5208 research outputs found
Sort by
Housing Ready Initiative: Vital Records for Vital Placements
Full text linkThe Housing Ready Initiative (HRI) addresses a critical barrier for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness: the lack of essential vital records required for housing applications. This project focuses on reducing delays in housing placements by providing housing providers with the necessary tools and training to collect, store, and manage vital documentation such as birth certificates and government-issued IDs. The intervention involves training workshops for housing providers in Thurston County, where they learn how to proactively collect vital records from individuals experiencing homelessness. A secure document storage system will be implemented in partnership with local agencies, and outreach efforts will ensure individuals have access to the necessary documentation. By streamlining the document collection process, the Housing Ready Initiative aims to reduce housing placement delays by up to 30%. The initiative is expected to improve access to stable housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, with particular benefits for marginalized populations, such as LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and those with criminal histories. This intervention provides a sustainable, scalable model for addressing homelessness in Thurston County, with potential for expansion to other regions
Gaslight, Girlboss, Gatekept: Pacific Northwest Women Bootleggers and Moonshiners During Prohibition, 1916-1933.
Full text linkDuring the Prohibition era (1916–1933), women in the Pacific Northwest played a significant yet understudied role in the illegal alcohol trade. Contrary to the prevailing narrative that bootlegging, rum running, and moonshining were predominantly male enterprises, women actively participated in manufacturing, transporting, and selling illicit liquor. Contemporary newspapers, such as a 1918 article in the Tacoma Daily Ledger, highlight how women moonshiners were not only common but also notoriously difficult to trace. Drawing from period newspaper reports and legal records, this paper examines how women leveraged societal expectations, employed clever tactics, and subverted gender norms to carve out space in the criminal economy of the era. By uncovering these women\u27s contributions, this research challenges conventional understandings of gender roles during Prohibition and brings to light the overlooked impact of female participants in the Pacific Northwest\u27s illicit alcohol networks
Capstone Poster for Support in Schools: Implementing an In-School Resource Program for Family and Student Basic Needs
Full text linkBasic human needs include food, water, shelter, clothing, and more. When one lacks these needs, significant consequences, risks of physical and mental health issues are increased. For young students, these challenges often manifest as poor academic performance and attendance as well. In Tacoma, Washington, a large number of students face unmet basic needs, which impact their educational experiences. Through interviews with key stakeholders, including individuals with lived experiences and professionals working directly with McKinney-Vento students and families in Tacoma, interventions are necessary to address these needs, particularly within the school environment. An in-school resource program is critical to supporting students and families in meeting their basic needs, enhancing their overall well-being and academic success. This capstone poster offers an overview of a proposed program that would involve the integration of school social workers, which there is currently a lack of in the Tacoma Public School district and designated site coordinators. The program would include a resource pantry stocked with essential items such as food, clothing, hygiene products, gently used furniture, and technology. Site coordinators and school social workers would engage and connect with students and families on a weekly basis to assess and address their specific needs. To support thriving future generations, we must support these students as they are youth and adolescents. This program will not only tackle the barriers caused by unmet basic needs but also contribute to a more positive school experience for students, improving their sense of well-being and engagement with education
Sacrificing Futures: Campus Sexual Violence, Unmet Survivor Needs, and University Complicity
Full text linkThis PDF poster examines the needs of survivors of campus sexual assault and intimate partner violence, and potential interventions that would be supportive of the needs of survivors
Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Social/Emotional Development of Children and Adolescents
Full text linkThis research explores the social/emotional and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown and remote schooling policies on children and adolescents. Research from around the world regarding students from preschool to high school was examined. Four themes were identified: general impacts of the pandemic on all students, differences in the impacts based on the age of the students, patterns pertaining to socioeconomic status, and the ramifications for students with disabilities. The paper goes on to examine how practices at a specific action site (a Title 1 school in Western Washington) could be aligned with recommendations made in the research, and then explores implications for future research and transformed practice in the schools
Echoes of Change: Media Distortion and Cultural Violence in BLM Narratives
