Social Policy Commons^™

Examining Drug Policy In Portugal And Greece, Collin Fernandes

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the divergent drug policies implemented in Portugal and Greece, analyzing why Portugal's comprehensive decriminalization model has been more successful than Greece's partial approach. Since 2001, Portugal has pioneered a drug policy that decriminalizes all drugs for personal use while investing in harm reduction services, rehabilitation, and social reintegration. In contrast, Greece maintained criminalization while implementing more limited harm reduction measures, particularly through OKANA (the Organization Against Drugs). The research highlights how economic factors, particularly the 2008 financial crisis and austerity measures, negatively affected both countries' programs but hit Greece's initiatives with greater severity. Portugal's programs have remained …

Consolidating The Carbon Trade: Policy Recommendations To Promote Standard Convergence Among The Vcm, Article 6, And Regional Pricing Instruments, Jack M. Barrett

CMC Senior Theses

Efforts to construct robust international carbon markets have repeatedly fallen short of their climate and sustainable development objectives. From the Clean Development Mechanism’s collapse under the weight of non-additional credits to the Voluntary Carbon Market’s recent legitimacy crisis, structural flaws and fragmented standards have undermined offsetting systems for more than two decades. Today, the emergence of the Paris Agreement's Article 6 mechanisms, alongside initiatives like the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), offer a critical but fragile opportunity to rebuild market credibility. The proliferation of diverging standards across Article 6, voluntary markets, and regional carbon pricing instruments risks …

Exploring The Dynamics And Outcomes Of Family Engagement In Child Welfare Services: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach, Jianchao Lai, Michelle Graef, Todd Franke

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

Background: Engaging families effectively in child welfare services remains a persistent challenge, shaped by complex interactions between agency practices and family circumstances. While existing research has explored this issue, it has predominantly relied on data from agency and caseworker perspectives, often overlooking the crucial viewpoint of the families. Objectives: This study investigates families’ subjective experiences and perceptions within the child welfare system, focusing on their satisfaction with child welfare workers and overall engagement. Methods: The study draws on data collected through an evaluation of the implementation of Alternative Response in a Midwestern state. Agency administrative data is integrated with additional …

Digital Orthodoxy And Political Populism In Eastern Europe: How Orthodox Media Facilitate Political Mobilization, Dmytro Garaschuk, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the intersection of Orthodox digital media and political populism in Eastern Europe, focusing on how religious institutions utilize digital platforms to facilitate political mobilization, reinforce nationalistic narratives, and undermine democratic institutions. Drawing on a comparative analysis of six countries–Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, and Montenegro–the study identifies a shared ideological matrix that fuses populist rhetoric with theological motifs. The research highlights the strategic use of digital media by Orthodox actors to construct moral binaries, sacralize political resistance, and disseminate disinformation framed in religious language. Particular attention is given to the role of the Russian Orthodox Church and …

Gods Guns: Why Firearms And Firearm Culture Remain Sacred To Rural Americans, Thomas Westrick

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

With ample evidence demonstrating a link between low levels of gun regulation and high levels of firearm fatalities, it seems intuitive that Americans would want to increase the level of firearm regulation to bring down the level of violence. However, the target population, white males living in rural areas of the State of Indiana and practicing the Christian Evangelical Protestant tradition, display high levels of resistance to new firearm regulation. This study sought to explore that resistance through the lens of the rural gun culture with an interpretivist qualitative design using reflexive thematic analysis to answer the research question: How …

Journey To Well-Being: An Exploration Of Thrivership Post-Domestic Violence, Kader Gumus

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Domestic violence profoundly affects multiple facets of a survivor’s life. While most existing literature on survivorship addresses the immediate aftermath of domestic violence, this study delves into the extended process following the trauma of abuse to attain “thrivership,” a new concept in the scholarly and practice literature that emphasizes enduring well-being and flourishing. This dissertation examines the journeys from surviving to thriving for 13 women who transformed themselves and their lives to achieve well-being after traumatic domestic violence. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was applied to examine the multiple layers of environmental influences on an individual’s development, including the micro, meso, …

