Social Justice Commons^™

Mentoring Programs: An Answer To The Cultural & Social Challenge Of Juvenile Rehabilitation, Isaiah Franqui

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The juvenile delinquency epidemic in the United States has been approached using many methods. This paper is an attempt to showcase one method that is often glanced over, but may provide the best solution yet. A new promising outlook for the overall well-being of juveniles within the criminal justice system is the formation of mentoring programs. These programs connect at-risk youth and/or current juvenile delinquents to a mentor who, in turn, can help shift the direction of their lives. They often take place within community centers throughout the day and can present themselves in a number of different methods. Through …

A Dream Come True: More Than 50 Years After Black Students Demanded Faculty And Student Leadership Roles At The University Of Mississippi, Students Of Color Are Still Grappling With What It Means To Be Included., Kaylynn Steen

Honors Theses

This thesis tells the story of University of Mississippi alumna Treasure Fisher’s journey in the organization Column’s Society, an organization known as the hosts and hostess of the University of Mississippi. Throughout Fisher’s story, historical moments from the university’s complex relationship with its Black students are weaved through in an attempt to provide context for some of the lingering racial issues at the university today. Fisher’s story, these historical moments, and other anecdotal experiences from current and former Black students, faculty, and staff at the university challenges the reader to examine what representation does, and maybe should, mean to this …

Mothering As Feminism, Meera Patel

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This critical essay proposes the concept of mothering-as-feminism, with the intention of interrogating American ideals of mothering and caregiving. Reforming the way we view mothering, as it relates to feminism, requires a re-evaluation of the American role of women and mothers—and how they are portrayed (and therefore seen and understood), valued, and supported. Focusing on the evolution of feminist theory throughout the past 70 years, as well as personal and secondary experiences, I demonstrate how political and social change occurs generationally and is dependent on the education of our children. Ultimately, I show the important role children’s literature plays …

Mental Health Navigators Bridging The Gap Of Care, Valentina Loreto-Ashley

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Individuals with schizophrenia are most vulnerable at time of discharge due to risk factors that lead to relapse, re-admission, suicide and/or danger to others. A successful discharge process can decrease overall care costs, promotes team collaboration, supports the therapeutic relationship between client and care provider, and helps the client to reach autonomy and self-efficacy. This DNP is a quality improvement project that aims at educating Mental Health Navigators about symptoms of schizophrenia, medications management, and community resources. Effectiveness of the educational intervention will be assessed as the differences between the pre- and post-test assessment score on insight or lack of …

Nothing About Youth Without Youth: Involving Youth In Participatory Action Research Conducted With Health Departments, Vivian Cortes

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Health departments are vital to community-partnered public health efforts and research and are positioned to influence community or policy level systems that impact population health. However, while some health departments partner with community members in their programming, not much is known about health departments partnering with community youth. From 2018-2019 the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) implemented a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project to develop a public awareness campaign in partnership with youth and adult community stakeholders for a federally funded program. It was the first participatory research conducted by the agency …

Finding Uhuru, Joanna Waliuba

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Uhuru is Swahili for freedom, freedom that many victims of gender-based violence do not have. Several studies and articles have reported that Gender-based violence is a normalized global pandemic3. This normalization hides a bigger problem of lack of proper facilities and care services that aid the erosion of gender-based violence. The purpose of my thesis is to design a hub for victims of these crimes. A hub that would facilitate healing for victims and educational resources for the community to tackle the stigma of sexual education and violence. To achieve this, the implementation of trauma-informed care and trauma-informed design governed …

Global Changemakers - Hope For The Future, Ann Flanagan

Capstone Collection

This exploratory qualitative research study explores the journey of changemakers and the role of formal and informal curricula in shaping students' understanding of social change and motivating them to take action. In addition, it investigates transformative experiences encountered through critical reflection and experiential learning and the steps universities could take to equip future changemakers with the necessary tools, skills, and mindset.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three male and two female students as well as one female teacher at Ritsumeikan University. The findings suggest that formal and informal curricula significantly shape students' understanding of social change and motivate them to …

