Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

More Muslim, Salman Ahad Khan

Capstones

More Muslim is a show that explores the Muslim experience, with all its messiness.

Each episode is a narrative, transhistorical journey into one aspect of the Muslim experience that defined or is being defined by the modern world. This capstone forms the first two episodes of the series. Episode 1, "When Memes Meet Sufis," explores the question of how Rumi, a Muslim scholar from the 13th century, became the best-selling poet in the US. Episode 2, "The Halal Meat Conundrum," is a firsthand journey into the American halal meat industry and attempts to understand how halal became a $20 billion …

Food For Harlem, Izania Gonzalez

Capstones

Food for Harlem is a resource guide for Harlem residents to find local food-focused organizations. It’s a list for you to find where you can get healthy affordable food in your neighborhood. This project was created after the feedback I heard in discussion during my time at a food market in Harlem. The final product includes a complete list of over 70 food-focused organizations in Harlem, an interactive map, some important information about the included resources, and a list of definitions.

The website can be found here: https://imgjournalism.wixsite.com/food-for-harlem

Countering Dispossession: For Palestinians In The Diaspora, Maintaining Cultural Identity Is A Means Of Resistance, Reem Farhat

Capstones

For decades, Palestinians have pushed back against Israeli appropriation of Palestinian culture, by calling it out online and making efforts to protect it through international organizations. On social media, Palestinians in the diaspora have resisted against erasure and appropriation of their heritage by learning, sharing, and teaching others about their culture online. Chef Nadia Gilbert, embroidery artist Asma Barakat, and TikToker Serena Rasoul have all maintained online presences dedicated to educating their followers on Palestinian culture. To them, practicing these aspects of their heritage in the diaspora is a means of resistance.

https://medium.com/@rfarhat1/countering-dispossession-for-palestinians-in-the-diaspora-maintaining-cultural-identity-is-a-e860d54bb8a9

The Dangers Of Nyc Non-Union Construction Work, Laura T. Bratton

Capstones

Just last week, two construction workers were killed in the span of a few days on sites in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

According to data from the Laborers International Union of North America, there were 19 construction worker deaths in New York City this year - bringing the catastrophic number back up to its pre-pandemic levels.

New York State’s Department of Labor finds that at least 15 of this year’s deaths occurred on non-union sites. According to a recent report by the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), construction workers made up 19% of worker deaths but …

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Black Cosplayers Push For Proper Dark-Skinned Character Representation In Media, Taylor K. Johnson

Capstones

As cosplay continues to rise in popularity at comic conventions, anime conventions and on social media, Black cosplayers push for media companies to invest in adding more dark-skinned characters in their shows and games.

Complicating The Narrative With The Adoption Constellation, Amanda K. Mchugh

Capstones

From September 2021 through December 2022 I worked with birth mothers and adoptees who are making efforts to complicate the narrative around adoption online. This resulted in a multi-platform project, creating a highly successful TikTok channel, an Instagram page, a private Facebook group and a Substack newsletter. The platforms decided on as well as the content on these platforms were decided upon in collaboration with the community, using deep listening and collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. I conducted six callouts through each ideation phase of the project, learning about where the media is falling short with regards to information …

Music Meets Algorithm: How Tiktok Is Changing The Music Industry For Independent Artists, Tatiana Krisztina Morales

Capstones

Music Meets Algorithm: How TikTok is changing the music industry for independent artists - A profile of two music artists who have had their career kick off after posting videos on TikTok that went viral. Link to Capstone Project: https://tatianakrisztina.wixsite.com/website/capstone

Theorizing, Bounded Rationality, And Expertise: Cognitive Sociology And The Quasi-Realism Of Problem-Solving As A Course Of Activity, Michael W. Raphael

Publications and Research

The question facing sociology is whether it is a field or a discipline. If it is a field, then there is no need for theorizing. However, if sociology is a discipline, then problem-solving cannot be disentangled from theorizing without a loss of intelligibility – the inability to explain the social as the concept of the discipline. Through the quasi-realism of problem-solving as a course of activity, this chapter presents cognitive sociology as a paradigm appropriate to the concept of the social understood as an ongoing course of activity. In doing so, it is shown how bounded rationality and expertise play …

An Event-Without-Witness: A Nietzschean Theory Of The Digital Will To Power As The Will To Temporalize, Talha Issevenler