Welfare States And Imprisonment Rates: Revisiting The Study Of Public Assistance And Punishment In The United States, Stefan Ivanov

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In the past fifty years, the United States has seen significant changes in both the criminal legal system and the welfare state. The incarceration rate surged by 475% from 1972 to 2007, driven by state-level decisions about criminal legal policy and disproportionately affecting Black Americans. Simultaneously, welfare programs became less generous, especially for those deemed “undeserving.” A long line of social science scholarship emphasizes that these two major social institutions—the welfare state and the carceral state—must be considered as complementary and alternative methods of managing marginalized groups. Quantitative research often confirms these claims, finding a durable inverse relationship between welfare …

Effects Of Actualized Language Policy On Ukrainian Stability, 1989-2022, Dawn Hersey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation seeks to generate a new perspective of the complicated relationship between actualized policy and stability through looking at Ukraine’s language policies and stability in a mixed manner approach that includes both primary and secondary sources. Russia justified its irridentist activities through claiming to protect Russian nationals within Ukraine’s borders: language policies within Ukraine appear to be a trigger for Russian antagonism. Neither Russian irridentism nor Ukrainian nationalism are being considered as right or wrong in this dissertation: the intent is to highlight trends, patterns, and perceptions in alignment with Ukrainian language policy. This dissertation does not present a …

The Affordable Care Act And The For-Profit Congregate Care Industry: How Good Policy Intent Turned A Fringe Industry Into A Taxpayer-Funded Multi Billion Dollar Industry, Erin Viehmann

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The Affordable Care Act significantly transformed the for-profit congregate care (FPCC) industry, which provides residential treatment for adolescents with behavioral and mental health issues. This study analyzes financial records from Universal Health Services (UHS), the largest provider in the industry, to examine how healthcare policy changes and economic conditions affected the industry's growth and funding structure. Through analysis of SEC Form 10-K filings from 2006-2016, the research documents how the ACA's mental health coverage mandates created new revenue streams that enabled dramatic industry expansion. Findings show that following ACA passage in 2010, UHS more than doubled its behavioral health capacity …

Understanding Mobility-Related Challenges For Aapi Older Adults: A Preliminary Study In Southern California, Yongping Zhang, Priscila Salgado Inzunza, Carol Kachadoorian, Wen Cheng, Calvin Wong

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) Nationwide, the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is projected to constitute 11 percent of people 65 years and older in the United States by 2050 (He et al., 2005). The challenges limiting the transportation and mobility of AAPI older adults include, but are not limited to, language barriers, cultural barriers, anti-Asian hate, accessibility to public transit, traffic safety and public security concerns, and changes to mobility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This project conducted an extensive literature review and a preliminary multi-language survey in Southern California to better …

Why Domestic Violence Offenders Don't Give Up Their Guns, Natalie Nanasi

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Perpetrators of intimate partner violence are barred by federal law and many states' laws from possessing firearms. While such prohibitions enjoy popular support, they are sporadically and inconsistently enforced, placing the lives of survivors at risk when offenders do not voluntarily comply. Many experts, including this author, have offered legal and policy solutions to increase the likelihood that perpetrators of domestic violence will either willingly relinquish their guns or otherwise be dispossessed of them. But these proposals may have been premature.

