Social Policy Commons^™

Homelessness, Shelter, And Human Rights In California And New York, Rebecca Wilson

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The purpose of this project is to discuss the issues of homelessness and lack of shelter in the United States, specifically in the states of California and New York, as a human right. Due to the majority of California’s homeless population going unsheltered and the large majority of New York’s homeless population receiving shelter, there are ways that California can learn from the system that New York has developed in order to more efficiently and justly provide shelter to its homeless population. This paper analyzes what has worked and what has not worked in either state in providing the human …

Understanding The Employment Barriers And Support Needs Of People Living With Psychosis, Margaret Hampson, Richard Hicks, Bruce Watt

The Qualitative Report

This study investigated the employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. A purposive community sample of 137 volunteers drawn from six key stakeholder groups were invited to participate in focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews to elicit their perceptions on the employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. The stakeholder groups included in this study were people with lived experience of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, carers, health professionals, employers, employment service providers, and community members. Data obtained from 14 focus groups and 31 semi-structured individual interviews were transcribed, imported into NVivo 10, and coded …

Barriers To Transitional Housing Access Among Homeless Male Adults In The City Of Portland, Alexander T. Raines

Student Research Symposium

From 2011 to 2014, there were 191 confirmed deaths among homeless persons living in Multnomah County, approximately 88% of which were among adult men (over the age of 18). This alarming statistic in no way-shape-or-form represents the demographic makeup of Multnomah County’s homeless population, with a 2015 point-in-time count finding males over the age of 24 comprising just 52% of Multnomah’s homeless. Among these individuals the average age of death was just 43.3 years old; for comparison, the standard life expectancy for a man born in Multnomah County is 76.6 years old. This pattern of vulnerability among homeless men may …

Plastic Pollution And The Global Throwaway Culture: Environmental Injustices Of Single-Use Plastic, Kristin L. Mcdermott

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

The global throwaway culture has created a cross-ecosystem plastic pollution injustice. The first to suffer this injustice will be the most vulnerable. Our oceans have become our dumpsters. The throwaway culture has created a disrespect of material goods that has turned the earth’s resources into rubbish after a single use. Eighty percent of the yearly 8 million tons of plastic that enter the ocean is single use plastic, such as plastic bottles, plastic shopping bags, or cigarette lighters.[1] Plastic has destroyed ecosystems, robbing impoverished communities of natural resources and of a healthy and safe living environment. First to suffer …

Including Men And Boys In Programming Of Violence Against Women And Girls: A Case Study Of The Safe Schools Program In Ghana And Stepping Stones Program In Uganda, Nana A. Ampofo

Sustainability and Social Justice

Violence against women and girls and its potential solutions increasingly garner international attention in the media and find themselves at the center of development agency portfolios. Program interventions aimed at eradicating violence against women and girls must create solutions that examine the socio-cultural values and normative expectations that boys and girls, men, and women place on one another. Many scholars argue that changing social norms or beliefs is an inter-generational process, as they are entrenched in and reproduced through social institutions such as the family, schools and religion (Enloe, 2013). Over the past decade, scholars and practitioners have noted violence …

"Refugee Industrial Complex," Neoliberal Governance Within The Resettlement Industry And Its Effects: Is An Alternative Structure Possible?, Amira F. Al-Dasouqi

Sustainability and Social Justice

Within the current political climate and discussions surrounding displacement, refugee resettlement is a ‘hot-button’ issue. While working at one of the largest resettlement agencies in New England, the author began to analyze how power itself is structured within the Refugee Resettlement Industry (RRI) nationally. This paper argues that the RRI is embedded within neoliberal governance and can be better understood and improved with this understanding. The author argues for the term “Refugee [Resettlement] Industrial Complex,” to more adequately understand the ways that power is enacted through the current structure, and how it inhibits social justice work rooted in advocating for …

It’S About Time: Costs And Coverage Of Paid Family And Medical Leave In Massachusetts, Randy Albelda, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