Cultural Humility When Caring For Lgbtqia+ Older Adults: A Resource Guide For Occupational Therapy Practitioners And Students, Michele Ramos, Deb Meyers, Mary Ann Smith

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

The LGBTQIA+ older adult population has unique needs due to their experience as diverse individuals in a cisgender, heteronormative society. Experiences and effects of discrimination need to be considered when providing care. Occupational therapists have a role in addressing disparities of all marginalized groups, including LGBTQIA+ older adults. Practitioners may utilize cultural humility and trauma-informed practices when treating the LGBTQIA+ population. Existing resources to guide culturally humble occupational therapy care for LGBTQIA+ older adults are insufficient. The purpose of this project was to build on existing cultural humble resources and create a website on the focus of occupational therapy cultural …

How Art Therapy Can Be Used To Teach Queer Inclusive Sex Education To Queer Youth: A Literature Review, Olivia Souza

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review examines the potential of art-making as a tool to educate and inform queer youth about queer sexual experiences. Many queer individuals lack information about safe and healthy sex due to the exclusion of queer experiences in sex education programs. Current sex programs solely focus on abstinence and heterosexual experiences, leaving queer youth in the dark about what to expect from future sexual experiences they may have and how to practice safe queer sex. Through a search of the literature, it was discovered that there is a gap in research using art therapy in this specific context. Through …

Playing With Policy: What Insights Arise From Transgender Adults After Participating In A Legislative Theatre Exercise, Skylar A. Stratemeyer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The transgender community is underrepresented in the current body of academic research, underserved in the current clinical model of healthcare services, and legislatively oppressed on a state and federal level in the United States. As of March 2023, more than 400 anti-LGBTQI laws have been introduced on a state level in 2023 alone (ACLU, 2023). In response to the hostile Western sociopolitical climate, this thesis will focus on what insights arise from transgender adults and cisgender allies (N = 12) after participating in a dramatherapeutic group therapy session that explored current anti-trans legislation and highlighted the legal needs of …

Skin Echoes, Andreia Santana

Theses and Dissertations

Santana’s explores the intersection of biology and identity, incorporating living matter and performative gestures into installations to reflect on social constructs of history and gender. By observing water and its qualities of defying Western dichotomies, Skin Echoes focuses on the material interchanges across bodies and the wider material world.

Reducing Barriers To Reporting Campus Sexual Victimization: Exploration Of Gender Microaggressions, Campus Climate, Institutional Betrayal And Institutional Courage, Rebecca Ellsworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine college cis-women’s experiences with gender microaggressions and perceptions of campus climate, institutional betrayal, and institutional courage, how those experiences and perceptions are related, and how each predicts college students’ likelihood of reporting sexual assault to the University. College cis-women (n = 483; 84.3% White) at a private predominantly-White Catholic university in the northeastern United States completed a 153-item survey, the data from which was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests, Pearson correlations, and linear regressions.

Gender microaggressions were found to be prevalent at the University, with perpetration by peers more common …

Examining Asian Americans' Perceived Barriers To Healthcare Access, Kathleen Nguyen, Jennifer Ramos

Honors Thesis

This research aimed to examine Asian Americans and their perceived barriers to healthcare access. Asian Americans, due to not being a homogenous ethnic group, experience health disparities that are different to those that other ethnic groups experience. Compared to whites in America, Asian Americans are less likely to have job-based insurance coverage and because of this are then less likely to be insured (Brown et al., 2000). Additionally, the most common perceived barriers to accessing healthcare for Asian Americans are cultural attitudes, financial and socioeconomic status, as well as language barriers. These barriers found in the literature served as the …

The Ethical Contribution Of Cultural Diversity As A Social Determinant Of Health, Pooja Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation examines how cultural diversity as a social determinant of health, aligned with human life, human dignity, human rights, and human equity provides an ethical contribution. My explanation of the ethical contribution of cultural diversity as a SDOH refers to a quadrant of topics that expands the approach of the UNESCO Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights. The UNESCO approach addresses cultural diversity in relation to human dignity and human rights. I adopt a quadrant of topics that aligns human dignity with human life and human rights with equity. Aligning these topics in the quadrant (dignity/life and rights/equity) explains …

