Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

More Than A Century After Problem Emerged, Manhole Explosions Still Injuring Dozens In New York City, Gaspard Le Dem, Gabriel Sandoval

Capstones

Since the early days of electrification, New York City has been rattled by manhole explosions –– underground blasts that injure residents, damage buildings, force evacuations, cause power outages and traffic disruptions.

Consolidated Edison, the city's largest electric provider, has for decades blamed manhole issues on bad weather and road salt that erodes underground wires. But some experts and former utility workers say lack of maintenance is at the root of the problem.

Meanwhile, city and state officials have failed to rein in the problem through weak laws and loose oversight. As a result, unsuspecting drivers and pedestrians continue to be …

Report: The 2018 Vincentian Innovation Summit, Anna Morozova, Kevin Rioux

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Quality Early Mathematics Teaching And Learning, Bilge Cerezci

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Growing evidence demonstrates that early mathematics teaching and learning experiences, among all educational resources, are especially important contributors to students’ learning and later achievement in mathematics and other areas, particularly in low-SES students who are at risk of falling behind in mathematics achievement. As early mathematics education has assumed heightened importance, quality of early mathematics teaching and learning experiences has attracted national attention, and the pressure to perform in mathematics has trickled down to preschoolers and kindergarteners. How can nations make sure their citizens are equipped with the necessary math skills and knowledge in order to be competent and productive …

Toc

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Editors

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Cover

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Marijuana Legalization: Beyond Yes Or No., Keith Humphreys

Center for Policy Research

This paper will first go over some basic terms and concepts, then discuss what’s going on in the world around cannabis with a focus on the United States. I will then offer some policy options to consider if New York chooses to legalize recreational cannabis.

Interventions To Improve Older Driver Safety, Bernadette A. Fausto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increased longevity coupled with age-related declines that compromise driving safety and fragility render older adults as vulnerable road users (Oxley & Whelan, 2008). To address this public health concern, researchers continue to investigate interventions to improve older driver safety. The current dissertation consists of two papers examining: a) the state of the literature on older driver interventions and b) the efficacy of one approach, Useful Field of View cognitive training, to reduce at-fault crash involvement. The first paper sought to identify and quantify the effects of different interventions among older adults on outcomes of crashes, on-road driving performance, self-reported outcomes …

Sundaas Story: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Household Sanitation Provisioning In Urban Informal Housing In India, Sarita Vijay Panchang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aims of this research were to examine sanitation insecurity in urban informal housing through the lens of the built environment, social disparities, and health implications. While the Millennium Development Goals for halving the global proportion of people without access to safe drinking water were met ahead of schedule, progress fell short for sanitation, creating new objectives for the Sustainable Development Goals to be met in 2030. Much research in the Global South is dedicated to community-level sanitation promotion, but often presumes a rural rather than urban setting. Urban informal housing settings constitute a unique challenge due to the range …

Commentary: Venezuelan Democracy: Bolivar’S Shattered Dream, Juan E. Chebly

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Venezuela is one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, dating back to 1958, and has been under attack ever since.Venezuelan armies never conquered, they liberated nations. Led by Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, Venezuelans stood by their neighbors in their quest for freedom and many gave their lives to liberate six nations from oppression (Arana, 2013). Venezuela has served as a beacon of freedom in a land plagued by authoritarian rule over the centuries.

The Forgotten Few: Foreign Professional Workers & U.S. Foreign Policy, Adrian Pandev

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

U.S. foreign policy took a dramatic shift since the Trump Administration took office in 2017. The country has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, has imposed more sanctions on Russia, and has vowed to renegotiate international trade deals to “Make America Great Again.” U.S. foreign policy has an enormous impact on the lives of foreign professionals, from the ability to obtain work visas to being able to simply travel to the U.S. to pursue employment opportunities.

Corruption, Political Instability And Transnational Crime In The Country Of Guinea-Bissau, Brian K. Harte

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Internationally, Guinea-Bissau is regarded as a ‘cocaine gateway’ and transition point for narcotics trafficking from South America to West Africa, and into Europe (United Nations, 2011). Furthermore, “many esteemed experts have asserted that West Africa, and Guinea-Bissau in particular, is crumbling under the pressures posed by this drug trade which threatens to turn the region into an epicenter of lawlessness and instability” (Bybee, 2011, p. 3). We will provide an overview of transnational crime, corruption and political instability that contribute to social unrest within the country of Guinea-Bissau.