In the United States, some, but far from all, employers offer certain forms of wage replacement when workers take a leave for medical or family reasons. In 2015, only 12% of all workers had access to paid family leave from their employers, 38% had access to short-term disability leave, and 65% had paid sick leave. Extending paid family and medical leave to all employees through a statewide program would share the costs and expand access, level the employment playing field, and reduce inequality among workers. One often-cited obstacle to providing paid family and medical leave in the United States is …

Implementation Of The Public Distribution System: An Empirical Analysis Of The Right To Food In An Urban Slum, Dipika Jain, Brian Tronic

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Malnutrition is one of the biggest problems facing India today. Thus, the functioning of the Public Distribution System (PDS) - which provides subsidized food to hundreds of millions of people is critically important. However, while numerous studies have evaluated the performance of the PDS in rural areas, there is a notable lack of research in urban slums, a rapidly growing population. Through interviews with PDS beneficiaries and other stakeholders, the present study examines the PDS in one slum in Delhi and finds numerous problems, including low quality grain, corruption, and the lack of an effective complaint mechanism. Although several states …

Sri Lanka National Mine Action Strategy 2016-2020, Ministry Of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement, And Hindu Religious Affairs

Global CWD Repository

This national mine action strategy was developed with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders in Sri Lanka’s mine action programme, including:

• representatives from the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL);

• Sri Lankan Army Humanitarian Demining Units (SLA HDUs);

• national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs); and

• civil society organisations.

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) assisted with facilitating a four-day strategy and prioritisation workshop in Colombo in June 2015, bringing all key stakeholders together. The strategy is based on information gathered during that workshop as well as on follow-on meetings and discussions on specific topics. …

Advanced Training On Ammunition Identification And Disposal In Afghanistan, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

GICHD delivered an advanced level training course on ammunition identification and disposal in Kabul, Afghanistan on 16-29 April 2016. The focus of the course was to build on existing skillsets and improve the knowledge of the characteristics of NATO and other ammunition encountered in Afghanistan.

By not offering a formal IMAS explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) qualification and associated testing protocols, the course curriculum allowed flexibility. On the first day the program was customised to the assessed needs of the attendees, based on the feedback from interviews with them all. As a result the curriculum allowed, for the practicing of alternative …

A Guide To Cluster Munitions, Gichd, Convention On Cluster Munitions

Global CWD Repository

Since the CCM entered into force in 2010, much expertise has been acquired by States Parties and partner organisations. This expertise addresses challenges in treaty compliance and best practices that have been developed within the sector to support effective and efficient implementation of the Convention.

This new edition of A Guide to Cluster Munitions features updated information on the Convention’s key obligations such as stockpile destruction and cluster munitions clearance. It features comprehensive descriptions and illustrations of the types of cluster munitions in contaminated areas. It also explores good practices in risk education and victim assistance, as well as other …

Predicting Depression In Older Adults: Community Vs. Nursing Home, Hannah Vitello, Skye Leedahl

Senior Honors Projects

With the population of the United States slowly growing older, the issues surrounding long-term services and supports (LTSS) will become more prevalent. Little research has been done comparing older adults living in nursing homes to older adults living in the community, especially regarding mental health and depression. Depression is a mental illness that affects people emotionally and physically, as well as mentally, which can lead easily into other health complications in the older adult population. This study seeks to determine if factors such as demographics, health, social interaction, and family relationships affect mental health in nursing home residents differently than …

How Code Enforcement Mitigates Hoarding In The Community, Jason Gibilisco

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

Choral Theatre, Albert Joseph Wolfe Jr.

Dissertations

Jamaica gained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, after some 300 years of colonization. Prior to Independence, the standard arts education curriculum was decidedly British and Western European. That which was labeled Caribbean or Jamaican “folk” by the British was deemed inferior and was not taught, demonstrated, or performed in formal settings. Thus, generations of Jamaicans never observed or imagined a Caribbean aesthetic in the visual and performing arts. Instead, pre-Independence Jamaicans were taught British and Western European music and performed it the “British” way.

