Social Justice Commons^™

Reshaping The Narrative, Crystal Little Owl

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Challenges Of Nutrition In Malaysia: Poverty, Land Appropriation, And Indigeneity, Jeanie Kim

CMC Senior Theses

Malnutrition, especially in the form of wasting, stunting, and obesity, is disproportionately harming the Indigenous communities in Malaysia. Under the current legal system, Indigenous people receive little to no recognition and protection. Their land is often appropriated by the oil palm and dam industries, resulting in higher incidences of malnutrition and poverty. In order to improve the nutritional status of Malaysia as a whole, potential policies and programs include food fortification, crop diversification, and social safety nets. For the most marginalized communities, indigeneity and land restitution are analyzed as avenues to improve their livelihood.

Justice That Heals: Transforming Discipline In Schools Through Restorative Practices, Sophia Diomande

CMC Senior Theses

Discipline is not simply a tool but a weapon — one that American educators have wielded for generations to regulate children and enforce habits of self-control and accountability. In a world where institutionalized forms of discrimination continue to plague judicial and educational systems alike, vis-à-vis the school-to-prison pipeline, the question must be asked: When does discipline stray beyond its intended purpose and into the realm of punishment? This thesis discusses the historical and contemporary implications of punitive discipline and its effects on students, particularly students of color and disabled students. Retributive policies such as suspensions, expulsions, physical restraint, and seclusions …

Deep Community Partnerships: The Future Of Community-Based Senior Care In A Value-Driven Era, Diana Wilcox

DSW Capstone Projects

This capstone reviews three scholarly products that examine how chronically ill older adults interact with healthcare systems and senior service delivery systems in the United States. The systematic literature review examines how community-based senior programs that are funded by the Older Americans Act (OAA) positively impact health outcomes and promote health and wellness among the older adult population. The conceptual paper examines how Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) interact with the patient and with one another using the lens of Systems Theory. The practice application paper examines best practices regarding care coordination …

Peaceful Protestors Or Criminals: The Relationship Between Government, Protests, And Social Movements In The United Kingdom, Madelyn Hindman

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

This paper seeks to understand the critical relationship between government officials, protestors, and social movements in the United Kingdom. A three-part case study will examine how the state of the government and legal regulations impact the implementation and outcome of protests or public demonstrations in major social movements. The government along with law enforcement plays a key role in the past, present, and future of how social movements utilize protests. Social movements and organizations must carefully consider the legal regulations surrounding public demonstrations as well as the legal consequences for infringing upon the legal regulations put into place. This study …

Assessing The Relationships Between Direct And Vicarious Exposure To Healthcare Discrimination And Erasure, Mistrust In Healthcare, And The Healthcare Utilization Behaviors Among Transgender And Gender Independent Individuals, Kyle L. Mason

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare inaccessibility through direct exposure (i.e., personal) to myriad forms of gender identity-related discrimination and erasure among the Transgender and Gender Independent (TGI) population has been documented by prior studies. The myriad barriers that individuals who embody TGI identities encounter to accessing healthcare are associated with the underutilization of healthcare, which may further exacerbate the health disparities that exist between this population and cisgender individuals in the United States (U.S.). Although the impacts of the harm that direct exposure to healthcare discrimination and erasure may have on TGI individuals are known, their exposure to such harm vicariously (i.e., through observation …

2023 Adult Foster Home: Resident And Community Characteristics Report On Adult Foster Homes, Ozcan Tunalilar, Sarah Dys, Paula Carder, Diana Jacoby, Sheryl Elliott, Minju Kim, Nathan Finch Parsons, Wafi Albalawi

Institute on Aging Publications

This report is the ninth installment of the Oregon Community-Based Care Study: Resident and Community Characteristics Report on Adult Foster Homes. Each year, the Institute on Aging at Portland State University (IOA/PSU) collects and reports information that can inform and advise policymakers, state and county agency staff, advocates for older adults and people with physical disabilities, and AFH owners and providers about the AFH landscape in Oregon. The results covered in this report include home and owner characteristics, staff positions, wages, and hiring challenges, consumer payer sources, additional fees and services, resident demographics, health conditions, personal care, health services use, …

Racially Motivated Police Brutality Is A Community Public Health Issue In The United States, Darrell Norman Burrell, Sharon L. Burton, Grace E. Mcgrath

