Social Justice Commons^™

Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Amber Thornton

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This reflection on my journey through the Master of Social Work (MSW) program highlights the transformative influence of critical self-reflection, research, policy analysis, and leadership in shaping my development as a social worker. The program has equipped me with key competencies to engage effectively with individuals, families, groups, and communities, promoting empowerment and advancing social justice. Through hands-on experiences in individual engagement, family assessment, group intervention, and organizational evaluation, I have gained a holistic understanding of social work that emphasizes empathy, tailored interventions, and systemic change. My involvement in policy practice and advocacy has underscored the importance of evidence-based research …

Supervisor Integrity Empowers Employees To Advocate For Diversity In Problematic Climates, Timothy G. Kundro, Brett H. Neely Jr., Cindy P. Muir (Zapata)

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Supervisors struggle to encourage employees to engage in diversity advocacy—key behaviors that help promote more equitable workplaces. Research hints that one reason for this struggle may be that employees lack the empowerment to engage in such behaviors. Drawing on perspectives that conceptualize diversity advocacy as a moral and virtuous behavior, we integrate research on leadership and empowerment to suggest that supervisor integrity can empower observers to engage in diversity advocacy. In exploring boundary conditions, we draw on performance models to counterintuitively suggest that this effect is strongest when employees perceive a negative diversity climate, as employees see the greatest need …

Navigating Emotional Discomfort In Developing Equity-Driven School Leaders: A Conceptual-Pedagogical Framework, Taeyeon Kim, James Wright

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Abstract

Background: Given that K–12 schools necessitate leaders who can advance equity and justice, preparation programs in higher education institutions have prioritized the development of eq-uity-oriented school leaders. However, there has been relatively limited exploration of peda-gogical approaches that equip educational leaders to navigate adverse emotional responses and utilize their discomforting emotions as a source of transformation toward equity-oriented principles. When negative emotions are suppressed and/or unexplored within leadership de-velopment programs, adult learners will likely miss crucial opportunities for personal growth and transformative change.

Purpose: This theoretical article aims to enhance and expand existing scholarship on the ped-agogies …

An Exploration Of The Lived Experiences And Psychological States Of Migrants And Refugees, Zainab Akef, Senel Poyrazli, Isabel Quintero

The Qualitative Report

UNHCR reports that about 82.4 million individuals were forcibly displaced as they attempted to avoid persecution, conflict, or human rights violations in their home countries. In addition to traumatic experiences, refugees encounter stressors such as low income, reduced social support, and language barriers. This qualitative study aimed to explore the impact of pre-migration trauma and political detainment on mental health outcomes and living conditions. A total of eight interviewees participated in video conferencing interviews. A non-probability convenience sampling using the snowballing technique was utilized to identify participants. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach for thematic analysis. The software Dedoose …

Beyond Borders: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of International Migrant Women In Nigeria, A Deep Dive Into Healthcare Realities And Utilization, Juliet Nwafor, Rowland Edet, Ezebunwa Nwokoch

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study explored access to and utilization of healthcare facilities among migrant women in an urban slum community in Nigeria, focusing on factors influencing healthcare-seeking behaviors and the implications for public health interventions. A qualitative case study-oriented research design was employed, involving in-depth interviews with 21 migrant women of reproductive age and 4 key informant interviews with healthcare workers in the Ayobo community of Lagos State, Nigeria. Data collection occurred from June to September 2018, and thematic analysis was used to interpret the findings. Three main themes emerged: living conditions, pattern of healthcare utilization, and factors influencing accessibility and utilization …

How Do Pay Transparency Laws Impact The Gender Pay Gap In The United States?, Kendall Chapko

CMC Senior Theses

After much progress during the late 1900s, the gender pay gap has hardly closed in the last two decades. As policy makers look for new solutions, many governing bodies have turned to pay transparency laws, which make employee salaries transparent to employees. There have been several international studies on this topic, and almost all found that these laws are very effective in decreasing the pay gap. This research is extremely important, as it suggests that these policies push us further towards equality, and makes gender based discrimination less common in the workplace. In my study, I conduct a difference in …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Female Offending In The U.S. And Mexico, Dana Villasenor

