Exploring Community Reentry After Incarceration with Recently Released American Indian/Alaska Native Persons

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons comprise 1.7% of the population in the United States (U.S.), 1.1% of the population in the state of Wisconsin (WI), and represent immense diversity with over 566 federally recognized Sovereign Nations. Despite their relatively small numbers, AI/AN persons suffer a wide variety of extreme biopsychosocial disparities. In Wisconsin, this includes the highest incarceration rate of any ethnic group. Building upon a community partnership, the project examined the areas of challenge and support for AI/AN persons in Wisconsin who sought reintegration into an urban community after incarceration. Via the Extended Case Method, the project explored the applicability of Danieli’s Trauma and the Continuity of Self: A Multidimensional, Multidisciplinary Integrative (TCMI) Framework, through the lenses of Historical Trauma (HT) and persistence. Participants presented with significant health and social disparities, consistent with the HT literature. Although there is little literature on the AI/AN experience of incarceration and reentry, the participants shared may stories of challenge that mirror those of other racial populations who do have an extant body of research in this area. However, the findings revealed more collectivist, less individually-focused, experiences that included emphases on family, community, and their tribal nations. These findings exposed some gaps in the utility of Danieli’s TCMI framework to address experiences at the collectivist level for AI/AN persons reintegrating. The findings seem to support the assertion already made in the literature that the TCMI framework may not well accommodate an understanding of incarceration and reintegration experiences among AI/AN groups. Recommendations to the partner agency, limitations, and implications for future research are described

The Particle Problem: Using RCRA Citizen Suits to Fill Gaps in the Clean Air Act

While the Clean Air Act has done a substantial amount for the environment and the health of individuals in the United States, there is still much to be done. For all its complexity, the Act has perpetuated systemic inequities and allowed harms to fall more heavily on low-income communities and communities of color. This is no less true for particulate matter pollution, which is becoming worse by the year and is a significant cause of illness and premature death. This Note argues that particulate pollution, traditionally only regulated on the federal level within the ambit of the Clean Air Act, can be addressed through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s citizen suit provision. Such an approach has largely gone untested in the federal courts; however, there are strong arguments in favor of applying the citizen suit provision to particulate matter. This Note also advocates for a simple legislative change that could allow those most harmed by air emissions to seek redress. If adopted, this proposal would supplement the intricate regulatory framework of the Clean Air Act with a way for communities, particularly communities of color and poor communities, to seek relief when pollution slips through the cracks

Konjunktur im Zwielicht

Seit Mitte letzten Jahres hat sich die Konjunktur in Deutschland deutlich abgeschwächt. Was sind die Gründe dafür? Stehen wir vor einer Rezession oder bleibt es bei einer Konjunkturdelle? Wie sind die Perspektiven für das nächste Jahr? Was sollte die Wirtschaftspolitik tun? --