Colombian Conflict: A Sociological View Of A Gendered Society, Jorge Restrepo

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Jorge Restrepo, having lived and experienced Colombian conflict, explores how the construction of the war narrative was driven by berracos (an expression used in Colombia to identify uber-males masculinized by war). In Colombia, women, afro-Colombians, native-Colombians, LGBT, anyone over sixty (as they are not perceived useful to society), children (childsoldiers), who have no representation before the government, the voiceless minorities, were cruelly marginalized. The Colombian conflict imposed a power dynamic between men, women, and other minorities, established by the government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army) as part of their internal war.

Sisters Of The Caliphate: Media And The Women Of Isis, Kathleen German, Rosemary Pennington

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Women have long been viewed as the “weaker sex”–more peace-loving and passive than men. However, clashes in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland have shown that women are both willing and able to participate in violent conflict (Alison, 2004; Cheldelin & Eliatamby, 2011). We will specifically examine the recruitment to and roles of women in the Islamic State through an examination of the scholarship on female fighters, in order to contextualize the women of ISIS. We conclude with a suggestion that scholars and others interested in the experience of women in conflict move away from overly simplistic framings which suggest women …

Forgetting Fallujah: Covert Silence, Digital Public Memory And The Civilian Consequences Of Operation Phantom Fury In Iraq, Jason L. Jarvis

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

“Forgetting Fallujah” challenges the institutional memory of Fallujah advanced in “US Marines.” For most people, the understanding of war is based entirely on media images (Schwalbe, 2006; Sontag, 2003). This essay, like the work of Jackie Orr (2016) is a salvo in an ideological struggle to re-signify the meaning of Fallujah. The invasion of Fallujah was more severe for civilians than the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, yet Fallujah caused almost no public outcry because it lacked visual evidence and went uncovered by mainstream American media (Entman, 2006). Covert silence in “US Marines” demonstrates that digital memory is easily …

Disinformation As Warfare In The Digital Age: Dimensions, Dilemmas, And Solutions, Minna Aslama Horowitz

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Disinformation as warfare in the digital age may not be so different than any other type of warfare; wars are fought for power, and some benefit economically while the vulnerable suffer the most. The vast majority of conflicts today are not fought by nation states and their armies; increasingly, they are fought not with conventional weapons but with words. A specific sort of weaponry—“fake news” and viral disinformation—has been at the center of policy discussions, public debates, and academic analyses in recent years. Everyone who is active on digital platforms can be responsible in the simplest of ways: not lashing …

Introduction: Wars, Conflicts, And The Marginalization Of Dissent, Tuija Parikka, Basilio G. Monteiro, Sejal Singh

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Conflicts, wars, and crisis, unfortunately, abound, transform, and become metastasized in unexpected ways. The vast majority of armed conflicts today are not fought by nation states and their armies but rather informal entities, such as gangs and warlords using small arms, improvised weapons, and media technologies. Few, usually poor resource regions, get global attention, thus deprived of political will and economic resources needed to resolve the conflicts. As women and other minorities are becoming primary targets and suffering unprecedented casualties, they are profoundly affected by practices and cultures of warring, yet often remain voiceless in the global arena.This special issue …

Toc

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Editors

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Cover

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Lens On Indigenous Health Iniquities: Planning, Nursing, Anthropology, Geography, Education, Chantal Francouer, Alana Kehoe, Ivy Tran, Steven Vanloffeld, Lillian Woroniuk, Jacob Renaud

2019 Cohort

Indigenous peoples experience poorer health outcomes on almost every measure of health and wellbeing, when compared to the rest of Canada. For decades researchers have been working independently on addressing health inequalities, yet little progress has been made on closing the gap. This Discipline-specific way of thinking is too narrow and neglects indigenous ideologies of holistic approaches to health. An interdisciplinary approach to indigenous health research provides a more collaborative and integrated opportunity to address the multidimensional aspects of health. This paper has the goals to contribute to the limited research on interdisciplinary indigenous health research.

Interdisciplinary Lens On Indigenous Health Iniquities: Planning, Nursing, Anthropology, Geography, Education, Chantal Francouer, Alana Kehoe, Ivy Tran, Steven Vanloffeld, Lillian Woroniuk, Jacob Renaud

Head and Heart Posters 2019

Indigenous peoples experience poorer health outcomes on almost every measure of health and wellbeing, when compared to the rest of Canada. For decades researchers have been working independently on addressing health inequalities, yet little progress has been made on closing the gap. This Discipline-specific way of thinking is too narrow and neglects indigenous ideologies of holistic approaches to health. An interdisciplinary approach to indigenous health research provides a more collaborative and integrated opportunity to address the multidimensional aspects of health. This paper has the goals to contribute to the limited research on interdisciplinary indigenous health research.

