scholarly journals Access Under Duress

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (GROUP) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Bonnie Fan ◽  
Sarah E. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Violence ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Rust Belt ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Public Meetings

This paper examines the rapid turn to remote public meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a mix of archival materials, participant observation, and interviews within and around two mid- to large cities in the Rust Belt and Midwest regions of the United States, we consider how public officials introduced digital meeting platforms and surveys in place of traditional forms of in-person public consultation. We also examine emergent strategies of residents as they worked to have their voices heard and concerns met during a time of compounding crises (e.g., pandemic, economic recession, racial violence). Drawing from this case study, we articulate the concept of disruptive testimony, forms of public witnessing that trouble established hierarchies of power, surface conflict, and open opportunities for social change. We argue consideration for collective counter-power is increasingly important to GROUP scholarship as it attends to civic engagement beyond participation in formal, sanctioned government processes.

When Law and Order Works: Boston's Innovative Approach to the Problem of Racial Violence

1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-223 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Police Department ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Violence ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Racial Incidents

Racial and ethnic violence continues to be a major problem in the United States. Boston, which experienced hightened racial turmoil since its desegregation process, presents an excellent case study of a police department that faced the problem in a straightforward manner. Traditional methods of classifying and investigating racial incidents were viewed as ineffective. The Boston Police Department developed an innovative approach to the handling of racially motivated crime, which involved implementing a departmentwide policy and creating a specialized police unit. This unit was highly successful in uncovering incidents that under traditional reporting methods appeared commonplace. Upon further examination, these incidents, taken together, indicated persistent and compelling patterns of racial animus. The uncovering of these incidents, the subsequent relabeling of them into “community disorders,” and the development of innovative strategies are described. Policy implications and recommendations are presented. Critics may question the allocation of police resources to a problem that on the surface may appear minor. However, racial violence viewed in the aggregate form has dramatic impact on the quality of life for the victim. A police department that recognizes the significance of this problem is making an important statement about the kind of society we are and what we as a nation stand for.

scholarly journals Congregational Discernment: One Church Case Study

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Harris ◽  
Gaynor Yancey ◽  
Selena Steward
Keyword(s):  
Church Leadership ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Master Of Social Work ◽  
Difficult Conversations ◽  
Internship Experience ◽  
Christian Congregations ◽  
Academic Year

This case study reflects the congregational practices of members and staff within a congregation in the southwest of the United States which self-identifies as a congregation within the Christian tradition. The congregation has completed processes and procedures that resulted in the congregation self-identifying as a welcoming and affirming congregation to all people. A Master of Social Work intern was embedded for an academic year, as her field internship experience, in the congregation as part of the ministerial staff. The intern examined congregational and denominational processes that included difficult conversations, daily practices, and decisions with specific reference to LGBTQI+ issues as part of a national research study of Christian congregations determining inclusivity in their membership, governance, and leadership functions. The case study included participant-observation by the intern of the lived experiences of church leadership and members as a result of these conversations and decisions specific to the practices of a congregation with membership of approximately 700 people. Findings included a decision for affirmation and inclusion that resulted in the congregation being discharged from the denomination. There was significant impact on the ministry including the loss of membership and finances. Additionally, ministries of inclusion are enhanced as formerly marginalized populations are now central to the congregation.

When Internal Migration Fails: A Case Study of Central American Youth Who Relocate Internally Before Leaving Their Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 233150242110427
Author(s):  
Angel Alfonso Escamilla García
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Internal Migration ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Central American ◽  
Executive Summary ◽  
Labor Exploitation ◽  
Central American Youth

Executive Summary This paper examines the experiences of Central American youth who have attempted internal relocation before migrating internationally. Based on interviews and participant observation with Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran youth migrating through Mexico, this paper shows how youth from the Northern Countries of Central America turn to their domestic networks to escape labor exploitation and gang violence before undertaking international journeys. The paper further demonstrates how those domestic networks lead youth into contexts of poverty and violence similar to those they seek to escape, making their internal relocation a disappointment. The failure of their internal relocation attempts makes them turn to international migrant networks as their next option. This paper sheds light on the underexplored issue of internal migration among Central American youth and that migration's synergy with Central American youths’ migration to the United States. The paper finds that internal relocation is unsuccessful when the internal destination fails to resolve the issues from which youth are attempting to escape. This failure ultimately triggers their departure from their home country.