This Article is the first to take a step back and inquire why offenders do not surrender their firearms …

Legislating Trans Lives: An Archival Analysis On Trans Canadian Rights, Charlie E. C. Davis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous research has outlined trans histories within the United States and Europe, illustrating historic transphobia, oppression and the origins of gender identity clinics. This type of historical literature is limited in the Canadian context, with more contemporary research demonstrating that trans people experience significant barriers to accessing healthcare, aversive health outcomes, and high rates of discrimination. Trans activists and advocates have always been and continue to resist these oppressive systems and have worked to improve the social and physical wellbeing of trans people in Canada. Utilizing archival data of trans activism and community mobilizing, I sought to address the gap …

Nh Ece Research Consortium 2024 Activity Timeline, Jess Carson, Evan England

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

The New Hampshire Early Care and Education (NH ECE) Research Consortium is a network of researchers and research users committed to strengthening the state's ECE landscape through the use of data. Discover what the Consortium accomplished during its first full year in this 2024 Activity Timeline.

Equal For Whom?: An Analysis Of Multicultural Policies In Norway And The Us Through The Lens Of Immigrant Unemployment, Jodie Boisvert

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Norway and the United States boast diverse and equal societies. Both have attempted to implement multicultural policies to facilitate immigrants' integration into the host society. Engaging with the theories of racism, xenophobia, and multiculturalism, this paper analyzes the immigrant unemployment outcomes from Norway and the United States from 2015-2020 to identify patterns and anticipate causal relationships from these patterns. Standardized data from both countries show that immigrants from Global South countries have far worse employment outcomes than immigrants from Global North countries. The xenophobic and racist histories of both countries could explain this. This paper analyzes the multicultural policies of …

Ad Hominem Arguments In Zimbabwean Political Discourse: An Analysis Of Political Argumentation, Jack Mutsvairo, Mawande Dlali

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The article investigates the motivation behind the prevalent use of the subtypes of ad hominem (personal attacks) arguments in Zimbabwe political discourse in the build-up to the 2023 harmonised council, parliamentary and presidential elections. This qualitative case study research looks at the use of ad hominem arguments by Zimbabwean politicians. Using analytical tools and concepts from informal logic and pragma-dialectical argumentation theories, this article focuses on identifying, analysing, and evaluating ad hominem arguments used in Zimbabwean political discourse, particularly in parliamentary debates and broadcast interviews. Data were purposively sampled and gathered from Hansard records, and a television interview transcript. It …

The Leadership Identity Presented On Linkedin, Carl L. Tolbert

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

LinkedIn has evolved in a way similar to other social media platforms but is unique in that it focuses on professional networking and careers. Many professionals seek to showcase their leadership skills and philosophies as part of a publicly showcased online persona. This paper aimed to examine the posts specific to leadership and thematically investigate presentation strategies, motivation, and purposes behind the posts. The paper begins with a historical review from the inception of LinkedIn through pivotal milestones in the history of the company. Key concepts from the literature are then reviewed specific to social media use and motivations behind …

4th Annual International Conference Proceedings: Rethinking Economics In The Contemporary World, Centre For Business And Economic Research (Cber), School Of Economics And Social Sciences (Sess)

Conference Proceedings

The School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS), through the Department of Economics and the Center for Business and Economics Research (CBER), opens the call for papers for its fourth international conference: Rethinking Economics in the Contemporary World.

The development of technology, the immediate effects of climate change, complex geopolitical situations, substantial migration, rapid urbanization, increasing income inequality, the emergence of digital economies, and global health crises have all amplified uncertainties and accelerated changes in the economic landscape, underscoring the imperative for better insights and new perspectives in economics profession. This year's conference recognizes the new paradigms and shifts in …

Racial Disparities In Domestic Violence: Analyzing The Intersection Of Race And Gender, Nia Grace Sharp

Honors Theses

This research explores the intersection of race, gender, and the litigation of domestic violence cases in Memphis, Tennessee. This is explored through qualitative research that combines a theoretical framework with structured interviews of criminal defense attorneys. Utilizing a sample of 5 attorneys with recent exposure to domestic violence cases, this study aims to reveal whether or not intimate partner violence is litigated differently across racial lines. This is done through analysis of the treatment of victims depending on race, sentencing rates, and perceptions of credibility within the justice system. The methodology involves five key steps: conducting a literature review to …