Publications and Research

This article offers a Nietzschean theory of digital will to power to conceptualize the temporality of social media feeds run by algorithms. Stylistic and methodological temporalities of Nietzsche are discussed as well as their influence in subsequent social theory of political technologies. The paradox of heavy investment in both subjective expression and nonhuman temporalization in social media milieus is addressed with the concept of an event-without-witness drawn from Nietzsche’s account of himself as the solitary thinker of catastrophe of nihilism and psychoanalytical and deconstructive literatures on the catastrophes of the 20th century. Nietzsche’s fundamental resistance to and fascination with the …

Digital And Ebook Publishing, Philip M. Rappaport

Open Educational Resources

OER-based syllabus for ENGL 31131 Publishing Certificate Program course at City College, to expose students to career opportunities in New York City's publishing industry.

The Demographic And Socioeconomic Patterns Of New Latino Immigrants In New York City In The 2010s, Qiyao Pan

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines the demographic and socioeconomic patterns of new immigrants that arrived between 2010 and 2019 in New York City. It focuses on the characteristics and shifting dynamics of these newcomers in three time periods: 2010-2012, 2013-2015, and 2016-2019.

Methods: This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public …

Education And Employment Trends Among Puerto Ricans In New York City, 1990-2019, Amber Ferrer

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction

This report examines demographic trends in educational attainment and employment among Puerto Ricans living in New York City between 1990 and 2019. The report also observes the relationship between race and gender with employment and education trends.

Methods

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: …

The Socioeconomic Background Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In New York City: Latinos In Corona, Elmhurst, And Jackson Heights, 1990-2019, Oscar Aponte

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report analyzes the socioeconomic conditions of Latinos between 1990 and 2019 in three of the neighborhoods in New York City hit the most by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the number of cases and deaths per capita. The cases per capita in Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights neighborhoods were 1 in 19 people in Corona, 1 in 16 people in Elmhurst, and 1 in 19 people in Jackson Heights, significantly higher than the cases per capita in the rest of the city.

Methodology:

This study uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) for all …

Socioeconomic Conditions Of Foreign-Born And Domestic-Born Latinos In New York City, 1990-2018, Oscar Aponte

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This study focuses on the socioeconomic conditions of the five largest Latino nationalities in New York City (Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Ecuadorians, and Colombians) between 1990 and 2018. The report reveals significant differences in the socioeconomic status of Latinos and other racial and ethnic groups as well as between foreign-born and domestic-born Latinos.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent …

Traumatized Defendants, Troubled Attorneys: The Impact Of Vicarious Trauma On The Defense Attorney-Client Relationship, Charise Peters

Student Theses

Approximately 90% of justice-involved youth have experienced some form of trauma by the time they become involved in the justice system, and attorneys report being negatively impacted by their work with trauma-exposed populations generally. Yet, research has not focused on how varying degrees of youth trauma can impact attorney decisions and if that differs based on youth race. This study, therefore, explored vicarious trauma and its impact on juvenile defense attorneys, including how an attorney’s experience of vicarious trauma impacts case handling and perception of their youth client and how that differs based on client race and trauma history. We …

“Together We Arrived And Together We Shall Leave”: The Gouverneur Parents Association And The Politics Of Race And Disability In Postwar New York, Jorge A. Matos

Publications and Research

This essay documents the history of the Gouverneur Parents Association (GPA), a group of mostly Black and Latinx parents whose disabled children were institutionalized at the Gouverneur Division of the infamous Willowbrook State School in New York City. The GPA, in coalition with Black, Latinx, and White parents and activists, led a campaign during the 1970s and 1980s to close Willowbrook, then part of a national network of sites denounced by disability activists during the heyday of the deinstitutionalization movement. In this essay I argue that the postwar migration of Black and Latinx communities into New York City amid an …

Assessing The Impact Of Ferry Transit On Urban Crime, Bryan S. Weber, Paolo Cappellari

Publications and Research

In 2017, over a dozen ferry stations were introduced across the NYC region on multiple dates, serving roughly 10,000 customers per day. We measure a negative association between these stations and crime reduction, a significant decline of 11 crimes per week (11%) at a one-mile radius around the stations, and about 1 crime per week (32%) over the extremely narrow base of crime at the station itself. We also find no evidence of crime displacement. This study first utilized a traditional difference-in-differences methodology, but we also used a new tool, the causal random forest. Both methodologies are compared and contrasted …

