How can you live without your kids? : Distancing from and embracing the stigma of “incarcerated mother

This article examines how incarcerated mothers constructed moral identities in the face of stigma. Analyzing data from participant observation and 83 in-depth interviews with incarcerated mothers, we show that mothers claimed moral identities by distancing from the stigma of incarceration and/or embracing the identity of incarcerated mothers. Utilizing these strategies, women challenged the stigma of convicted felon/bad mother and reinforced the assumptions that motherhood is compulsory and should be reserved for women with enough money and standing to give their children advantages. The implications for understanding motherhood as a mechanism of moral identity and social control are discussed

Jefferson Institute's Military Archives Project in Serbia: From Ruins of War, a Nation's History Preserved

Analyzes the impact and challenges of a project supported by Knight to digitize Serbia's military documents and make them publicly available in a searchable archive, including evidence for prosecuting war criminals and locating secret mass graves

Reducing Violence in the Workplace: A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract BACKGROUND: Violence in the United States has significant impacts on the healthcare system. On average, there are about 7.8 per 1,000 workers yearly that experience violent injuries (Grossman & Choucair, 2019). In 2016, it was estimated that approximately $429 million was added to treat and prevent injuries to healthcare workers (Grossman & Choucair, 2019). By implementing the Broset Violence Checklist (BVC) as a screening tool for early identification of risk for violence, there is a possibility for a reduction in the number of violent occurrences in the workplace. LOCAL PROBLEM: Within the given microsystem, there is a lack of education regarding violent behaviors resulting in an increase in violent occurrences in the workplace. The specific aim of the project was to decrease the number of violent occurrences in the microsystem by 50%. METHODS: Utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act model, a pre-/post-test survey design with accompanying educational materials was provided to healthcare staff in the microsystem. Responses for both pre-test and post-test surveys were analyzed to examine not only the effectiveness of the Broset Violence Checklist but staff perception of safety in the microsystem. INTERVENTIONS: An educational component was presented asynchronously on workplace violence and the use of the BVC for early identification of risk. RESULTS: Data analysis indicates an increase in staff perception of safety, and an overall decrease in physical and verbal assaults in the microsystem. Prior to the implementation of the BVC, 83% of staff reported that if they encountered a violent situation, they would have the necessary tools and education to handle the situation properly and effectively. Following the intervention, this number increased to 94%. Physical assaults prior to implementation were 83%, which decreased to 66% following the intervention. Verbal assaults prior to implementation were 100%, which decreased to 88% following the intervention. Overall, the implementation of the BVC was successful in reducing violence in the workplace. CONCLUSIONS: The Broset Violence Checklist was an effective tool in reducing violence in the workplace. Staff members reported a decrease in physical and verbal assaults after the implementation. Also reported, was an increase in perception of safety in the microsystem. Keywords: Broset violence checklist, workplace violence, mental health, violence, nursing staff, quality improvemen

“We are God’s Children, Y’All:” Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Lesbian- and Gay-Affirming Congregations

This article examines how lesbian, gay, and straight-but-affirming members of lesbian- and gay-affirming churches in the South challenged a deep-rooted Christian belief in homosexual sin. Data are taken from 200 hours of participant observation and 25 in-depth interviews in two Protestant churches: one predominantly black, working class, lesbian, and evangelical, and the other mostly white, middle class, heterosexual, and liberal. I identify three strategies lesbian, gay, and straight-but-affirming church members used to accommodate—but not assimilate—to heteronormative conceptions of the “good Christian.” First, some black lesbians minimized their sexuality as secondary to the Christian identity. Second, most lesbian and gay members—both black and white—normalized their sexuality by enacting Christian morals of monogamy, manhood, and motherhood. Third, a small group of black lesbian/gay and white, straight-but-affirming members moralized their sexuality as grounds for challenging homophobia in the church. Using these strategies, church members both resisted notions of homosexual sin and reproduced a “politics of respectability” (Warner 1999) among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Findings shed empirical light on two issues in the social problems literature: (1) the inseparability of race and gender from sexual identity; and (2) the importance of an intersectional analysis in assessing the possibilities of faith-based strategies for sexual equality. Keywords: identity, intersectionality, religion, sexuality, heteronormativity

An ecological study of the relationship between direction of slope, elevation, and forest cover in Brown County, Indiana

The complexities of our deciduous forests, though constantly under the scrutiny of investigators from various fields of botany, present many problems which are poorly understood. Each area, regardless of size, presents new problems which may or may not be peculiar to the area in question. For this reason, it is imperative that as problems arise, they be treated in a quantitative, comparative manner. The primary object of this study is to illustrate the limits placed upon various species of tall trees by environmental factors introduced as a result of the direction and angle of the exposure, as well as the elevation, with special reference to sugar maple

Playing With Jim Crow: African American Private Parks in Early Twentieth Century New Orleans

Public space in New Orleans became increasingly segregated following the 1896 U. S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. This trend applied to sites of recreation, as nearly all public parks in the city became segregated. African Americans turned, instead, to private parks. This work examines four private parks open to African Americans in order to understand the external forces that affected these spaces, leading to their success or closure, and their significance for black city residents. While scholars have argued public space in New Orleans was segregated during Jim Crow, little attention has been paid to African American parks as alternative spaces for black New Orleanians. Whites were able to control the location of the parks and the parks’ reliance on profit to survive resulted in short spans of existence for most. However, this thesis argues that these parks were crucial sites of identity and community formation and of resistance to segregation

Playing With Jim Crow: African American Private Parks in Early Twentieth Century New Orleans

Public space in New Orleans became increasingly segregated following the 1896 U. S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. This trend applied to sites of recreation, as nearly all public parks in the city became segregated. African Americans turned, instead, to private parks. This work examines four private parks open to African Americans in order to understand the external forces that affected these spaces, leading to their success or closure, and their significance for black city residents. While scholars have argued public space in New Orleans was segregated during Jim Crow, little attention has been paid to African American parks as alternative spaces for black New Orleanians. Whites were able to control the location of the parks and the parks’ reliance on profit to survive resulted in short spans of existence for most. However, this thesis argues that these parks were crucial sites of identity and community formation and of resistance to segregation