Full text linkThis research paper examines the significant impact of media on the public narratives surrounding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which emerged in 2013 in response to systemic racism and police violence against Black individuals. By exploring the evolution and manipulation of media portrayals, the study highlights how both digital and traditional media have influenced public perceptions of BLM. The central thesis posits that strategic manipulation by counter-movements and selective media framing have significantly distorted the movement’s original intentions, contributing to societal misunderstandings and cultural violence. Drawing on Johan Galtung’s theory of cultural violence, the study illustrates how language and symbols within media narratives have been used to legitimize repression and delegitimize nonviolent resistance. The analysis also applies Mohandas K. Gandhi’s concept of trusteeship to the role of media institutions, arguing that journalists and media owners, as stewards of public discourse, have a moral responsibility to prioritize truth, diversity, and equity over profit and political alignment. Through an analysis of secondary sources, including academic journals, articles, and media reports, the paper investigates how language and imagery have been used to undermine BLM’s legitimacy. Additionally, it explores the implications of this distortion, particularly in relation to historical narratives of nonviolent resistance and the broader societal impact on racial justice movements. The findings highlight the urgent need for balanced and accountable media coverage that uplifts nonviolent movements like BLM, ensuring a more informed public and a more just, democratic society
The Best Intentions: How Lyndon Johnson Lost the War on Poverty
Full text linkIn 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty during his first State of the Union address. The policies that followed were designed to support the most economically vulnerable citizens and promote integration and equality. In spite of this progress, civil unrest throughout the 1960s had the effect of shifting the feelings of White people from supportive to fearful. Riots and protests across the country demanding equality, rather than garner sympathy for their cause, generated renewed calls for law and order. Only a year after announcing his War on Poverty, Johnson pivoted and declared a War on Crime, greatly expanding police powers and resources. By laying this groundwork, Johnson unwittingly set in motion the carceral crisis we still observe today. Through my research, I sought to uncover how the relationship between criminality, skin color, and White fears evolved during the Johnson administration. Why was criminality assigned to and constructed within the characteristic of being Black? What pressure was Johnson under that caused him to change his strategy? To answer these questions, I drew on the work of other sociolegal scholars, historians, theoreticians of presidential power, specific laws passed during the 1960s, and statistics regarding rates of incarceration
The Matronopolitan - A Provincial Magazine for Aging Women
Full text linkThe older you get, the more invisible you become! This undergraduate sociology project is a satirical, Cosmopolitan-style magazine that humorously explores how ageism and sexism are increasingly experienced by women who are gaining years of wisdom. The focus is on the plight of aging women in the United States, who are becoming increasingly unseen and often made to feel irrelevant. We can see this happening in media representation, career expectations, advertising, and everyday interactions. It humorously scrutinizes the widely accepted cultural norms of doing everything to keep looking young, but turns the instructions inside out!
Articles include: It\u27s Only Hair - Look 60 in just a few weeks,” “Clothes that are NOT for you - find your granny era,” “Sex scenes at your age? Think again, and The last of the Independents. Don\u27t get so sure of yourself. Along with an editorial note on the use of filters, and an ad for aging cream - to make you look older.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/1113/thumbnail.jp
Go “Figure”! Learning Identities through Figured Worlds
No full textThis research explores figured worlds in relation to students’ learning identities. Three themes were identified: identity development through learning environments, student positioning and power dynamics, and the production of worlds of possibility. Drawing on these themes, the project evaluates current practices at a public middle school in the Pacific Northwest and provides targeted recommendations to align site practices with equity-driven, identity-affirming pedagogies
The Impact of Teacher Well-Being, Joy, and Effectiveness On Student Outcomes and Sustainable Education
Full text linkThis literature review investigates the interrelated concepts of teacher well-being, joy, and effectiveness, focusing on the conditions that contribute to sustainable and fulfilling professional lives for educators. Specifically, it addresses the problem of teacher burnout and explores the psychological and institutional factors that support or hinder teacher flourishing. The guiding question examines how teacher well-being can be supported to enhance both educator effectiveness and student outcomes. Key findings from recent studies highlight that higher teacher well-being contributes to more stable school functioning, while lower well-being is linked to absenteeism, reduced instructional quality, and burnout (Hascher & Waber, 2021). Teachers’ self-efficacy has been found to positively predict students’ mental health (Pap et al., 2023), and teacher well-being within the school context is associated with students’ life satisfaction via school-specific well-being (Zhan et al., 2024). This review synthesizes findings across disciplines and proposes that teacher well-being is not only vital for professional sustainability but also for fostering positive developmental outcomes in students. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of school administrators’ supportive behaviors as a critical factor in promoting teacher job satisfaction and subjective well-being