Politics and Social Change Commons^™

The Roma And Sinti In Germany: Orientalism And Exclusion From German Historical Narratives (Romantisiert, Kriminalisiert, Und Abgewertet: Orientalismus Und Narrative Der Roma Und Sinti In Deutschland), Kimberly A. Longfellow

Celebration

The Roma and Sinti represent presence and absence in German culture. Although there has been a population of Roma and Sinti in Germany for centuries, they are often perceived by the German majority population as distinctly "eastern" and, as such, non-German. The perceptions of Roma by the German majority population mimic Orientalist assumptions, where the Roma are romanticized, criminalized, and generally devalued in comparison to Eurocentric narratives. Through an analysis of the Roma presence in German history, literature, and current events, one can see that the experience of the Roma in Germany is largely structured by the perceptions and assumptions …

Problem Analysis In Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma As A Driver Of Youth And Gang Violence, Laurie Ross Phd, Samantha Arsenault, Sergeant Miguel Lopez

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Problem analysis conducted by a university-based research partner can provide communities with data-driven options to address the local drivers of serious youth and gang violence. Situated in Worcester, Massachusetts, this article describes how after early childhood trauma was identified as a potential driver of adolescent and young adult violence, problem analysis using local data confirmed that being the victim or witness of a traumatic incident before the age of 12 was significantly correlated with involvement in violence in adolescence or young adulthood. While there is a robust literature on the relationship between early childhood trauma and later delinquency, local decision-makers …

Can Social Media Reduce Discrimination And Ignorance Towards Patients With Long Term Conditions? A Chronic Kidney Disease Example In The Uk And More Widely, Shahid N. Muhammad, Amy J. Zahra, Howard J. Leicester, Heather Davis, Stephen Davis

Patient Experience Journal

Long Term Conditions (LTCs) are increasing in prevalence and cost in Western healthcare. Patients with such conditions are often classed as “disabled”, because of impacts of self-care on “activities of daily life” or secondary consequences of conditions (impairments) affecting factors such as mobility, concentration and communications. Disability needs are often ignored in the design of services and treatment of individuals. It manifests as services which some find difficult to use and lack of personal respect (discrimination) often based on lack of understanding by the healthcare profession itself (ignorance). This paper explores how Social Media (SM), an example “Assistive Technology” in …

Rape And Sexual Violence: Questionable Inevitability And Moral Responsibility In Armed Conflict, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Wartime sexual violence is a critical human rights issue that usurps the autonomy of its victims as well as their physical and psychological safety. It occurs in both ethnic and non-ethnic wars, across geographic regions, against both men and women, and regardless of the “official” position of commanders, states, and armed groups on the use of rape as tactic of war. This problem is current, pervasive, and global in spite of the status of wartime sexual violence perpetration as a crime against humanity and the capacity of the international criminal court to indict offenders. Though some scholars have argued that …

Crossroads: How Race, Class, And Gender Affect Views Of Poverty, Heather Webb

Honors Projects

The existence of poverty in the United States is paradoxical and how people view poverty is complicated. This research provides details about the history of poverty, what causes it, how it is measured, and current statistics. It also provides a condensed history, including relevant types of welfare, of social policies, as well as an overview of social-policy making and current statistics. Secondly, this research analyzes how race, class, and gender affect how we view poverty and policies to amend it. It also uses intersectionality to analyze how intersections between identities contribute to changing these views. The goal of this research …

Reparations For Slavery In The United States, Alicia G. Kinsellagh

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

After the Civil War, freed slaves were promised “40 acres and a mule” to start new lives. This plan was opposed and following proposals for reparations have been opposed since. The majority of U.S. citizens believe that reparations are unnecessary because no living person is responsible for slavery, arguing that there is no “legacy of slavery.” However, others believe that African Americans today are still impacted by the vestiges of slavery. Thus, all U.S. citizens share responsibility for slavery’s legacy. This project explores the arguments for and against giving reparations to African Americans.

Keywords: reparations, “legacy of slavery,” collective responsibility

The Birth Of Development: The Social, Economic And Environmental Advantages To Contraceptive Use On A Global Scale, Linda Hanes

Honors Theses

For many women around the world, pregnancy is a miraculous, exciting stage in life. But for others pregnancy means financial burden, having to stay in an abusive relationship, or giving up a career. What many people forget is that motherhood is not the default position for women. As a result of the traditional views of acceptable roles regarding women, in most, if not all cultures, there is a stigma placed on family planning and abortion. To talk about contraceptive use is to admit that sex is a natural part of life for all genders. Many cultures are not prepared to …

Creating Peace In Our Communities: An Analysis Of Community Reconciliation Techniques, Jessica Shanken

Honors College Theses

Given the rise in efforts to resolve race issues in American communities and ethnic conflicts internationally through open communication techniques, I examine ways that these efforts can be carried out more effectively by analyzing the structure of dialogue centered on race at a large university in a rural area of the Southeast. For that purpose, survey data was collected from students before and after they attended an open forum about race and race relations on their campus to determine the impact of the forum on students' perceptions and attitudes regarding race in their community. In addition, I draw from two …

Dossier De Recherche No. 18 - Mariage Ou Union Libre: Aucun Impact Sur La Réussite, Solène Lardoux, David Pelletier

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Dans la société québécoise, l’union libre est devenue une alternative au mariage comme cadre de formation des familles. Cependant, très peu de recherches ont comparé le développement des enfants de parents en union libre et de parents mariés. De même, les effets de la séparation d’une union libre et d’un mariage ont rarement été distingués les uns des autres. Avec un échantillon représentatif de 1347 enfants provenant de l’Étude longitudinale du développement des enfants du Québec (ÉLDEQ), cette étude regarde les liens entre l’état matrimonial des parents à la naissance de l’enfant, la survenue d’une rupture conjugale et le rendement …

Policy Brief No. 14 - The Underutilization Of Immigrant Skills: Trends And Policy Issues, Jeffrey G. Reitz, Josh Curtis, Jennifer Elrick

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Since 1996, the problem of underutilization of immigrant skills in Canada has grown significantly. University-educated immigrants are more numerous, yet our census analysis shows that their access to skilled occupations in the professions and management declined between 1996 and 2006. In these years, the value of work lost to the Canadian economy from immigrant skill underutilization grew from about $4.80 billion to $11.37 billion, annually. Given the significance of immigration for economic development, the evaluation of current policies and consideration of future directions seem urgent.

