Tag: Connection and Community

Freedom Towns, Freedom Colonies: A Primer for Prosperity

Presenter: Sarada Thomas – Anthropology, Architecture

Faculty Mentor: Richard Margerum

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Connection and Community

The study examines Freedom Towns and Colonies. The newly freed had few resources but established hundreds of these communities. Many were very successful, and some are still in existence today.

Modern African American communities are materially in the same place as those from the early 1800s. Previous research indicates the same methods could be used to create similar economic transformation. The study answers the questions: how did these towns and colonies emerge? What are the lessons, successful practices, and guiding principles from their history? How can policy support and protect efforts to apply them?

A primary literature review framed the study at the intersection of political economics, sociopolitical history, and community development. A secondary literature review of oral histories, government documents, and journalistic articles provided data for analysis.

Primary findings show cooperative and collective behaviors span successful communities while failures were induced externally. The implication is privation among ADOS communities can be alleviated using internal and external solutions drawn from history.

This work is significant in its assumption of ability, motivation, and ongoing effort by ADOS communities. Second the study centers the community’s cultural habits as a solution to their economic, social, and political condition. Third, this work is significant in its clarification of policy’s role to support, promote and protect the community and its efforts.

Evaluating Responsive Caregiving Behaviors within the FIND Intervention

Presenter: Heather Ralph – Biology, Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Andrea Imhof, Phil Fisher

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Connection and Community

Interventions that emphasize responsive caregiving can reverse the negative effects of early life stress exposure on development in early childhood. Despite this knowledge, there is a lack of consensus in the field about which behaviors define “responsive caregiving”. The Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND) Intervention is a responsive caregiving intervention that guides caregivers towards serve and return interactions that follows the child’s lead. Preliminary evidence from pilot trials suggest that the FIND intervention may significantly impact both caregiver and child outcomes, but it is not yet known how FIND changes the way caregivers and children interact. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether FIND increases the frequency of caregiver “following” behaviors during a dyadic freeplay tasks. Results from a pilot trial using 18 mother-infant dyads (9 FIND families and 9 control families) will be presented, highlighting ways that the FIND intervention changes the nature of dyadic interaction. Implications for analyzing responsive caregiving behaviors, limitations, and next steps for evaluating the FIND intervention will be discussed.

From the Ground Up: Connections and Contradictions Within the United States Housing Movement

Presenter: Anna Nguyen – Economics, Political Science

Faculty Mentor(s): Alison Gash

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Connection and Community

The repercussions of the housing crisis today are immense, to say the least. Accelerating trends of deregulation, financialization, and globalization produce conditions that are ripe for real estate investment. Neoliberal policies make affordable housing inaccessible by design. The idea of housing— as a lived and social space, a necessary form of shelter, and a universal basic need—has been stripped away for purposes of profit generation. With these deteriorating conditions in mind, this much is clear: the housing crisis is a colossal problem and will not be resolved overnight. Tenant and unhoused organizers who understand this reality are motivated by it and have acted accordingly to respond to the crisis at its worst. Evaluating the scope of eviction and its root causes necessitates a deeper understanding of housing insecurity and the traumatic displacement of tenants on a political, economic, and spatial level. Because working class tenants and their unhoused neighbors are subject to experiences of housing precarity in their daily lives, they have a lot to gain from establishing solidarity with each other. The goal of this thesis is to investigate how tenant and unhoused groups navigate these collaborative relationships tensions as they respond to the housing crisis on a local and national scale.

Victims’ Advocate Experiences and Perceptions on Engaging with Survivors of Crimes

Presenter: Ethan Guo − Sociology

Faculty Mentor(s): Ellen Scott

Session: (In-Person) Oral Panel—Connection and Community

The United States Criminal Justice System’s response to crimes committed against other persons relies heavily upon people who are “Victims’ Advocates”. This advocate system is what guides survivors through the process of criminal justice by working closely with survivors to ensure that they are comfortable and aware of their rights and the ways in which they are involved in a criminal case. This study utilizes multiple interviews with Victims’ Advocates, as well as supplementary interviews with survivors in order to examine Victims’ Advocates’ perception of their impact on survivor experiences with the criminal justice system. Both in general experiences as well as how specific circumstances create different environments for survivors. Interviews from advocates revealed a pattern of how survivors’ responses differ greatly across the specific type of survivor and the nature of the crime experienced. Perceived participation and engagement levels differed greatly between crimes such as: domestic violence, theft, burglary, stranger assaults, homicides, car theft. Experiences; and also varied by across the extent of impact a survivor felt their participation and engagement would have in the proceedings against the defendant. Recognition of these patterns and differences when it comes to survivor involvement can better inform our societal approaches to how organizations and their frameworks’ are better suited for the needs of survivors.