Publications

Ongoing global protests against police violence and racism were heightened in 2020 after the deaths of Breana Taylor and George Floyd, whose deaths made headlines worldwide and raised awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, which targets structural racism and violence against Black people in the USA and abroad. There are many documented links between policing and health-related outcomes, including but not limited to fatal injuries that increase population-specific mortality rates, adverse physiological responses that increase morbidity, psychological stress, arrests, incarcerations, and legal, medical, and funeral bills that cause socioeconomic deprivation, poor school performance, incomplete high-school education and not entering …

Still, We Thrive: Understanding How Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men (Gbtmsm) Experience Structural Barriers & Facilitators To Wellness, Lucas Gergyek

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Historically and concurrently, structural violence has been a significant force influencing the sexual health and broader health of gay, bisexual, transgender and other men who have sex with men (GBTMSM). Yet to date, the majority of projects exploring the health inequities facing GBTMSM have focused on intrapsychic and behavioural factors as most related to poor health outcomes. As well, these studies are sometimes deficits focused, and fail to evaluate how GBTMSM continue to thrive, and maintain positive health. As a result, the ways in which systems and policies underlie and perpetuate health inequities facing GBTMSM have been somewhat obscured. Connectedly, …

Reentry For Registered Sex Offenders: Navigating Stigma Post-Release, Emily N. Friedman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Registered sex offenders (RSOs) experience extreme stigmatization and monitoring even after they are released from incarceration. This is due, in part, to sex offender registries which perpetuate high levels of stigma and can contribute to false narratives about reoffending, victimization, and the homogeneity of sex offenders. As a result of societal level stigma, RSOs often struggle to locate and maintain employment, secure suitable housing, and establish positive, prosocial relationships. This current study utilized a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews with eight RSOs to explore how offenders experience and navigate this stigma during reentry. Findings support the notion that RSOs experience …

Retention And Persistence Of Low-Income, First-Generation Rural College Students From West Virginia, Rachel D. Nieman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A considerable body of research demonstrates that first-generation college students face greater obstacles to college retention, persistence and completion compared to their non-first-generation counterparts. However, the extant literature rarely explores rurality as a salient factor to understand these challenges. Even less visible in the literature are the experiences and voices of West Virginians. West Virginia is a predominantly rural state and ranks 49^th in the nation in terms of educational attainment, with only 19.6% of residents over the age of 25 having earned at least a bachelor’s degree. While rural areas may experience multifaceted struggles, the educational attainment of …

Businesses Supposedly Held The Key To The Ada, But They Dropped The Ball: Can Marketing Be The Shot In The Arm America Needs To Bring The Spirit Of The Ada Back To Life?, Elizabeth T. Gratz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research investigates the historical and current focus of the field of marketing on the disability community and considers whether marketers can positively impact attitudes toward the group through their firm media content. My first essay uses the Rocky Road to Policy Pavers model to discuss the importance of this large and underserved consumer group, and highlights several opportunities for the marketing community to reduce existing barriers to disabled consumers in the marketplace. One way that marketers can reduce stigma and improve attitudes toward the disability community is by strategically portraying individuals with disabilities in their firm media content. My …

Community Report: A Just Transition For Collie That Leaves No One Behind: A Community-Led Social Justice Analysis Of Collie’S Transition, Naomi Joy Godden, Georgia Beardman, Mehran Nejati, Evonne Scott, Jaime Yallup Farrant, Leonie Scoffern, Joseph Northover, James Khan, Lynette Winmar, Phillip Ugle, Kiera Mulholland, Jayla Parkin, Stevie Anderson, Angus Morrison-Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This project has been co-led and implemented by Collie community members in partnershipwith the Climate Justice Union WA and Edith Cowan University’s Centre for People, Place andPlanet. Authors are people who contributed to the writing of this report. Contributors are peoplewho contributed to data collection and analysis. Wilman Boodja is the Country (land) of theWilman Noongar people. Wilman Boodja is listed as first author of this report to acknowledgethat Country is alive, and is actively participating in every process, conversation, and decisionrelated to this project.