Today, Jamaicans boast a number of artistic developments that are instantly recognized across the …

Exchange Patterns And Relations In Collaborative Governance., Charles Wharton Kaye-Essien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative governance has received considerable attention in recent years. From environmental resource management to public safety, collaborative governance continues to play a vital role in regional problem solving. In spite of this increasing popularity previous attempts to model the political, economic, and demographic determinants of collaboration have in most cases produced inconsistent results, thereby undermining the ability to generalize from such findings. Additionally, our understanding of the relational patterns that emanate from collaborative agreements remains fairly rudimentary. The main objective of this research is to address some of the gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of collaborative governance …

The Chinese Culture And Hungary, Attila Kasznár

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

The Birth Of Development: The Social, Economic And Environmental Advantages To Contraceptive Use On A Global Scale, Linda Hanes

Honors Theses

For many women around the world, pregnancy is a miraculous, exciting stage in life. But for others pregnancy means financial burden, having to stay in an abusive relationship, or giving up a career. What many people forget is that motherhood is not the default position for women. As a result of the traditional views of acceptable roles regarding women, in most, if not all cultures, there is a stigma placed on family planning and abortion. To talk about contraceptive use is to admit that sex is a natural part of life for all genders. Many cultures are not prepared to …

Inequality, Mobility, And Cities, Alan Berube

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Inequality may be the result of global economic forces, but it matters in a local sense. Large population, diverse housing types, and generally progressive politics mean that big cities will always have higher shares of the rich and poor than smaller places. But a city where the rich are very rich, and the poor very poor, is likely to face difficulties educationally, fiscally, and socially. In the face of these economic forces and political gridlock in Washington, many cities are becoming the testing ground for new public policies to fight inequality and promote social mobility: local minimum wages, new affordable …

Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community (Presentation Slides), Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter

Center for Social Policy Publications

Presentation about the Boston Thrive in 5 program.

Contraception, Abortion And Assisted Fertility Among Muslim Women A Look At Islamic Culture And Policy In Iran And Afghanistan, Hayley Jacobsen

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

Discourse on women's reproductive rights through the lens of Muslim culture. The use of contraception, assisted fertility and abortion, are analyzed in Iran and Afghanistan. The culture surrounding family planning is detailed through a woman’s community, family, religion and the laws that govern the society they live in, which all influence her decision making in these matters. This piece stands as a cultural analysis of women's agency specifically in Middle Eastern Muslim culture, as it stands as a part of a global women's rights movement.

Afghan National Mine Action Strategic Plan 2016-2020, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

This is the first mine action strategic plan to be developed in consultation with all relevant mine action implementing partners, including the United Nations, government line ministries, international donors and other stakeholders. It sets out clearer path for mainstreaming development into mine action, an aspiration reflected in the Plan's following five goals: facilitating development; engaging with other sectors; taking action to reduce the impact of mines and ERW; taking action to mitigate the consequences of mine and ERW accidents; mainstreaming gender and diversity.

Age-Friendly Yarmouth Needs Assessment Report, Jan Mutchler, Ceara Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Molly Evans, Mai See Yang, Lindsey A. Baker, Hayley Gleason

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Communities throughout the nation are pursuing new strategies to promote health and quality of life among their residents. In 2014, the Town of Yarmouth joined the Age-Friendly Network through the World Health Organization and embarked on a five-year process to evaluate the community’s age-friendly features, plan for improvements, and implement change. The primary purpose of this report is to describe findings developed as part of the initial needs assessment phase of Yarmouth’s age-friendly initiative.

Examining The Comparative Use, Experience And Outcomes Of Community Service Orders As Alternatives To Short Prison Sentences In Ireland., Kate O'Hara

Doctoral

Background: In Ireland, under the Criminal Justice (Community Service) 1983 Act, a community service order (CSO) must only be imposed if a custodial sentence has first been considered. In 2011, an amendment to the 1983 Act was made, requiring courts to consider imposing CSOs as alternatives to prison sentences of less than one year. This amendment sought to address the underutilisation of community service, decrease the number of short-term committals, and benefit offenders and communities. Methodology: Administrative data from the Irish Prison and Probation Services pertaining to all cases sentenced to a short-term of imprisonment or CSO between 2011 and …

Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community, Year 4 - Summative Evaluation Brief, Prepared For Thrive In 5, Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter

Center for Social Policy Publications

Boston is a diverse vibrant community that has become a 'majority minority' city; 64% of Boston households with young children are people of color. However, economic and racial disparities hinder the realization of children's potential: over 38,000 children five and younger live in the city and 24% of these children live below the federal poverty line.