scholarly journals Transportation infrastructure decline as lived metaphor in the American Rust Belt

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda McMillan Lequieu
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transportation Infrastructure ◽  
Commodity Chain ◽  
Rust Belt ◽  
Economic Decline ◽  
Mining Community ◽  
The Social ◽  
Boom And Bust

In this paper, I discuss the rise and fall of transportation as a lived metaphor for people who live in deindustrialized regions of the United States. I ask two questions: 1) how do people who live in regions of consistent economic decline interpret the meanings of absent transportation? And thus, 2) what does transportation maintenance look like in those regions? This line of inquiry emerged unexpectedly from a broader interview project. Between 2015 and 2017, I conducted 90 interviews in two communities at opposite ends of a former, Midwestern steel commodity chain. In both a rural, iron mining community and an urban steel manufacturing neighborhood, transportation infrastructure emerged unbidden and central in interviewees’ descriptions of boom and bust. The late 19th and early 20th century construction of industrial transportation—rail, shipping, and roadways—was recalled by interviewees as facilitating both economic growth and cultural connection required for the social thriving of these communities. The closure of the anchor companies in these communities, then, was the climax in interviewees’ narratives, and the decline (both intentional and natural) of industrial transportation infrastructure appeared again and again as a visible, experienced, and emotional metaphor of the gradual disconnection and loss they experienced. References to declines in industrial transportation often segued to frustrations about the uneven distribution of public transportation (bus and passenger train) or highways. Declines in industrial employment and infrastructures propelled massive depopulation in my case study regions; depopulation, in turn, caused disinvestment in public transportation. This paper expands on the transportation track themes of marginalization of certain segments of the population, with a particular focus on the lived experiences of deindustrialization.

scholarly journals Understanding the mechanisms of administrative burden through a within-case study of Medicaid expansion implementation

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl A. Camillo
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Public Programs ◽  
Unemployed People ◽  
Administrative Burden ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Formal Policy ◽  
Medicaid Eligibility

The importance of the administrative burden problem in public programs has been apparent during the COVID-19 crisis in the United States as millions of newly unemployed people have had to wait for unemployment checks and public health insurance benefits due to paperwork requirements, agency staff shortages, and outdated information technology systems. The resulting burdens have extended financial hardship, caused the coronavirus to spread, and eroded citizen and agency morale. Administrative burdens have long been known to be costly, yet remain fixtures of public benefit programs across the world. To reduce them, we need to understand their mechanisms. Formal policy solutions per se will not reduce administrative burdens because they do not exist solely by design. This article contributes to behavioral public administration by providing a comprehensive, empirical-driven theoretical framework for understanding the complex processes through which supply-side administrative burdens are instituted, modified, and eliminated. Using a retrospective within-case study method that utilizes participant observation, documentation, and archival records, the article traces the process by which a state eliminated administrative burdens in the process of implementing an initially straightforward expansion of Medicaid eligibility, thereby creating a model for simplifying and streamlining enrollment that was incorporated into the Affordable Care Act.

A Cultural Rights Approach vs. Nationalist Mobilization: An Applied Anthropological Case Study of the Uyghur Diaspora Community

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-38
Author(s):  
Mahesh Debata ◽  
Robert Tian
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Newspapers ◽  
Political Refugees

We discuss the political activities of a population of Uyghur migrants in the United States who are mainly political refugees. Our interest in this topic was triggered by the activities of Uyghur diaspora organizations over the past decade, and the Chinese government's accusations that some Uyghur overseas organizations are terrorist organizations (Mackerras 2004, Shichor 2007, Tian 2004). We have been involved with different communities at various times between 2004 and 2008. Data collected for this study were gathered through participant observation, personal interviews, local newspapers and online discussion groups. We interviewed a random sample of 25 informants from different regions. We also participated in organizational meetings and community parties. Due to the sensitive nature of the study, all the Uyghur informants' names are pseudonyms. Our aim is to raise awareness and share with other applied anthropologists what we have learned about avoiding the unnecessary misuse of resources.