Policy Brief No. 8 - Cigarette Taxes And Smoking Participation: Evidence From Canadian Tax Increases, Sunday Azagba, Mesbah Sharaf

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

Although cigarette taxes are a popular anti-smoking measure with policy-makers, we find evidence of a varied response to cigarette taxes among different groups of smokers in Canada. In particular, contrary to other studies, we find that the middle age group--the largest group of smokers in our sample--is largely unresponsive to taxes. Our results show there is no “one-size fits all” anti-smoking policy. Knowing socio-demographic characteristics of smokers who respond differently to tax increases will help in designing supplementary anti-smoking measures.

Policy Brief No. 6 - Age Of Pension Eligibility, Life Expectancy, And Social Policy, Frank T. Denton, Byron G. Spencer

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

As the baby-boom generation retires over the next two decades, there will be a sharp increase in the fraction of the population eligible to receive public pension benefits. This increase would happen even without ongoing reductions in mortality rates and the resultant increases in life expectancy. However, reductions in mortality mean that the impact will be even greater, especially if no offsetting adjustment is made to the age at which people are eligible to receive pension benefits. Continued gains in life expectancy, when not accompanied by an extension of working life, result in increasingly large fractions of the human lifespan …

Can You Help Me Now? The Effects Of Cell Phone Use On Social Capital Formation, Simon Purdy

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Cell phones are the most widely spread communication technology in the modern day. Previous research into the effects of cell phone use has primarily focused on the individual-level, such as texting while driving, leaving a gap in our understanding of the technology’s effects on larger social processes. One such process that cell phones may affect is social capital, or the networks of assistance which exist in our lives, along with the associated norms of trust and reciprocity therein (Putnam, 2000). Recent trends in both social capital and the development and use of cell phones suggests that there may be negative …

Economic Freedom's Clash With Participatory Democracy, Bryant James Moy

Student Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have studied the importance of political participation for maintaining democratic institutions. Atomization theory, however, suggests that as economic freedom increases, there will be a demobilization of political participation. This thesis tests atomization theory using global voter turnout data. Using data derived from IDEA and the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) Index, I provide a test of the relationship between economic freedom and democratic participation. The results of the cross-sectional, time-series analysis of voter turnout data in presidential and legislative elections for 136 countries reveals economic freedom defined as size of government decreases voter turnout in legislative …

Political World Of Bob Dylan, Jeff Taylor, Chad Israelson

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

According to Bob Dylan, we live in what his 1989 song calls a “Political World.” He is correct. But what does this mean? And what is Dylan’s relation to his world?

The Role Of Social Dominance Orientation And Patriotism In The Evaluation Of Minority And Female Leaders, Crystal L. Hoyt, Stefanie Simon

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This research broadens our understanding of racial and gender bias in leader evaluations by merging implicit leadership theory and social dominance perspectives. Across two experimental studies (291 participants), we tested the prediction that bias in leader evaluations stemming from White and masculine leader standards depends on the extent to which people favor hierarchical group relationships (social dominance orientation) and their level of patriotism. Employing the Goldberg paradigm, participants read identical leadership speeches attributed to either a woman or a man described as either a minority (Black or Latino/a) or a majority (White) group member. Results show social dominance orientation negatively …

Characteristics Of Punitive States, Danielle Savage

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Findings from the literature on mass incarceration in the United States have in the past suggested that incarceration rates are strongly related to social, economic and political variables. In this study, I build upon these findings by testing (1) if the prevalence of more conservative political elites influences incarceration rates, and (2) if the racial context of a state relates to state punitiveness. My results suggest that states with citizens that have more conservative ideologies, as well as states that are more racially diverse, have higher incarceration rates.

Torch (April 2016), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

Civic and Community Engagement | Civil Rights and Discrimination | Education | Gender and Sexuality | Inequality and Stratification | Politics and Social Change | Public Policy | Race and Ethnicity

“It’S Not The Pride Parade Model”: Investigating Changes In Queer Activist Practices In Sarajevo After 2008, Matthew Zarenkiewicz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2008, a group of queer activists in Sarajevo organized the Sarajevo Queer Festival in an attempt to raise the visibility of queer people in Sarajevo, but the event resulted in a violent attack on the queer community. Since 2008, the actors and tactics of activists have changed, moving from the single, more radical, Organization Q, to the emergence of more groups with a more moderate approach. My research poses the question how have the tactics of queer activists in Sarajevo changed since the attack on the Sarajevo Queer Festival and the passage of the 2009 anti-discrimination law. Through semi-structured …

Del Movimiento Estudiantil A Revolución Democrática: Esperanza Está En La Institución, Jensen Handwork

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Chilean State is currently in a political era defined as the Crisis de Legitimidad (Crisis of Legitimacy) in result of extreme socioeconomic inequality and widespread political disillusionment. In 2011, a social movement led by university students became the most important movement since the democratic transition began in 1990, succeeding in re-politicizing the population. The movement started as a demand that the State offer free higher education and end various injustices in the entire education system, however, in time the movement and became a statewide expression of the frustration felt against the neo-liberal state. Over 80% of the Chilean population …