A Just Transition For Collie That Leaves No One Behind: A Community-Led Social Justice Analysis Of Collie’S Transition, Naomi Joy Godden, Georgia Beardman, Mehran Nejati, Evonne Scott, Jaime Yallup Farrant, Leonie Scoffern, Joseph Northover, James Khan, Lynette Winmar, Phillip Ugle, Kiera Mulholland, Jayla Parkin, Stevie Anderson, Angus Morrison-Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

No abstract provided.

Water Stories: An Exploration Of Human-Water Connectedness In Ontario And The Implications For Water Sustainability, Tracey Ehl

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Water is the great connector. Water connects people, health, wellness, culture, spirituality, nature, and the economy. Clean, safe water (potable water) and sanitation were recognized over a decade ago by the United Nations General Assembly (UN) as a basic human right, and more recently the UN has also identified water sustainability and management as one of 17 sustainable development goals for all people in all countries. Water is inextricably connected to humans. Yet, in Ontario, Canada, a place with access to some of the largest freshwater reserves in the world, robust regulatory frameworks, involvement, some investment by all levels …

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Violent Crime In The City Of Pittsburgh, Brittany Urban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine patterns of Part I crimes [including Part I Person/Violent: Homicide, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery, and Part I Property: Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Standards] in The City of Pittsburgh, framing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major stressor that Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory suggests may lead to increased opportunity for crime, due to the perceived unjustness of the associated lockdown orders and potential incentive for criminal coping (Agnew 1992). This descriptive analysis is based primarily upon …

New York City’S Wage Theft Crisis, Amanda Rozon

Capstones

In New York City, all workers regardless of citizenship status are granted the same rights under New York State labor laws. But in the construction industry, undocumented immigrant workers who are reluctant to report violations are at risk of being exploited by their employers and often fall victim to wage theft. Despite efforts by the city and local immigrant rights organizations, wage theft remains high; according to a study by the Center For Popular Democracy, New Yorkers are cheated out of roughly $3 billion annually. https://medium.com/@amanda.rozon37/new-york-citys-wage-theft-crisis-9595917491ce

Advocacy Journalism And Climate Justice In A Global Southern Country, Shafiq Ahmad Kamboh, Muhammad Ittefaq

School of Communication Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Being among the world’s most affected countries by climate change, Pakistan is facing a variety of cases of climate injustice committed by internal and external drivers. Waisbord’s referred “Advocate-journalist” model carries a good potential to advocate these injustices to stimulate democratic dialogue among the audience that eventually pushes leadership to make eco-friendly policies. This study critically analyses advocacy journalism coverage of cases of local and regional climate injustice in the editorial contents of mainstream Pakistani newspapers by using the quantitative content analysis method. Results reveal that selected newspapers gave inappropriate coverage to climate injustice issues both in quantity and quality. …

For The Poor, It Was Just Friday: The Implicit Focus On Middle-Class Habitus In Conceptualizing Disaster, Amy Sorensen, Shelley Koch

Critical Disaster Studies

The importance of the academic study of disaster is in its potential application to policy and practice in times of dire circumstance and human suffering. In this paper, we situate the Covid-19 pandemic as an exemplar for an exploration of “disaster” using a framework that connects sociological theory and critical disaster studies. We use a Bourdieusian approach to situate the re-stabilization of the middle class habitus as implicitly central to disaster mitigation strategies. This theoretical approach illuminates the disconnect between critical disaster studies and on-the-ground disaster recovery approaches. It is this disconnect that leads to the disparate impact of disaster …

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

Foundational Support Through Professional Sport: A Case Study On The Chicago Bulls Charities, Austin Schroeder

Nonprofit and NGO Studies Student Projects

This case study on the Chicago Bulls Charities (CBC) offers praise as well as criticism into the professional sport organization (PSO) as a whole along with their corresponding foundation. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are developed and provided by the Chicago Bulls PSO and is not an element of the CBCs mission, justifying a deep dive into the PSO and their CSR activities along with the foundation, the original focus of this study. With limited literature on the topic of corporate philanthropy in professional sports, and with more research in CSR in this field, CSR was added to the research …

How Can You Call Her A Woman? Male Soldiers’ Views On Women In The Drc Armed Forces, Dostin Lakika, Ingrid Palmary

Peace and Conflict Studies

There has been a longstanding body of literature on women in the armed forces at least since the 1970s (Segal, 1999). This literature varies considerably in its approach, from feminist work that reflects on the forms of masculinity produced through military and militarization, to work that considers women’s role in the army and attitudes towards women in the army. Furthermore, policy efforts to increase women’s participation in the army (such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325) have explicitly called for the inclusion of women in peace and security efforts. In this paper, we contribute to this literature by assessing how …

Answering The Call

DePaul Magazine

With a strong spirit of service, DePaul initiatives aid displaced populations in Chicago and internationally.