CMC Senior Theses

Hollywood has painted a picture of the criminal woman as a sexy, sneaky, and often psychotic female fatale. This is because men run Hollywood. Much like movies, research on why women offend had historically focused on men as their stellar. However, towards the turn of the century and with the disproportionate rise in female incarceration, literature caught up to the fact that women and men do not experience the same socialization, standards, or reality and, therefore, have different reasons for and ways of offending. This research explores those reasons for women in the U.S. and Mexico and paints the picture …

Entremezclando Sueños: Reimagining Education Through Community-Centered Program Evaluations, Cassandra Hernandez

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis fuses Chicane Latine Studies (CLS) and Public Policy methodologies to explore how student-centered organizations can incorporate Decolonial Feminism into their program evaluation pedagogy. In today’s society, the political economy, influenced by structural biases, gravely impacts marginalized communities by overlooking holistic wellbeing as a valid priority. Embodying Decolonial Feminism can help community organizations fight back against systemic inequities and redefine for themselves their existence. A starting point is adjusting how organizations conduct program evaluations. Using Chicana Latina Feminista (CLF) Pláticas, concepts from these pláticas culminated into a collaborative decolonial feminist program evaluation guide called "Entremezclando Sueños." This guide serves …

Assessing The Opportunities And Risks Of Extraction In The Lithium Triangle, Jennifer Cuahutencos

CMC Senior Theses

Climate change mitigation efforts have grown in recent years, giving rise to energy transition technologies, including electric vehicles and grid storage, which rely heavily on lithium. The resulting acceleration of lithium demand poses an opportunity for Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile – collectively referred to as the Lithium Triangle, where more than half of the world’s lithium resources are found – to produce lithium as a way of generating revenue that can be redistributed to increase social well-being. Despite the enticing opportunity, lithium extraction has several socioecological and economic risks that may make lithium extraction a futile endeavor. This thesis aims …

Police Flight Oversight: Lapd Drone As First Responder Implementation, Nathaniel Worley

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the feasibility of implementing a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), analyzing the operational, social, and financial implications compared to traditional police helicopter usage. The thesis investigates helicopter flight patterns, demographic correlations, and the potential for drones to provide a less invasive and more cost-effective aerial support system. Key findings include the use of incorrect identifying hex codes by LAPD helicopters, suggesting potential transparency issues in aerial operations. The thesis recommends DFR due to substantial cost savings and enhanced surveillance transparency and asserts that a DFR program can mitigate negative …

Progressive Maternity And Reproductive Justice: The Identity Of Motherhood As A Conduit Of American Social Policy, Sharanya Suresh

CMC Senior Theses

For this thesis, I explore the following research questions: How did primary actors such as the activists and scholars within the Progressive Maternity and Reproductive Justice movements use and construct maternal and gender identities within their respective movements? What are the policy implications for building coalitions around gender and motherhood? I argue that the Progressive Maternity movement embraces motherhood as an identity by which we coalesce and create policy, while the Reproductive Justice movement has a nuanced understanding of motherhood and gender, with a rejection of the notion that citizenship is contingent on motherhood at the center of their political …

For Richer Or Poorer: The Warren Court's Relationship To Socioeconomic Class, Nicole Jonassen

CMC Senior Theses

The U.S. Constitution does not enshrine socioeconomic rights. Why does this matter? Many argue that socioeconomic rights have value in and of themselves because they secure certain minimum conditions of human dignity, but socioeconomic rights also have instrumental value because abject material deprivation often makes traditional political and civil rights meaningless. In this thesis, I explore the relationship between U.S. constitutional law and socioeconomic rights through an analysis of the Warren Court’s decisions regarding socioeconomic class. In Chapter 1, I present existing literature on socioeconomic rights, socioeconomic rights in the American context, and what many scholars see as the Warren …

