Spaces of Punitive Violence

Prisons of Poverty by Loïc Wacquant, expanded edition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009. Pp. 232. $60.00 cloth,$20.00 paper

Remembering the Movement & Reminiscing on Achievements: An Interview with Professor Emeritus Raphael Cassimere, Jr.

Raphael Cassimere, Jr. (1942-) is a nationally recognized champion of social justice and civil rights veteran. He received his B.A.(1966) and M.A. (1968) degrees in History from LSUNO (now the University of New Orleans (UNO)). In 1971, he received a PhD in History from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He also became the first African American professor of UNO shortly after obtaining his PhD. In 2015, the institution established The Ralph Cassimere, Jr. Professorship in African American History. His rise to prominence began as an undergraduate student during the heyday of the civil rights movement. In 1960, he became president of the NAACP’s Youth Council. Since then, he has a held multiple local, regional, and national offices within the NAACP. Cassimere maintained his commitment to human and civil rights while teaching at UNO. He is a recipient of the ACLU’s Benjamin E. Smith Civil Liberties Award, the Louisiana NAACP’s Lifetime Presidential Award, U.S. State Department’s Outstanding Citizen Diplomacy Award and many of other accolades. In the following interview, Cassimere reflects on his early days in the civil rights movement

A Delphi Study of Challenges Perceived by West Virginia University Extension Agents

One of the Cooperative Extension Services main objectives is to be a non-formal education provider to the public. In order for agents to fulfill this goal, they need to be competent in many areas, some of which may be out of their area of expertise. The purpose for this study was to identify challenges perceived by West Virginia Extension Agents. A three stage Delphi technique was used to determine what Extension Agents viewed as challenges. The study found agents identified 35 challenges of being an Extension Agent in West Virginia. These challenges were separated into five constructs. The top challenges in the construct, training and support, were disconnect between needs of county and expectations of state office, prioritizing what is important, and meeting programming expectations. The top challenges in the construct funding and resources; were: lack of funding, space for storage, and limited available resources other than funding. The third construct was personal issues, which was the highest rated area and included finding time for all programs, balancing family and work obligations, and overextending on commitments. The fourth area, volunteers and community involvement, impact policies have on volunteers was the most challenging, followed closely by finding leadership in programs, community\u27s perceptions of an agent\u27s responsibilities, and recruiting volunteers. The challenges identified related to the last construct of organizational factors included, unclear guidelines and standards, inconsistent or nonexistent administrative policies, and employee pay and promotion