Interdisciplinary Lens On Indigenous Health Iniquities: Planning, Nursing, Anthropology, Geography, Education, Chantal Francouer, Alana Kehoe, Ivy Tran, Steven Vanloffeld, Lillian Woroniuk, Jacob Renaud

Learning with your Head & Heart

Indigenous peoples experience poorer health outcomes on almost every measure of health and wellbeing, when compared to the rest of Canada. For decades researchers have been working independently on addressing health inequalities, yet little progress has been made on closing the gap. This Discipline-specific way of thinking is too narrow and neglects indigenous ideologies of holistic approaches to health. An interdisciplinary approach to indigenous health research provides a more collaborative and integrated opportunity to address the multidimensional aspects of health. This paper has the goals to contribute to the limited research on interdisciplinary indigenous health research.

The Lived Experience Of Discharged And Readmitted African Americans With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease To A Safety-Net Hospital, Kiiyonna Jones

Dissertations

Background:Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a debilitating respiratory disease that negatively affects the quality of life of those affected and has been a major contributor to the continuous rise in healthcare cost in the Unites States (Guarascio, Ray, Finch, & Self, 2013; National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2009; Shavelle, Paculdo, Kush, Mannino, & Straus, 2009; Scott, Smith, Sullivan, & Mahajan, 2001). In 2014, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) identified COPD as an applicable condition to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, which penalizes healthcare organizations having readmissions higher than the national average. COPD is the second …

No Place To Be! Common Goods And Homelessness, Patrick Riordan

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The phenomena of homelessness will be shown to challenge the naïve assumption that our political existence is grounded in a sense of goods we hold in common. And at the same time, a clearer understanding of what is involved in having goods in common will highlight a further dimension of the scandal of homelessness in our societies who are systematically excluded from the enjoyment of negative liberty, an important good in common institutionally secured in liberal democratic states. They are denied their negative liberty, because they are denied the physical space in which they might perform activities essential for personal …

Welcoming The Stranger, St. Vincent De Paul And The Homeless, Robert P. Maloney

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The theme is examined in three steps: Vincent and the homeless, The Vincentian Family Global Initiative against Homelessness, Blending systemic change and a “culture of encounter” in serving the homeless. Will our worldwide Vincentian Family, working together, have a significant impact on the lives of the homeless, bringing them a sense of security, peace, and a viable future, in the 150 countries where we live and serve? That is the goal of the megaproject we are launching to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of St. Vincent’s charism.

Land-Lodging-Labor: The Aesthetic, Ethic, And Political Causes Of Homelessness In Latin America, Emilce Cuda

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

It is impossible to talk about the homeless, understood as a lack of decent housing, without at the same time talking about the lack of work and the concentration of land ownership in one sector of society. “Homeless” in Latin America, and for the Argentine Pope, is the lack of land-lodging-labor. The problem of the three “T’s” in the Spanish Tierra, Techo, Trabajo is the question I will develop from aesthetic-ethical-theological foundations, according to the theological method of the Latin American teaching: See-Judge Act.

Regaining Dignity And Social Inclusion: Street Homelessness In Manila And Strategies From Below, Cynthia Calubaquib, Nicole Tilman

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Describing the situation of the street homeless in Metro Manila, the underlying causes of their condition and the – unfortunately still inadequate- responses of the government. Second, we review our, and hopefully also the Philippine Church’s, motivation and inspiration to engage in this kind of service. In this paper we have first reflected upon the situation of the street families, as well as our motivations to work toward ending street homelessness. Based on these we have suggested two strategies.

Homelessness And Hospitality On The Ground, A Methodological Proposal For Catholic Social Teaching, Daniel Pilario

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

What resources, perspectives and experiences can we draw from formal Catholic Social Teaching and broader Catholic social thought to help us understand and interpret street homelessness in a global context? This article is intended to be an invitation to share narratives of hospitality on the ground vis-à-vis the problem of homelessness in the global world. Unlike top-down approaches, there are no clear principles to be applied; only concrete stories with all their frictions, ambiguities and difficulties hoping that God’s inspiration can reveal itself on the rough grounds where people walk in fidelity to the Gospel.

"Go Out To The Highways And Hedges" (Cf. Lk 14:23): Peripheral Ecclesiology, The Art Of Accompaniment, And Street Homelessness, Michael M. Canaris

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The ecclesiological priority of cultivating the art of “walking with” the vulnerable and marginalized as informed by these ecclesiological conversations, especially regarding those “with neither den nor nest” (Mt 8:20), the homeless who can sometimes seem alone in the streets, but are always journeying with the human family (and thus the Church, of which many of our unhoused brothers and sisters are a part) through history. As Vincent puts it, the communal dimension of living the Gospel together “is the wine that cheers and strengthens travelers along this narrow path of Jesus Christ.”