Implementing Oer At Laguardia Community College: Three Case Studies, Ian Mcdermott, Joshua P. Tan, Alioune Khoule, Marta Kowalczyk, Emma Handte, Rena D. Grossman

Publications and Research

LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) began receiving funds from a New York State Open Educational Resources (OER) grant in 2017. Since then, several departments have made significant strides in the implementation of OER. We offer three case studies of putting OER into practice, in math, astronomy, and chemistry. Each case study presents the context for OER conversion, the steps taken, early results from OER implementation, and the main takeaways. A common feature across courses and departments is a process-oriented implementation of OER, namely, one that is constantly improving and moving towards the goal of openness and …

Coping With Constant Obsolescence: A Lifelong Task, Di Su

Publications and Research

Knowledge and skill obsolescence is a common obstacle in individual, organization, and society development. Thanks to the modern technologies, the rate of obsolescence accelerates rapidly in the information age. In the library workplace, obsolescence occurs constantly. We may be used to routines, but changes are inevitable as we have witnessed the evolution in library services and librarian workplace since the advent of the internet. To cope with obsolescence, it is crucial to have a lifelong learning mindset, make it a habit, and find ways to update our knowledge and skills to stay competent and serve the clientele effectively.

The Cultic Lifecycle: A Thematic Analysis Of Fulfillment And Fear In Cult Membership, Shaelen Grant

Student Theses

Prior research on susceptibility to cult recruitment has focused predominately on psychopathological risk factors, such as a prior personality disorder diagnosis and psychiatric and addictive disorders (Feldman & Johnson, 1995; Rousselet et al., 2017). While such studies contribute valuable information, they also inadvertently pathologize cult members. Furthermore, this focus has led to the overlooking of a more crucial question: what basic human desires does cult membership fulfill that cult leaders and recruiters exploit, to recruit and keep members in cults? To address this dearth, research team members interviewed 52 former cult members (N=52) from a variety of groups (e.g., Christian-based, …

Studying Factors Of Environmental Injustice And Ways To Achieve Equity, Arham Hussain, Reginald Metellus

Publications and Research

In today's day of age, the biggest concern for current and future generations: the environment. The urban heat island (UHi) with its significant energy, health, and societal impacts is among the major environmental issues in urban regions, especially in historically underserved and socially vulnerable communities (HUSVCs). In the 1930s, the former federal agency, Homeowners' Loan Corporation (H0Lq, created ''Residential Security" maps of major cities, known today as "redlined" areas. These neighborhoods were often designated as "hazardous" due to the high percentages of people of color living there, leading to systematic disinvestment based on race. While the program ended in 1968, …

The Effect On Mood Of Social Media Posting Among People With Mental Illnesses, Andrew Croiter

Student Theses

There are studies that have examined how the use of social media affects people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. However, studies that focus specifically on changes in mood after posting on social media among people with mental illnesses is absent from the literature. The present study sought to fill that gap in research by surveying 250 participants who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and testing whether there was a change in mood after posting on social media. The results concluded that there was a significant improvement in overall negative mood. There was no significant effect …

Thematic Consistency Between Criminal History And Crime Scene Behaviors: Comparing Sexual Homicide Offenders With And Without Criminal Histories Of Sexual Offenses, Shannon E. Ettinger

Student Theses

Offender profiling research suggests that offenders may display behavioral consistency, meaning they may behave in some consistent manner between their crime scene actions and other aspects of their lives. Through behavioral themes, researchers can identify consistency in groups of individual behaviors that are thematically similar. Previous literature successfully applied the Expressive/Instrumental themes to homicide crime scene behaviors and criminal history. The current study aims to apply the Expressive/Instrumental thematic approach to analyzing the relationship between sexual homicide offender’s criminal history and their crime scene behaviors. The present study focuses on the distinction between sexual homicide offenders with a history of …

Employment Experiences Of Nigerian Immigrant Women In The United States And Canada, Maryam A. Oguntola

Student Theses

African immigrants come to the United States and Canada for a better life; most come for the sake of job opportunities and professional advancement. Nigerian immigrant women are one of these groups of African immigrants. While it is likely that they experienced discrimination in the workforce in Nigeria, research has shown that African immigrants, African immigrant women, and Nigerian immigrant women, in particular, experience more discrimination in their host countries. Researchers have also shown that these groups may experience discrimination based on national origin, race, gender, educational background, and sometimes even religion. However, there is a gap in the research …