In 2008, cognizant of persistent academic achievement gaps, especially for low income children and children of color in the city, the late Mayor, Thomas M. Menino, and United Way of Massachusetts Bay issued a school readiness call for action. Sixty-five community leaders, representing all …

Creating A Veteran Centered Wellness Treatment Model For Successful Reintegration, Lisa Troupe Wallace

All Capstone Projects

In today's society the issue of reintegration following combat deployment among American Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF) veterans has been met with significant barriers. The purpose of this study was to examine current wellness models and to create a model that will assist veterans with reintegration into society. The current models will be examined to identify if the needs of the veterans are being met who are returning from combat and to examine community agencies, Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense programs and services essential to meeting their needs. A grounded study was …

An Independent Review Of The Mine Action Sector In Cambodia, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Cambodia is one of the oldest and most established mine action programmes in the world. Because of its extensive landmine and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) contamination and the early response that was provided 25 years ago with the assistance of the international community, the country's mine action sector has developed a robust and qualified capacity of national professionals and has benefited from the assistance of an extensive number of international organizations as well as the massive support from international development partners.

As a State Party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), Cambodia has demonstrated a strong commitment in …

Jesus With A Kalashnikov: Examining Marxist Elements In Liberation Theology And Soviet Influence On Its Origins, Todd "Cameron" Swathwood Jr

Senior Honors Theses

Liberation theology emerged as a prominent feature of religion and politics in the 1960s. Since the beginning, detractors have noted the overtly Marxist tendencies within this ideology. This thesis introduces the core concepts and presuppositions of liberation theology itself, and then focuses on specific and varied allegations concerning any influence the Soviet Union may have had on its formation and propagation. Particular weight is lent to the testimony of Lieutenant General Ion Mihai Pacepa, formerly the head of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu’s national intelligence service and the highest-ranking defector ever received from the Soviet Bloc. Pacepa has shared his insider …

Border Issues Demand Empathy: Speakers At Colby's Walker Symposium Consider Ways To Consider La Frontera, Charlie Eichacker

Colby Magazine

Mexican-American fiction writer Helena Maria Viramontes strives to help her readers understand the harder parts of the Chicano experience. Her first novel, Under the Feet of Jesus, for example, is about the dangerous lives of migrant farm workers in California.

Eating In East Harlem: An Assessment Of Changing Foodscapes In Community District 11, 2000-2015, Cuny Urban Food Policy Institute At The Cuny School Of Public Health And Health Policy, Nicholas Freudenberg, Melissa Fuster, Diana Johnson, Marissa Sheldon, Michele Silver, Apoorva Srivastava, Janet Poppendieck, Ashley Rafalow, Nevin Cohen

Publications and Research

The report analyzes changes in five domains -- food retail, food insecurity and food benefits, institutional food, food and nutrition education, and diet-related health conditions -- in East Harlem from before the election of Michael Bloomberg through the first two years of the de Blasio Administration. Its goal is to assess the ways in which food environments in East Harlem have improved, stayed the same, or worsened in this 15-year period in order to inform setting food policy goals for the next 5, 10 or 15 years.

Although East Harlem is blessed with a multitude of organizations and individuals dedicated …

Exploring Transnational Economic, Social, And Political Participation Of Mexican Immigrants In Oregon, Anabel López Salinas

Dissertations and Theses

Using a mixed methods approach and expanding on the literature on immigrants' transnational civic engagement, this research explores the paths and barriers to Mexican immigrant civic, economic, political, and social engagement in both immigrants' communities of origin in Mexico and communities of residence in Oregon, a relatively new destination for Mexican immigrants. The majority of the adult Mexican population only arrived to the state of Oregon over the last 15 years. Today Latinos represent the largest racial-ethnic minority, twelve percent of the state population, with Mexicans making up 90 percent of this Latino population. Most of the Mexican immigrants in …