Community-Based Research Commons^™

La Implementación Del Programa De Intervención Para Hombres Que Ejercen Violencia Contra Sus Parejas, “Hombres Por Una Vida Sin Violencia,” En Arica, Chile, Meghna Nandi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Battery intervention programs are an important domestic violence intervention method to study because they focus on understanding the perpetrator’s side of domestic violence and can shed light on the cultural and social forces that maintain domestic violence within society. Objective: This study explores Chile’s newly initiated battery intervention program, “Hombres por una vida sin violencia,” or “Men for a life without violence,” by documenting its implementation in the city of Arica, Chile through an investigation of both the program’s functioning and the perception of domestic violence within the greater community. Methodology: Interviews were conducted with professionals who work in …

Joven Pero No Apolítico: Las Distintas Concepciones De La Militancia Y El Rol Del Partido Político Para La Juventud Del Partido Socialista Y El Partido De Los Trabajadores Socialistas En Buenos Aires, Christina Nelson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although Argentina is known for its vibrant political life – illustrated by the country's high voter turnout in elections, regular protests in the central Plaza de Mayo, and an abundance of politicized conversations among citizens – the past few decades have witnessed a general loss of credibility in the traditional means of acquiring power in the state, notably the worker's union and the party. Accordingly, activism in Argentina's “new public space” (Bonvillani et al 2008: 63) that emerged after the political-economic crisis of 2001 has been defined less by the formal party-state apparatus than by autonomous social movements unaffiliated with …

Transitional Justice And Its Role In Development In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Jessica Chirichetti

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was completed during a 6-week period in Gulu District, Northern Uganda. The main objective of this study was to understand and analyze the various transitional justice mechanisms currently being used in post-conflict Northern Uganda. The researcher set out to hear the population’s general attitudes on justice and understand the challenges that hinder the justice process through the perspective of government officials (including opposition party members), NGO workers, lawyers, academics, and religious leaders. A specific focus was point on the compensation aspect of transitional justice since the region is suffering from severe under-development and poverty issues. This led to …

Managing The Polarities Of Democracy: A Theoretical Framework For Positive Social Change, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

People around the globe have embraced democracy to bring about positive social change to address our environmental, economic, and militaristic challenges. Yet, there is no agreement on a definition of democracy that can guide social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model is a unifying theory of democracy to guide healthy, sustainable, and just social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model consists of ten elements, organized as five polarity pairs: freedom & authority, justice & due process, diversity & equality, human-rights & communal-obligations, and participation & representation. In this model each element has positive aspects and negative aspects and …

False Promises: The Failure Of Secure Communities In Miami-Dade County, Alex Stepick, Steve Held, Cynthia S. Hernandez, Cheryl Little, Susana Barciela

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report addresses the impact on Miami-Dade County of the Secure Communities program, currently one of the primary federal immigration enforcement programs administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DHS claims that the program prioritizes the removal of convicted criminal aliens who pose a danger to national security or public safety, repeat violators who game the immigration system, those who fail to appear at immigration hearings, and fugitives who have already been ordered removed by an immigration judge.

Emotion, Community Development, And The Physical Environment: An Experimental Investigation Of Measurements, George E. Boone

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

A wide range of research fields have studied how emotions and behavior are affected by the physical environment. This gestalt theorist approach of experimental research as well seeks to measure emotion (using the valence-arousal scale) and micro-scale community development interactions when weighted physical environment factors are adjusted. Community development (CD) interactions at the micro-scale have received but slight attention from scholars in the CD research field and this study aims partially to investigate developing objective measures from social observations. CD interactions from recordings along with self-reported emotion through surveys in four quasi-experimental groups (where the environments were constructed based on …

Women's Mobilization In Latin America: A Case Study Of Venezuela, Brianna Russell

Master's Theses

Abstract

I examine the following elements in regards to women’s mobilization in Latin America and Venezuela from the late 1950s to the present: (a) the influence of the state and economy on times when women mobilized (b) class division within the movement (c) women’s demands during different time periods (d) the ways in which women were successful in working towards gender equality. This thesis reviews the literature on women’s mobilization in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century. I find that women mobilized across class lines with the masses to end dictatorships. Women demobilized during transitions to …

Perspectives Of Czech Youth Activists: Political Culture & The Cycle Of Passivity, Alex Bargiacchi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted in order to gain insight into the current political culture of the Czech Republic, through the perspectives of current youth activists. Three seperate interviews were held in order to accomplish this. A representative from The Young Conservatives (Mladi Konzervativci), The Young Social Democrats (Mladi Socialni Demokrate), and European Values (Evropske Hodnoty) were interviewed concerning their opinions regarding the current Czech political environment. Each youth activist was asked questions focusing on how their specific group organizes, how they personally became politically involved their personal reasons for becoming politically involved, and their opinions regarding the Czech current political …

Accessing Justice, Evaluating Agency: How 12 Women In Cape Town Perceive Their Local Police Services With Respect To Their Race, Class, Gender, And Geographic Location, Ellen Moore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Policing in South Africa has a long, twisted history that is still evident in some current police practices and especially in the public’s perceptions of the police. In addition to historical factors such as colonial rule and apartheid, people’s perceptions of the police are also affected by their race, class, gender, and geographic location. Although these factors’ can be considered to have an individual effect on perceptions, it is through a complex understanding of how they relate to one another that a true understanding of a person’s perception can be reached. The inspiration for this study stemmed from these concepts …

Transcending Boundaries: Moroccan Political Thought As A Transnational Platform, And Communities In The Realm Of Activism, Leah Siegel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research concerns how individual protestors of the February 20th Movement relate to the rest of the Arab Spring and their own society. I conducted several interviews during November 2012 with participants of the movement currently living in Rabat, each one lasting between 30 minutes to two hours. I initially intended this study to focus on the movement’s relations to the rest of the Arab Spring, but found in my interviews that this question is much more tangential than the question of how participants of the movement relate to their own society. What I discovered was that while the events …

Drug Sentencing Policy Discourse Of Fortaleza, Nick Sundback

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Drug sentencing is a pressing issue in Brazil. With the context of high and increasing rates of crime and drug use, overcrowded prisons, and high rates of recidivism both in terms of prison and drug addiction, attitudes of individuals towards drug sentencing policy are worthy of observation and examination.

The objective of this monograph is to examine discourse by informants, five individuals who interact with sections of society most affected by drug sentencing, namely drug users. This monograph will consider pluralistic observations on, and evaluations of, drug sentencing practices, implementation of drug sentencing, an overview of the broader debate over …

Catastrophes And The Role Of Social Networks In Recovery: A Case Study Of St. Bernard Parish, La, Residents After Hurricane Katrina, Carrie E. Lasley

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the experiences of St. Bernard Parish, La., residents as they coped with the impact of the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. An estimated 50,000 St. Bernard Parish residents relocated to a new home one year after Katina in 2006, and many of those residents moved again. This study examines the effects of the decisions of St. Bernard residents to relocate or to return on their social connections. The utility, adaptability and durability of social networks of these residents will be explored to enrich our knowledge about the social effects …

The Leadership Of Sustainable Cities: A Multiple-Case Study Of Two Oregon Cities, Kenneth L. Weaver

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In order for cities to become more sustainable it is necessary for the leaders of the efforts to change the organizations and governments so that they understand and embrace what it means to be more sustainable. This study examined the change processes of two Oregon Cities, Corvallis and Eugene, that had made the choice to become more sustainable as a community. The approaches that the participant leaders used demonstrated the use of different ways of thinking about the leadership of change. The ways of thinking of the community leaders were formed by their unique personal backgrounds, knowledge, skills, and abilities. …

Pioneers Of Youth Justice Reform: Achieving System Change Using Resolution, Reinvestment, And Realignment Strategies, Douglas N. Evans

Publications and Research

In the past three decades, state and local governments implemented various reform strategies to reduce the youth justice system’s reliance on confinement facilities and serve as many youths as possible in their own homes or at least in their own communities when removal from the home is warranted. The various reform strategies may be conceptualized as relying on three distinct but interrelated mechanisms: resolution, reinvestment, and realignment (Butts and Evans 2011). Resolution refers to the use of managerial authority and administrative directives to influence system change; reinvestment entails using financial incentives to encourage system change, and realignment employs organizational and …

The Closure Of New Orleans' Charity Hospital After Hurricane Katrina: A Case Of Disaster Capitalism, Kenneth Brad Ott

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Amidst the worst disaster to impact a major U.S. city in one hundred years, New Orleans’ main trauma and safety net medical center, the Reverend Avery C. Alexander Charity Hospital, was permanently closed. Charity’s administrative operator, Louisiana State University (LSU), ordered an end to its attempted reopening by its workers and U.S. military personnel in the weeks following the August 29, 2005 storm. Drawing upon rigorous review of literature and an exhaustive analysis of primary and secondary data, this case study found that Charity Hospital was closed as a result of disaster capitalism. LSU, backed by Louisiana state officials, …

Waiting In “The House Of Life”: Experiences Of Seeking Asylum In The United States While Living In Buffalo, New York, Meagan Nicole Salisbury

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

I am interested in the experiences of individuals in Upstate New York throughout the process of seeking asylum. I want to know asylum law influences the daily lives of individuals in relation to their cases and other emotions and activities. To address this, I traveled to Vive, Inc. in Buffalo, a shelter for individuals seeking asylum in either the U.S. or Canada, and conducted nine interviews. I interviewed people seeking asylum, one woman who already obtained asylum in the United States, and the two staff members.

Based on my interviews, I argue that seeking asylum in the United States is …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

‘Boys Boys’ Talk, ‘Girls Girls’ Talk: Gendered Approaches And Strategies Towards Modern Contraceptive Use In Urban Kumasi, Yasmin Boakye

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Objective: The objectives of this project were three-fold:

1. How do men and women in the urban area of Kumasi come to understand the major forms of contraception available in Ghana?

2.Are there significant differences in the ways that men and women come to understand contraceptive methods, and are these differences influenced by region, religious affiliation, age, and socioeconomic level?

3. How are these understandings either reinforced, shifted, or broken down by the Ghanaian government’s reproductive health efforts, the work of NGO’s focused on family planning, religious beliefs, and social relationships?

Methodology: During the 30 day long research period I …

Discourses Around Social Welfare Grants As Antipoverty Policy: Effectiveness And The Potential For Reform, Sarah Maniates

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a South Africa where many still live in poverty, the government has chosen an extensive system of social grants as one of the primary methods by which it attempts to reduce this poverty. Research has generated substantial quantitative evidence that the system is successful, but there has been little analysis of public opinion around this costly policy, its effectiveness, and the need for its reform. This study explores discourses around the grants, both within government and among everyday people, in order to gain insight into such opinions. This insight is important in a South Africa that is now democratic, …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Study Guide For United In Anger: A History Of Act Up, Matt Brim

Open Educational Resources

The United in Anger Study Guide facilitates classroom and activist engagement with Jim Hubbard’s 2012 documentary, United in Anger: A History of ACT UP. The Study Guide contains discussion sections, projects and exercises, and resources for further research about the activism of the New York chapter of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). The Study Guide is a free, interactive, multimedia resource for understanding the legacy of ACT UP, the film’s role in preserving that legacy, and its meaning for viewers' lives.