Power in the Parish

2019 ◽  
pp. 111-131
Author(s):  
Brett C. Hoover
Keyword(s):  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Work ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Depth Interviews

Catholic parishes in the United States are complex organizations (where multiple communities coexist and interact). Relying on participant observation, in-depth interviews, and a case study approach, this chapter explores three parishes in Southern California that showcase the complexity of interactions among different racial and ethnic communities. These parishes are shared in various configurations by white, Latino, Black, and Asian parishioners, and this chapter illuminates the power dynamics of race and ethnicity as they work themselves out in American life. In shared parishes, the cultural work of constructing Catholic identity necessarily involves deploying distinct cultural expressions of Catholicism shaped by broader power dynamics of race, ethnicity, and language. This chapter lays bare this process as parishes illustrate power-in-action, with parish interactions variously producing, perpetuating, and challenging existing power dynamics and race relations.

A Case Study in Federalism - the United States and Michigan Constitutions: Not Double Vision, Double Constitutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-219
Author(s):  
MICHAEL WARREN
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
State Constitutions ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Compare And Contrast

ABSTRACT Each citizen in America lives under two Constitutions - the United States, federal Constitution which applies to all citizens, and the constitution of the state in which the citizen lives. Often overlooked and basically unknown, the state constitutions play a vital role in governance and preserving our unalienable rights. Perhaps the best way to understand each constitution is to compare and contrast them. Accordingly, as a case study, this article examines the age, length, predecessors, drafting process, conventions, ratification process, and amendment procedures of the State of Michigan Constitution of 1963 and the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, this article examines how each of these constitutions addresses the separation of powers, legislature, executive, judiciary, local government, transportation, education, finance, taxation, and the protection of unalienable rights. Armed with this understanding, we will be better informed citizens, and more ably equipped to participate in self-governance and protect the unalienable rights of the citizenry. Note: At times this article quotes constitutional text which refers to “he” or “him.” The grammatical convention at the time was to make masculine all generic gender references. That this article quotes the text does not equate to an endorsement of the convention nor did the drafters intend that only men could serve as public officials.

Gendered differences in emigration and mobility perspectives among European researchers working abroad

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Scheibelhofer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
The Future ◽  
Highly Skilled

This paper focuses on gendered mobilities of highly skilled researchers working abroad. It is based on an empirical qualitative study that explored the mobility aspirations of Austrian scientists who were working in the United States at the time they were interviewed. Supported by a case study, the paper demonstrates how a qualitative research strategy including graphic drawings sketched by the interviewed persons can help us gain a better understanding of the gendered importance of social relations for the future mobility aspirations of scientists working abroad.

‘A Routh O’ Auld Nick-Nackets’ – the antiquarian collection of John Rae

2015 ◽  
Vol 36-37 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-183
Author(s):  
Paul Taylor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Case ◽  
National Museums ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University

John Rae, a Scottish antiquarian collector and spirit merchant, played a highly prominent role in the local natural history societies and exhibitions of nineteenth-century Aberdeen. While he modestly described his collection of archaeological lithics and other artefacts, principally drawn from Aberdeenshire but including some items from as far afield as the United States, as a mere ‘routh o’ auld nick-nackets' (abundance of old knick-knacks), a contemporary singled it out as ‘the best known in private hands' (Daily Free Press 4/5/91). After Rae's death, Glasgow Museums, National Museums Scotland, the University of Aberdeen Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, as well as numerous individual private collectors, purchased items from the collection. Making use of historical and archive materials to explore the individual biography of Rae and his collection, this article examines how Rae's collecting and other antiquarian activities represent and mirror wider developments in both the ‘amateur’ antiquarianism carried out by Rae and his fellow collectors for reasons of self-improvement and moral education, and the ‘professional’ antiquarianism of the museums which purchased his artefacts. Considered in its wider nineteenth-century context, this is a representative case study of the early development of archaeology in the wider intellectual, scientific and social context of the era.

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