The Regenarrative: How To Change The Story In Order To Change The Future, S. Rose Bigheart O'Leary

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Abstract

In the era of Climate Change, many are concerned that the end of the Anthropocene, or the end of the era of human life on Earth, is upon us. Western European colonialism and its subsequent systems (settler-colonialism, colonial-capitalism, and globalization - sometimes termed “neocolonialism”) have all been implicated in contributing to unsustainable behaviors linked to accelerating climate change. In searching for possible solutions, some have called for listening to Indigenous Peoples, citing ethics of sustainability found among many Indigenous cultures. However, the cultural products of settler-colonialism are still dominant in ways that do not allow for Indigenous worldviews to …

Acknowledgments, Matt Wappett

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Advancing Strength-Based Inclusive Mental Health Research In Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Luther Kalb, Joan B. Beasley

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Analysis Of Section 1983 Filings By Incarcerated Plaintiffs, Hollie Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was a “watershed moment" in human history, transcending its role as a mere health crisis to reveal deeper fissures within societies. The present retrospective longitudinal study examined COVID-19 as an “era” of complexity utilizing it as an intermediate construct that delineates “pre-COVID” and “post-COVID.” In order to understand the impact of the COVID-19 era, the design of the study and hypotheses stem from an assumption of the interconnectedness of issues related to health, social justice, racial justice, politics, and information dissemination.

This study utilized both manifest and latent content analysis to explore the most …

The Potential Of Humor To Joyously Dismantle Ableism+: Considerations For Social Workers, Mia Ocean

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social workers are often well-positioned but not adequately equipped to disrupt, unsettle, or counteract ableism. Humor is one approach to disability justice work that can move the social work profession forward in a novel way. Within this practice brief, I use first-person narrative to illustrate the potential and limitations of humor to dismantle ableism+ in everyday interactions between social workers, clinical social work practice, and policy transformation. First, I share an example of how to use humor as a direct, call-in strategy to confront social worker-initiated ableist interactions. Second, I describe how a mixed disabled/abled couple can laugh together at …

The Experience Of Growing Up Deaf In A Hearing-Abled Family: A Phenomenological Study, Alison B. Wetmur

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

d/Deaf Americans constitute a cultural and linguistic minority in America. Most d/Deaf people, 90–95%, are born to hearing-abled parents. By a wide margin, hearing-abled families prefer that their d/Deaf children learn spoken English and enroll their children in oral-education programs. Existing literature must highlight the unique struggles d/Deaf people face when growing up in hearing-abled families. By interviewing 14 d/Deaf adults born into hearing-abled families, this study explored the lived realities of growing up different in ability than other family members. These d/Deaf adults spoke about their childhood feelings of shame and isolation and ongoing frustrations. Respondents also often spoke …

Dismantling Ableism In Social Work Employment: A Call For Disability Justice, Shannon M. Trecartin, Twyla Smith, Terrance P. Trecartin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This call to action confronts ableist employment practices in the social work profession and emphasizes the core values of the profession, the profession’s call for anti-oppressive and inclusive approaches to justice, and Principles of Disability Justice as avenues to rectify such systemic disparities. Grounded in the lived experiences of the authors, it sheds light on the barriers faced by disabled social workers seeking employment and offers context for understanding both the challenges and opportunities in the field. The authors collectively advocate for reform in social work employment to foster a more inclusive and equitable environment. Drawing on their own experiences, …

Action Steps Toward Dismantling Ableism In Social Work Education, Laura J. Wernick, Rose C. B. Singh, Natasha M. Lee-Johnson, Shanna K. Kattari, Brendon Holloway

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite social work’s commitment to social justice, ableism remains rampant among social work programs. Students and faculty often have to fight in order to have their basic accommodations and access needs met, disability is frequently missing from social work education’s discussions of diversity, and it is often implied that disabled people will be our clients, while social workers themselves are non-disabled. There is a glaring gap in our profession when it comes to engaging with and supporting disabled individuals. More than that, basic access is not enough; rather, we must work towards active inclusion and affirmation in order to be …