Black feminist discourse analysis of portrayals of gender violence against Black women: A social work dissertation

This study explored media discourse of gender violence against Black women in Black contemporary films. Four Tyler Perry films were examined using a novel, qualitative and analytical framework: Black Feminist Discourse Analysis. Discourses that were studied include, but were not limited to: portrayals of gender violence and victims, character dispositions and interactions, stereotypes, relationship dynamics as well as portrayals of race, gender, sexuality and religion. The use of new and existing controlling images based on systems of race, gender, sexuality and religion were revealed in a transitional and systemic model. Common themes across the films are provided. This research closes with concluding assertions grounded by existing literature and the current study’s findings, as well as recommendations for future film writing and production and implications for social work

“I Am Not Free While [Anyone] Is Unfree”: A Proposal and Framework for Enmarginalized Feminist Policy Analysis

This paper introduces a new feminist approach and framework to policy analysis. As an integration of intersectionality, Black feminist thought and endarkened feminist epistemology, enmarginalized feminist policy analysis (EFPA) offers an intersectional and flexible scope in a framework to assess policy for a diversity of populations, focusing on groups who are forced to live marginal and oppressed lives. Discussion is provided on existing approaches and frameworks in addition to an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of EFPA. A nine-component framework, which includes a section for analyst reflexivity, is provided to guide users in conducting EFPA. The author concludes with implications of EFPA in practice and education

“Rip It!”: A Juxtapositional and Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender Violence in 3 Tyler Perry Films

This qualitative study uses juxtapositional, intersectional and critical discourse analyses as one composite framework to assess Black female victimness and matriarchy in three Tyler Perry films. Findings exposed a transitional archetype model consisting of 5 domains (Victim, Bitterfruit, Matriarch, Forgiver and Princess) whereby victimized characters are portrayed using racist and sexist stereotypes. Additionally, rich juxtapositions in the films with regard to Black female victimness and matriarchy were also revealed. These juxtapositions play out in the transitional archetype model and reiterate a harmful racist gendered stereotype: strong, Black women (matriarchs) are not and cannot, by way of their strength, aggressiveness and violent dispositions be legitimate victims. This major finding, in addition to other findings based on the model and juxtapositional discourse analysis, expose important implications for social work practice, education and future scholarship.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1011/thumbnail.jp

Health Education Fair at African Community Education, Worcester

Health knowledge and health literacy are important social determinants of health, and can have a major impact on the health and well-being of an individual. Health education, through formal classroom instruction, peer education, or community health fairs, has been effective in increasing health knowledge and literacy. Worcester, MA is home to many refugees and immigrants from around the world, who represent a key population vulnerable to disparities in social determinants of health, especially health knowledge and literacy. This Capstone project created a Health Education Fair at African Community Education (ACE), an afterschool enrichment program in Worcester for refugee and immigrant students hailing from African countries. The Health Education Fair consisted of multiple stations: Hygiene, Mental Health, Nutrition, Sexual Health, and Substance Use/Peer Pressure. Curriculum and materials were created and University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) student volunteers facilitated the stations. Evaluation of the curriculum was done using pre- and post- surveys administered to the ACE students on the day of the Health Education Fair. Survey data demonstrated that students who participated in the Health Education Fair had an average increase in knowledge, for all included stations, of 2 points on a 10-point scale. The Health Education Fair provided an important opportunity for UMMS students to collaborate with ACE and provide health education to this key population.https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/capstones/1010/thumbnail.jp

The Role of Language in Shaping the International Cultural Tourism Experience of Student-travelers

This qualitative, exploratory study sought insight into how language affects the cultural tourism experience in the international tourism context. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews of 13 student-travelers, who traveled with the San Jose State University\u27s study-abroad programs. The analysis of the data was carried out within a socio-linguistic context using grounded theory methods. Findings indicated that travel motivations and the perception of significance of the language spoken at a destination were intimately connected. Further, the desire on the part of the student-travelers to experience the local culture affected the desire for interaction with the host population, which was in turn affected by the language skills of the tourists as well as the host population. Tourism experience was negatively or positively affected by the level of fluency of the student-travelers in the local language, which was affected by the place that the local language held within their initial travel motivations. Fluency in the local language was regarded as a facilitator of positive experiences, whereas lack of knowledge of the local language created a language barrier that inhibited positive experiences. Length of stay, which was a crucial common factor between all student-travelers, was an overarching factor that influenced the role that language played in the shaping of the tourism experiences of these student-travelers

Driving and latching of the Starlab pointing mirror doors

The Starlab Experiment, a major SDIO technology initiative, is an attached payload which will be delivered into Earth orbit aboard NASA's Space Shuttle in 1991. Starlab will generate and aim an 80 cm diameter laser beam into space through a large opening in the structure which houses the pointing mirror. Two doors, each somewhat larger than a desktop, cover the opening when the laser optics system is nonoperational. Latch Mechanism Assemblies hold the doors shut during liftoff and ascent and, again, during Orbiter reentry. Each door is powered by a Door Drive System during the many open/close cycles between various experiments. The design, testing, and resultant failure modes of these mechanisms are examined

Obstacles and aspirations amongst Hispanics and African Americans in pursuing a college education

The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles faced by African American and Hispanic students as well as the motivations that help them thrive in today\u27s society through a college education. This is important for social workers who work with ethnic minorities because by learning about ways in which these two groups are still being oppressed, they can find ways of empowering them to overcome barriers to accessing higher education. 85 students from Hispanic and African American descent at California State University San Bernardino were surveyed

Race, Culture & Abuse of Persons with Disabilities

This chapter will explore how race and culture influence the lives of persons with disabilities who are experiencing abuse. The discussion will be framed by an intersectional lens and will be informed by cultural humility and critical race theory. Practitioners need to remain open to the idea that they cannot and will not know all there is to know about any given culture, and they should be open to hearing about their clients’ understanding and experiences of culture. Rather than knowing certain pieces of “knowledge” about a cultural group, it is more important to understand what pieces of culture the clients embrace or reject. This chapter will conclude with a composite client case example of a female, middle-aged, Korean immigrant with Multiple Sclerosis, who is very active in her Christian church, and who is being abused by her husband. Discussion of this case will highlight the intersectional context of the client’s experience and how they may influence her decision to seek help (and from whom) as well as her experience of receiving help. The case discussion also highlights the practitioner’s values and behaviors that are consistent with cultural humility and critical race theory