Pursuing Antiracist Public Policy Education: An Example Connecting The Racist History Of Housing Policy To Contemporary Inequity, Craig W. Carpenter, Tyler Augst, Harmony Fierke-Gmazel, Bradley Neumann, Richard Wooten

Journal of Extension

We review the antiracism concept and contextualize it in Extension public policy education and the Extension system itself. Despite public policy education having a long history in Extension on a wide variety of issues, missing from this programming is the pursuit of antiracism. As a programmatic example, we review some historical causes of present-day housing inequities and an associated example approach for pursuing antiracism in housing policy education. Finally, we conclude by noting additional opportunities to pursue antiracism in Extension public policy education. In doing so, we emphasize that public policy education cannot be “nonracist” if it is not antiracist.

Strategies To Advance Antiracist Programs: Why They Matter, Scott D. Scheer

Journal of Extension

The U.S. Extension system has been aware for many years of the racial inequality and disparities present today and throughout U.S. history. Even though there have been concerted efforts in Extension to improve racial equity and inclusion, much work remains. A dual approach is proposed for Extension to focus both internally (program planners) and externally (program participants) to bring about antiracist programs that are inclusive and racially equitable. Research-based strategies are discussed for both domains of program planners (e.g., implicit bias training) and program participants (e.g., reach people of color through culturally relevant curricula).

Critical Race Theory: An Empirical Investigation Of Its Benefits, Saba Lily Modaressi, Desiree A. Crevecoeur-Macphail

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Within the last decade, discussions regarding the implementation of critical race theory in education have gained significant controversy among educators and politicians. Although empirical research on critical race theory is limited, conservative states continue to place bans on the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in K-12 schools (Carter, 2021). The purpose of this study was to build empirical research on CRT, specifically examining whether a course utilizing a critical race curriculum is effective in reducing negative stereotype beliefs and improving attitudes toward critical race theory. Nineteen undergraduate students who were enrolled in the course, IES 102: The Social Construct …

Microaggressions Versus Blatant Discrimination And Their Effects On Mental Health, Ian Lock

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study examined the relationship between types of discrimination and its effect on mental health. Specifically, comparing microaggressions and blatant discrimination to see which variable had a significant impact on depression and anxiety. Microaggressions, derogatory slights/insults directed at members of an oppressed group, are a primary focus for researchers looking at racial discrimination. The impact of microaggressions is prevalent across a myriad of different marginalized groups such as people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. Microaggressions have a large negative impact on mental and physical well-being in individuals, with research finding that it has a negative impact on symptoms …

Book Review: Under The Weather: Reimagining Mobility In The Climate Crisis., Raymond Murphy

Critical Disaster Studies

Under the Weather: Reimagining Mobility in the Climate Crisis is an insightful, important book that reports on a fine-grained investigation Sodero made of the consequences and response to the disasters resulting from Hurricane Juan in Nova Scotia in 2003 and Hurricane Igor in Newfoundland in 2010, with comparisons to Hurricane Sandy in New York, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, the 1998 ice storm in northeastern North America and the Icelandic ash cloud. One original feature is the focus on mobility, how indispensable it is in modern societies, how it is disrupted by extreme weather, and …

Redefining Anger For Sexual And Gender Minorities Using Art As A Visual Voice, Kirsten Ranheim

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy is an increasingly popular approach for addressing trauma and anger in clinical settings. This literature review explores the connections between art therapy, trauma, gender, and anger, drawing on a range of studies and theoretical perspectives. Background is provided on the history of anger within the context of societal institutions, interpersonal power dynamics, psychiatric nosology, and social justice movements. The review concludes that art therapy is ideally suited as a trauma-informed approach to addressing anger in the therapeutic setting. This is due to the unique opportunities that art making provides for helping individuals express and process their emotions nonverbally, …