humanities specialist at the center, were excited to introduce this year’s four McGillicuddy’s students. While their research differed in topics, students Hailey Cedor, Nola Prevost, Nolan Altvater and Katherine Reardon all had the same idea of sharing the truth in mind. The truths that these four students have spent the past year chasing range from the retelling of family history to reparations for the Holocaust from the influence of men in fairytales to the treatment of Wabanaki people — both in the past and present.

Legalizing Marijuana Is The Only Just Path Forward, Leah Savage

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Tuesday was April 20, or 4/20, so here’s a friendly reminder in light of the holiday; Barack Obama smoked marijuana, and he isn’t a degenerate, he was the 44th president of the United States. Marijuana has been legalized in 16 states as well as Washington, D.C., and there are numerous studies showing that marijuana is, at the very least, just as safe as alcohol. So why are over 40,000 Americans still incarcerate for marijuana-related charges?

Women In Leadership And Social Justice' Talk Contextualizes Strides Toward Gender Equity At Umaine, Abigail Martin

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy hosted "The Women in Leadership and Social Justice: The Importance of Diversity. Equity and Inclusion" talk on March 15 [2021], at 4 p.m. This talk was a part of Women's History Month and focused on discussing women's issues and the importance of diversity.

Umaine Collaborates With College Of The Atlantic To Host Black Studies Discussion, Madeline .

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The University of Maine philosophy department in collaboration with the College of the Atlantic hosted a discussion on “Black Studies and Questions of Institutional and Structural Change” on Monday, March 8 [2021]. Professor Kirsten Jacobsen from UMaine’s philosophy department and professor Netta Van Vliet from the College of the Atlantic’s department of cultural anthropology organized the event.

Take Part In Black History Month By Stepping Up To Fogler’S Racial Justice Challenge, Abigail Martin

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Jen Bonnet, Madelyn Woods and Anila Karunakar co-designed Fogler Library’s Racial Justice Challenge, one resource of many for celebrating Black History Month at the University of Maine. Bonnet is a social sciences and humanities librarian at the Fogler Library on campus, Woods is a Ph.D. student in earth and climate sciences and Karunakar serves as the director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion. The Racial Justice Challenge first launched in August of this past summer. “With the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks and other BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) at the …

Kamala Harris Breaks Barriers As First Female Vp, Megan Ashe

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Last week, Americans finally got some answers as to who their new president-elect and vice president-elect would be. With 306 electoral votes, Joe Biden will be the next president and Kamala Harris will be the next vice president when they are inaugurated on Jan. 21, 2021. Kamala Harris is a powerful woman in politics and she will be the first woman in the role of vice president, as well as the first person of South Asian heritage and the first Black person as vice president. This accomplishment has inspired many women, Black people and people of South Asian heritage, and …

Racial Justice Challenge Promotes Anti-Racism In The Umaine Community, Megan Ashe

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The spring of 2020 sparked a resurgence of racial justice movements on a national level as a result of police officers publicly killing a number of unarmed Black people, including George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, which brought national attention to the issue of police brutality. Public opinions surged in favor of social justice movements including the Black Lives Matter movement, after reports of unwarranted brutal force used by police officers surfaced and highlighted the biases that affect many Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC). The dialogue surrounding disenfranchisement of BIPOC provided a glimpse into the broader issues of police …

Jazz Studies Statement On 'Black Lives Matter', University Of Maine School Of Performing Arts, Jazz Studies

University of Maine Racial Justice Collection

Statement by Jazz Studies faculty at the University of Maine School of Performing Arts, standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and acknowledging "African-American for the cumulative, creative vision that we have come to call Jazz music."

Jazz Studies Statement On 'Black Lives Matter', University Of Maine School Of Performing Arts, Jazz Studies

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Statement by Jazz Studies faculty at the University of Maine School of Performing Arts, standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and acknowledging "African-American for the cumulative, creative vision that we have come to call Jazz music."

End Racism Protest' Is Held On The Umaine Mall, Charles Cramer

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Students, faculty and community members from across the Orono area gathered on Monday to protest online comments made three weeks earlier about Columbus Day and Indigenous American peoples by members of the University of Maine College Republicans (UMCR). The comments in question were initially uploaded to the UMCR’s Facebook page on Oct. 5 and were addressed in an email on Oct. 7 by both UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Robert Dana. The email from Ferrini-Mundy and Dana denied that the posts were representative of UMaine’s values, but chose to maintain their …

Center For Social Equity + Inclusion Action Plan, Center For Social Equity & Inclusion, Rosanne Somerson, Rene Watkins Payne

Center for Social Equity & Inclusion Action Plan

Art and design have far-reaching capacities for generating shared language and connecting people and communities. The creative forms we study at RISD are powerful means for conveying ideas and shaping experiences across habituated boundaries. Today we see those forms resonate more than ever before in the multilingual, culturally heterogeneous, digitally interconnected spaces around the globe. In fact, the democratization of communications media has made it possible for long marginalized voices to join and substantively transform our public discourses. The resulting body of critical knowledge has focused attention on interlocking systems of privilege and disenfranchisement entrenched throughout our social institutions, including …

Belonging, Bridges, And Bodies, Sheena Malhotra, Kimberlee Pérez

Graduate Student Scholarly and Creative Submissions

Feminists' negotiations of academic spaces are often facilitated by allies who act as bridges for us. We interviewed three pairs of women who are friends, colleagues, or partners and analyzed their stories for notions of how they were enacting bridgework for each other within the context of fluid identities, and shifting power relationships. We find that bridgework happens primarily along three axes in these relationships: bridging to community, bridging to power, and bridging to consciousness. This paper unpacks the differentials of bridgework done by differently racialized bodies as a means to understanding the conditions for belonging those bodies evoke. We …

Wabanaki Center Helps Strengthen Cultural Ties Through Drama, Peter Cook

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The Wabanaki Center at the University of Maine has received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to continue its work on language and culture revitalization in Passamaquoddy communities in the state.

Gap Widening Between Rich, Poor, Paul Livingstone

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The gap between the rich and poor of the United States is widening, a visiting speaker at the University of Maine and Saturday.