Depaul Digest

DePaul Magazine

Marquee - Peace Team: Daniel Schober and Chicago-area graduate students collaborate with community partners to understand and reduce gun violence; Memoranda: Alumni & Family Weekend 2022; Milestones: DePaul news briefs; In Memoriam: Trustee John L. Brennan (1962-2022); Master Class: How to make a festive eggnog

Racial Disparities In Physician And Non-Physician Health Professionals: Investigating Barriers For Pre-Professional Students, Emily Remer

Honors Projects

“Diversity” is a buzzword across today’s educational, professional, and office settings. With so many looking to “diversify” their fields, it is important to note the endless ways in which people are diverse. From culture to religion to age to gender to race, and the intersectionality of them all, there has been a push to increase diversity as a means to better serve individuals in minority groups. While all forms of diversity are important, as is their intersectionality, the purpose of this project is to focus on racial disparities. There is no question that racial disparities exist across many roles we …

¿Aviso O Alerta? Developing Effective, Inclusive, And Consistent Watch And Warning Translations For U.S. Spanish Speakers, Joseph E. Trujillo-Falcón, América R. Gaviria Pabón, Joseph T. Ripberger, Abby Bitterman, Jonathan B. Thornton, Mackenzie J. Krocak, Sean R. Ernst, Estilita Cassiani Obeso, John Lipski

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: Technical Reports and Related Materials

Spanish-speaking populations in the United States are more vulnerable in disaster contexts due to inequities, such as language barriers, that prevent them from receiving life-saving information. For the past couple of decades, governmental organizations have addressed these issues by translating weather watches, warnings, and advisories into Spanish. Previous studies suggest that these Spanish translations do not communicate the same level of urgency as their English counterparts. To identify whether these translated products result in inequities between English and Spanish speaker reception and comprehension of forecast information, we asked a representative sample of U.S. English (n = 1,550) and Spanish (n …

La Casita Center: An Accompaniment Based Approach To Social Justice And Social Service., Ben Harlan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

La Casita Center is a Louisville based nonprofit organization that accompanies Latinx immigrants in the Louisville Metro area. and that is led and staffed by Latina immigrants. In this thesis, I investigate how employees of this Latinx-immigrant led nonprofit organization, navigate challenges to both administer service and build community using the model of accompaniment. Organizations like La Casita are critically important for Latinx newcomer communities in the United States and as neoliberal and nativist-inspired policiescontinue to oppress and marginalize, La Casita provides a model for what it means to center inclusion, belonging, community, and solidarity. In a global landscape of …

Veterans Treatment Court: Outreach Specialist, Francisco Narewski

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Monterey Military and Veterans Affairs Office (MVAO) is a lifeline to Monterey County veterans who suffer from PTSD, substance abuse, and have fallen into the justice system due to service connected disabilities. The MVAO has a justice outreach program that includes peer mentorship. The project's purpose is to ensure that veterans comply with the rules and regulations of the Monterey County Veterans Court and graduate from the program. The current program manager is tasked with the huge responsibility of veteran advocate, court liaison, peer program manager, and Veterans Affairs subject matter expert. The next steps the agency can take …

Effect Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Volunteerism And Fundraising Management Strategies In Nonprofits And Rebuilding Tactics Of Ronald Mcdonald House Charities Of Chicagoland And Northwest Indiana (Rmhc-Cni), Humza Wolf

Nonprofit and NGO Studies Student Projects

The financial sustainability of nonprofits depends highly on volunteerism and funding strategies which got impacted during Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. This capstone study explores to what extent nonprofits got affected and evaluates the efforts of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana (RMHC-CNI) to improve the provision of support for underprivileged families of critically ill children. The continual efforts to overcome financial hurdles escalated in pandemic. Mixed method research design was used to collect, analyze, and triangulate both quantitative and qualitative research methods in this single study to understand the research problem. Interpretive approach encompassed the complexities of …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …