Community-Based Research Commons^™

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

"I Stayed There The Whole Night": Exploring Caregivers' Experiences With The Healthcare System When Caring For A Parent At The End Of Life, Lillian Mehran

Dissertations and Theses

Background: In the United States, there are nearly 53 million individuals serving as caregivers to a loved one. Half of all caregivers are caring for a parent or parent-in-law, and 79% of caregivers are caring for a person aged 50 or older. In New York State, there are an estimated 4.1 million caregivers who collectively provide over 2.6 billion hours of unpaid care, with those caring for a person at the end of life providing twice as many hours of caregiving per week compared to other caregivers. The number of individuals requiring caregiving is expected to increase as a significant …

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

Reducing Gun Violence In New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado

Publications and Research

Most large American cities experienced falling client crime rates in recent decades, with New York City only being second to San Diego is the scale of its decline. This databit looks at the array of initiatives the city implemented to address gun violence as a possible contribution to the decline.

Reported Crime In Map Communities Compared With Other Nyc Areas. Map Evaluation Update Number 5., Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado, Richard A. Espinobarros, Gina Moreno

Publications and Research

This is the fifth of six Evaluation Updates reporting interim results from John Jay College’s evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). The study analyzes public safety outcomes in 17 public housing developments participating in the MAP initiative and finds meaningful and sometimes statistically significant improvements.

Opinions And Perceptions Of Residents In New York City Public Housing. Map Evaluation Update Number 4., Sheyla A. Delgado, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gina Moreno

Publications and Research

This is the fourth of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice collaborated with survey specialists from NORC at the University of Chicago to collect data from two probability samples of residents in public housing developments in New York City. This first iteration of collecting survey responses will be compared to the next wave of response to get an understanding of the effectiveness of …

Public Safety Trends In Map Communities And Matched Comparison Areas. Map Evaluation Update Number 3., Sheyla A. Delgado, Richard A. Espinobarros, Gina Moreno, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

This is the third of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice collaborated with survey specialists from NORC at the University of Chicago to track key outcomes in MAP developments and matched comparison sites. Using the NYC Open Data portal and data from NYPD and SPARCS, the research team looked to see if the presence of MAP showed initial impacts in crime and victimization …

Cultural Heritage Preservation In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation Or Relocation: Barbuda As A Case Study, Martha B. Lerski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study introduces an arts camp methodology of engaging communities in identifying their key cultural heritage features, thus serving as a meta study. It presents original research based on field studies on the climate-vulnerable Caribbean island of Barbuda during 2017 and 2018. Its Valued Cultural Elements survey, enabling precise identification of key tangible and intangible art forms and biocultural practices, may serve as a basis for further studies. Such approaches may facilitate future research or planning as climate-vulnerable communities harness Local or Indigenous Knowledge for purposes of biocultural heritage preservation, or towards adaptation or relocation. I report on findings …

Measurement Plan And Analytic Strategies For Evaluating The Mayor’S Action Plan For Neighborhood Safety. Map Evaluation Update Number 2., Jeffrey A. Butts, John Roman, Angela Silletti, Anthony Vega, Wogod Alawlaqi

Publications and Research

This is the second of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center was asked to create the measurement framework and analytic strategies to evaluate the MAP initiative. Using multiple data sources and onsite observations and interviews, the team aims to understand the relationship between the MAP efforts and the expected outcomes of those efforts.

Quasi-Experimental Comparison Design For Evaluating The Mayor’S Action Plan For Neighborhood Safety. Map Evaluation Update Number 1., Sheyla A. Delgado, Wogod Alawlaqi, Richard A. Espinobarros, Laila Alsabahi, Anjelica Camacho, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

This is the first of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center created methods to assemble various outcome measures about participating NYCHA MAP developments. The team also utilized statistical procedures to select a matched comparison group of NYCHA housing developments not participating in MAP. Differences in outcomes between the 17 MAP and 17 non-MAP housing developments will serve as the statistical basis for estimating …

Family–School Partnerships And The Missing Voice Of Parents, Laura R. Stein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Educators, researchers, advocates, and others agree that effective family-school partnership is an important component in best supporting the academic outcomes and future success of students. However, schools and educators struggle in forming constructive partnerships with racially and economically marginalized and oppressed parents and families, particularly low-income Black parents and families. This compromises support for low-income Black students that are already served in underfunded and under-resourced schools compared to their White middleclass counterparts. Further, this phenomenon exacerbates a widely understood academic achievement gap between low-income Black students and White middleclass students. In seeking to unearth and better understand effective strategies and …

The Effects Of Cure Violence In The South Bronx And East New York, Brooklyn, Sheyla A. Delgado, Laila Alsabahi, Kevin T. Wolff, Nicole Marie Alexander, Patricia A. Cobar, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

New York City launched its first Cure Violence program—which uses community outreach to interrupt violence—in 2010 with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. By 2017, there were 18 programs around the city. This report examines Man Up! Inc. in East New York, Brooklyn, and Save Our Streets South Bronx. Each neighborhood was compared to another neighborhood similar in demographics and crime trends but without a Cure Violence program. There is promising evidence that Cure Violence may help to create safe and healthy communities.

Repairing Trust: Young Men In Neighborhoods With Cure Violence Programs Report Growing Confidence In Police, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado

Publications and Research

Researchers at John Jay Research and Evaluation Center found evidence to suggest the presence of Cure Violence — a place-based, public-health approach to violence reduction that relies on “outreach workers” and “violence interrupters” to prevent high-risk individuals from using violence to resolve conflicts — increases confidence in police in affected neighborhoods.

Young Men In Neighborhoods With Cure Violence Programs Adopt Attitudes Less Supportive Of Violence, Sheyla A. Delgado, Laila Alsabahi, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

New York City neighborhoods with operating Cure Violence sites show stronger declines in less violence-prone attitudes. This databit displays data collected by the NYCCure study at JohnJayREC. It demonstrates that the presence of Cure Violence in a neighborhood is associated with significant reductions in the willingness of young men to use violence in conflict situations.

Different Names For Bullying, Marco Poggio

Capstones

“There's all different forms of bullying,” says Steven Gray, a Lakota rancher and former law enforcement officer living in South Dakota. In this look into Gray’s life, we learn about two instances of bullying: the psychological and physical harassment that pushed his son, Tanner Thomas Gray, to commit suicide at age 12; And the controversial construction of an oil pipeline in an ancient tribal land that belongs to the Lakota people by rights of a treaty signed in 1851, which Gray sees as an institutional abuse infringing on the sovereignty of his people. Gray is involved in the movement that …

Perceptions Of Violence In Morrisania (The Bronx), Sheyla A. Delgado, Jeffrey A. Butts, Laila Alsabahi

Publications and Research

The NYCCure study measured changes in violent norms and attitudes in areas of New York City operating Cure Violence programs. Respondents were men aged 18-30 from the Morrisania area of The Bronx.

Perceptions Of Violence In Bedford-Stuyvesant (Brooklyn), Sheyla A. Delgado, Jeffrey A. Butts, Laila Alsabahi

Publications and Research

The NYCCure study measured changes in violent norms and attitudes in areas of New York City operating Cure Violence programs. Respondents were men aged 18-30 from the Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy) area of Brooklyn.

Respondent-Driven Sampling: Evaluating The Effects Of The Cure Violence Model With Neighborhood Surveys, Kwan Lamar Blount-Hill, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

This report gives insight into how researchers at the John Jay Research and Evaluation Center used Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) to measures changes in violence-related attitudes and values of young men (age 18-30) in at-risk neighborhoods and compares areas with and without Cure Violence programs. The RDS method allows researchers to reach difficult-to-recruit populations and helps to increase the credibility of the study.

Perceptions Of Violence In Harlem, Sheyla A. Delgado, Jeffrey A. Butts, Marissa Mandala

Publications and Research

The NYCCure study measured changes in violent norms and attitudes in areas of New York City operating Cure Violence programs. Respondents were men aged 18-30 from the East Harlem area of Manhattan.

Perceptions Of Violence In The South Bronx, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado, Marissa Mandala

Publications and Research

The NYCCure study measured changes in violent norms and attitudes in areas of New York City operating Cure Violence programs. Respondents were men aged 18-30 from the South Bronx.

Perceptions Of Violence In East New York (Brooklyn), Sheyla A. Delgado, Jeffrey A. Butts, Marissa Mandala

Publications and Research

The NYCCure study measured changes in violent norms and attitudes in areas of New York City operating Cure Violence programs. Respondents were men aged 18-30 from the East New York area of Brooklyn.

Staying Connected: Keeping Justice-Involved Youth “Close To Home” In New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Laura Negredo, Evan Elkin

Publications and Research

When justice-involved youth are supervised by local agencies and placed with locally operated programs rather than being sent away to state facilities, they are better able to maintain community ties. They stay connected with their families, and they are more likely to remain in local schools. Policy reforms that localize the justice system are often called “realignment.” New York’s “Close to Home” (or C2H) initiative is a prominent example of youth justice realignment. Launched in 2012, it is the latest chapter in a decade-long commitment by New York State and New York City to improve the justice system for young …

Effectiveness Of The Cure Violence Model In New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Kevin T. Wolff, Evan Misshula, Sheyla A. Delgado

Publications and Research

New research from the John Jay College Research & Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) suggests that the Cure Violence strategy may effectively reduce the incidence of homicide. Researchers at John Jay worked with analysts at the New York Police Department (NYPD) to assemble information about violence in New York City neighborhoods and compared areas with and without Cure Violence programs. The analysis focused on programs in three areas: two in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan. All three areas were operating Cure Violence programs as of 2010, and homicides were tracked through 2013. When the study compared homicide rates in those areas with …

“Documenting The Untold Stories Of Feminist Activists At Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Archive Project.”, Cynthia Tobar

Publications and Research

This chapter recounts the creation of a digital oral history archive documenting the Welfare Rights Initiative (WRI), a grassroots student activist and community leadership training organization located at Hunter College. The author examines, through these oral history interviews, social movement activity at the level of a grassroots organization as exemplified by WRI, which was developed to aid student welfare recipients to become agents of social change and actively involve them with policymaking. The project depicts the experiences of members in this feminist grassroots organization and provides us with new insights to the origins of advocacy, documenting the singular historical importance …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Positive Youth Justice: Framing Justice Interventions Using The Concepts Of Positive Youth Development, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gordon Bazemore, Aundra Saa Meroe

Publications and Research

Positive youth development could be an effective framework for designing general interventions for young offenders. Such a framework would encourage youth justice systems to focus on protective factors and risk factors, strengths, problems, and broader efforts to facilitate successful transitions to adulthood for justice-involved youth. The positive youth development approach supports youth in successfully transitioning from adolescence to early adulthood by encouraging young people to develop useful skills and competencies and build stronger connections with pro-social peers, families, and communities (Butts, Mayer, & Ruth, & Ruth, 2005). Young people engaged with trustworthy adults and peers to pursue meaningful activities and …