Prevalence Of Non-Self Dna On Three Different Sebaceous Skin Locations, Jan Kirstine Zamora

Student Theses

This project serves to provide additional information on the prevalence of non-self DNA on the exposed skin locations specifically the inner upper arm, the nape area of the neck and the neck area just below the ear, where current literature is lacking. Skin tape lifts from these locations were collected from 15 male participants and 13 female participants once a week over a period of three weeks. Only single source profiles were obtained from six volunteers. Eight volunteers had only one mixture DNA profile in nine samples, while mixture DNA profiles for at least two collection occasions were observed in …

The Intersection Of Religion And Mental Health Help-Seeking: Themes Within Youth Experiencing Early Psychosis, Breanna Nichols

Student Theses

Little research has examined the intersection of religion and mental health among predominantly conservative communities – where religion tends to weigh heavily. It is known from the literature that religion and spirituality play a role in influencing treatment pathways and views towards mental health. The primary aim of the present study was to explore via secondary thematic analysis, the intersection of religion and mental health within a conservative Midwestern community of youth who are receiving treatment for early psychosis, with a secondary look at family dynamics. Seven participant transcripts were analyzed from the Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy-Young Adult (NECT-YA) …

Perception Of Police And The Mediation Of Memory Distortion Via Trauma: Body Worn Camera Footage Of An Emotional Police-Citizen Encounter, Arlyn Abreu

Student Theses

This present study calls to question the objectivity of police body-worn camera (BWC) footage. Proponents assume that BWCs will be a panacea in a climate of heightened tensions between officers and communities. In spite of this, our findings challenge the rhetoric, and the purpose BWC is intended to serve. We explored its implications on memory distortion by posing two questions (a) can people come to remember BWC footage as more traumatic than they initially experienced (b) to what degree can external information and internal influences impact peoples' judgment about a traumatic event. We addressed both questions in this two-part study, …

Systematic Review Of A Ramsar Wetland And Unesco Biosphere Reserve In A Climate Change Hotspot (Ichkeul Lake, Tunisia), Sabrine Sahbani, Béchir Béjaoui, Sihem Benabdalla, Rachid Toujani, Afef Fathalli, Noureddine Zaaboub, Jalel Aouissi, Zeineb Kassouk, Nabil Hamdi, Nabiha Ben Mbarek, Hechmi Missaoui, Leila Basti, Reginald Blake, Hamidreza Norouzi

Publications and Research

Tunisia's Ichkeul Lake is among the most productive ecosystems in the Mediterranean, with a great regional value thanks to its diversity of habitats. It is an important overwintering area for waterfowl species. It is a RAMSAR wetland, a National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage, and a Biosphere Reserve. This review paper provides a broad overview of the climatic, hydraulic, biogeochemical features, bio-resources, and bio-productivity of the Lake. The interconnectivity between the different environmental components of the lake is presented, highlighting the main characteristics of this vital ecosystem. Its ecosystem consists of a permanent lake bordered by temporary marshes. It is …

Distress In The Workplace: Characterizing The Relationship Of Burnout Measures To The Occupational Depression Inventory, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Renzo Bianchi

Publications and Research

Burnout has been found to problematically overlap with depression. However, the generalizability of this finding remains disputed. This study examined burnout–depression overlap using the recently developed Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) and two burnout measures, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The study involved two teacher samples employed in France (N = 1,450) and New Zealand (N = 492). We found the correlations of the ODI with (a) the MBI’s emotional exhaustion (EE) subscale and (b) the CBI to reach .80. An explanation of these high correlations based on content overlap in fatigue-related items was ruled …

Pretrial Consequences: The Impact Of New York State Bail Reforms On Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Pretrial Outcomes, Esther Laaninen

Student Theses

This study investigates the impact of New York’s 2020 Bail Reforms on racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial outcomes for New York State. 2019, 2020, and 2021 arraignment data from the Office of Court Administration Pretrial Release Datasets are used to determine whether racial and ethnic disparities for White Non Hispanic, Black Non Hispanic, Hispanic, and other race defendants narrowed after the implementation of the new law. The results from descriptive analysis, binary logistic regressions, and ANOVA tests suggest that racial-ethnic disparities have not abated, even though the proportion of defendants required to pay cash bail has sharply declined among …