Addressing The Learning Needs At Occupy Dc, Andrew J. Batcher

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this paper is to examine how learning can help the Occupy movement in Washington DC. It explores three questions. What are the learning needs of the movement? What educational content can help meet those needs? And how can education be practiced in a way that most effectively addresses the learning needs within the real world circumstances of the movement? Research methods include participant observation, surveys, interviews, focus groups, literature review, and primary document review. Data was coded into 11 outcome oriented learning needs and 3 educational orientations which are geared towards meeting those needs. This paper is …

Alliances Et Cultures: Cap Nord, Stacey Fitzpatrick

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En essence, Alliance et Culture est un endroit où les gens peuvent rencontre et apprennent comment de vivre ensemble. Cette association, officiellement crée en 1987, avait la mission de répondre à problèmes d'intégration sociale par des actions collectives, et le développement d’une vie social dans les quartiers. Pour réaliser cet objectif ils offrent des activités et services ouvrent à tout le monde comme l’accompagnement à la scolarité, les ateliers, les cours d’alphabétisation et de Français, et les ludothèques et plus. Il y a trois centres en Toulouse dans diffèrent lieux qui contribuent aux les gens dans les quartiers des Mirail, …

Resolution, Reinvestment, And Realignment: Three Strategies For Changing Juvenile Justice, Jeffrey A. Butts, Douglas N. Evans

Publications and Research

In recent decades, legislators and administrators have created innovative policies to reduce the demand for expensive state confinement and to supervise as many young offenders as possible in their own communities. This report reviews the history and development of these strategies and portrays their methods as following one of three models: resolution, reinvestment, and realignment.

Self-Preparation: From New England To The Mississippi Delta, Emily C. Wojtusik

Senior Honors Projects

Self-Preparation: From New England to the Mississippi Delta

Emily Wojtusik

Faculty Sponsor: Gail Faris, Women’s Center

I have been accepted into the Teach for America (TFA) 2011 Corp, in the Mississippi Delta teaching elementary education. I was born and raised in Connecticut, and have attended the University of Rhode Island for the past 4 years. I have studied sociology with a concentration in criminology. This Senior Honors Project is both related to my areas of study and represents a slight departure that will prepare me for my teaching responsibilities in the Delta.

This project is a comprehensive study involving social …

Acculturation And Crisis Of Identity: A Case Study Of Karen Refugees, Secil Erdogan

Western Migration Conference Series

Abstract: This study examines acculturation attitudes of Karen refugees who are resettled in London, Ontario. Deriving on the data collected from 50 Karen refugees, various orientations of acculturation are discussed and the correlations between psychological health, identity, and acculturation are analyzed in order to identify certain patterns that are predictive of integration.

Process Evaluation Of The Chicago Juvenile Intervention And Support Center, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Researchers investigated the operations of a pre-court diversion program that provides services and supports to station adjusted youth offenders after contacting the Chicago Police Department but before they have been formally arrested and referred to the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department. The purpose of the study was to determine the suitability of the program for evaluation and to work with staff to enact any procedural modifications that may be needed to facilitate future evaluation activities.

Review Of Hollowing Out The Middle: The Rural Brain Drain And What It Means For America. By Patrick J. Carr And Maria J. Kefalas., Peter F. Korsching

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

"Hollowing out the middle" refers to the loss of the well-educated young adults in rural communities of America's Heartland-the Corn Belt and Great Plains. Declining rural communities invest their meager resources to educate their brightest youth, thereby providing them opportunities for rewarding careers in distant cities. This further contributes to the communities' woes because it guarantees not only population loss, but also loss of expertise and leadership that could help them solve their problems. Carr and Kefalas's contribution to understanding the dilemma of rural communities promoting and supporting the loss of the best and brightest is through an in-depth analysis …

Kaum Miskin Kota, Sampah, Dan Rumah: Studi Tentang Akses Migran Miskin Terhadap Sumber Daya Lingkungan Dan Perumahan Di Tangerang, Rusli Cahyadi

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

A slum or squatter is identified by poor quality of housing and unsanitary conditions. The common agreed explanation of the conditions is to link the rapid growth of population, poverty and environment limitations. It implies that, internal factors of the poor people was the major cause the environmental deteorization. This article is an attemp to explore another explanation. It argued that external factors, i.e. government polices, are the ultimate cause. Using the case of waste management and urban housing supply system, the article propose a different view. The poor and unsanitary housing was the result of lack and absence of …

Ua23 Spirit Of Engagement 2011, Aurelia Spaulding, Alive Center, Western Kentucky University

ALIVE Center Publications

No abstract provided.