How White Supremacy Travels Through Time: Anti-Literacy Laws, Dei Bans, And The Issue Of Black Self-Determination In Public Health., Nicole V. Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation used a qualitative policy content analysis (PCA) of historical anti-literacy laws and modern DEI bans to answer two research questions: What is the connection between anti-literacy laws and DEI bans? How do anti-literacy laws and DEI bans create an environment that maintains white supremacy? A PCA exercise informed the analysis of historical anti-literacy laws in South Carolina (1834), Georgia (1829), North Carolina (1830), Louisiana (1830), Virginia (1831), and Alabama (1833) and modern DEI bans in Texas (2023), Alabama (2024), and Florida (2023) to find the connection between the laws. Findings from this dissertation illustrate how white supremacy operates …

Patterns Of Activity Participation And The Well-Being Of Older Adults In Singapore, Zidane Tiew, Rachel Ngu, Yi Wen Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

Older adults participate in different types of activities and do so in varying frequencies. In this study, we utilised latent class analysis to identify underlying patterns of activity participation among the SLP respondents. We found three patterns: (i) generally active (i.e., socially, physically, and digitally active), (ii) physically and digitally active, and (iii) digitally active. Furthermore, we found that respondents who were more broadly active were more likely to experience higher levels of life satisfaction than those who were only digitally active. These respondents tended to be from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, report having better health, or had more close social …

Immigration: Ancient Counterparts And Processes, Monica Souza Sue

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

This project sought to inspect parallels between modern and ancient societies, and the commonality of certain events and political markers. This project makes mentions of power dynamics, the position of immigrants as a source of labor, and their commodification as a force. Research used a 'compilation of materials' method. In which, is performed the examination and studying of different materials in relation to the question, compiling findings, and crafting commentary based on the discoveries of the medias. The experiences of immigrants in the United States are strongly comparable to the experiences of metic (immigrant) women in ancient Athens. A small …

Bottom-Up Global Change: Stealth Action In A Decentralized World, Art Blaser, Trinity Huynh

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

The climate justice and disability rights movements reflect a paradigm shift from a top-down approach to policy-making to one that emphasizes local efforts by non-state actors.

Impacting Community Well-Being Through Effective Engagement Using The Seed Method, Carlin Rafie, Emily B. Zimmerman, Angelina Hargrove, Theodora Biney Amissah, Samantha Lee

Journal of Extension

Cooperative Extension can make a significant impact on health in the United States through effective community engagement that focuses on the complex socio-ecological factors that impact health. The Stakeholder Engagement in Question Development Method (SEED Method) employs community based participatory research principles to engage communities in research, problem-solving, and action planning. Projects employing the SEED Method engage community members from diverse backgrounds, create community capacity, result in tangible outcomes, and foment inter-organizational trust and networking. A SEED Toolkit is available on the Extension Foundation Campus site and provides implementation instructions, tools and timelines, and potential applications within Extension.

Taxation's Limits, Luís C. Calderón Gómez

Northwestern University Law Review

Countless pages have been devoted to the question of why everyone should pay tax, yet its opposite has gone largely unnoticed: why should some people and organizations not pay tax? Our tax system exempts from ordinary income taxation a wide and diverse array of people and organizations engaged in significant economic activity—from parents providing childcare services for their family to consular activities and charities operating animal shelters—seemingly without a convincing explanation. Perhaps because of the dizzying diversity of tax-exempt activities, scholars and policymakers have avoided comprehensively or coherently justifying our exemption regimes.

This Article develops a novel normative theory that …

Active Ageing : Pension System And Older Workers Policies In Hong Kong And Japan, Hin Yau Tsang

SOC 605 Comparative Social Policy Research Project - Student Works

Since the growing trend of aging is now a threat around the globe, there is more and more attention being devoted to the right of the elderly to participate and engage in the workplace. In order to provide policy recommendations for government departments to expedite the work environment for older people and support their integration into or return to the workplace, this paper investigates the difference of the pension system and older workers policies present in Hong Kong and Japan by secondary research methods. Currently, there are multiple investigations on the older workers’ working reasons and challenges, however, there are …

Which Way? Experiences Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Attaining Supports To Meet Their Interwoven Socio-Cultural, Health And Disability-Related Needs And Aspirations Within The Context Of Australia’S National Disability Insurance Scheme, Jody Barney, Alexandra Devine, Damien Howard, Marie Huska, Hannah Lack, Yeokyung Kim, Yi Yang, George Disney, Peter Summers, Ashley Mcallister

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

The life experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing are often more complex than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are hearing, or non-Aboriginal Australians who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. In turn, this can make engaging with and benefiting from policies and programs such as Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) more complex, particularly for individuals living in remote settings. To understand more about these complexities, yarnings were held with 15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander NDIS participants who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing living in rural …

Contextualized Transitional Justice Policy Development In Uganda: Differentiating Between Normativity Types In Evidence-Based Problem Analysis, Saghar Shahidi Birjandian

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article discusses the fundamental impact of normativity on producing evidence-based guidance for context-sensitive transitional justice policy. It draws on lessons learned from Uganda’s complex transitional justice context and extensive fieldwork to demonstrate the necessity and the means to differentiate between belief-based normativity and evidence-based normativity in conducting problem analysis as a crucial site that determines the integrity of evidence-based guidance. It also establishes that evidence-based normativity guiding problem analysis must include empirical evidence of societal dynamics and views of affected communities or there is a significantly higher risk of belief-based normativity decontextualizing strategy development. Findings establish significant substantive differences …

Air Untuk Semua: Tantangan Kebijakan Sosial Pada Distribusi Air Di Komunitas Lokal, Rahmalia Rifandini

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

Water is a non-economic good that undoubtedly plays an important role in improving people's well-being. Global data shows that the agricultural sector is the most water- consuming base of life, especially for local communities that rely on agriculture. Increasing food production in the future along with population growth will potentially demand sustainable water resource management. Water regulation plays an important role in determining the allocation, distribution and use of water resources. Lack of availability and access to water creates mutual vulnerability among environmental and social ecosystems. The legitimacy crisis of water governance is a major issue faced by lower-level bureaucracies …

Tinjauan Regulasi Dan Kebijakan Dalam Pengembangan Green Jobs Di Indonesia, Muhamad Azami Nasri, Bening Kalimasada Aura Keindahan

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

Green jobs have become a new trend in recent years, as they are needed by various industrial sectors. Regulatory support is a key aspect in mainstreaming green jobs. Green jobs are typically associated with occupations that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment, both in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction, as well as in emerging green sectors like renewable energy and energy efficiency. This research aims to describe the regulatory framework in the development of green jobs in Indonesia. It is a descriptive qualitative study that primarily relies on secondary data, reviewing regulations related to green jobs. Additionally, …

Kebijakan Transmigrasi Dalam Kerangka Kesejahteraan Sosial Dan Ketahanan Nasional Di Provinsi Lampung, Heru Susetyo, Satrio Febriyanto, Tien Tis’Aini Latifah, Deden Ardiansyah, Feymi Angelina, Ibrahim Ghifar Hamadi, Najma Izzatul Haq, Nurroby Fatih

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

Transmigration in Lampung Province is part of Indonesia's national transmigration program, which aims to equalize development and reduce the population density of densely populated islands such as Java. Transmigration in Lampung began in 1905 with a colonial approach by the Dutch and continued during the Old Order New Order and began to decline after the 1998 reformation. The challenges of transmigration in Lampung include social and economic problems, integration of immigrants with local communities, and environmental impacts; the next challenge is the availability of health and welfare infrastructure and sustainable development. This study examines the dynamics of transmigration in Lampung …