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Latest News

NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE: Research that Evaluates Distributive Justice Actions in Cities' Adaptation Planning

An evaluation of US cities’ efforts to further distributive justice in climate adaptation planning

Cities are increasingly pursuing sustainability efforts to create inclusive, safe, and climate resilient places. However, there is evidence that emerging climate adaptation actions in cities—whether intentionally or unintentionally—are contributing to widening socioeconomic inequalities. Scholars of climate urbanism have responded to this challenge by calling for efforts to tackle underlying injustices.

NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE: Advancing climate justice through community-engaged research

The purpose of this research is to develop and pilot a feminist informed community based participatory action research approach (f-CBPAR) to examine injustice. CBPAR is a collaborative approach between researchers and community members throughout the research process. F-CBPAR draws on both feminist theory and CBPAR literatures to identify power arrangements that contribute to environmental injustice.

Two UC Davis Scholars Awarded for Community Engagement Work

“Originally published by the UC Davis Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement.”

On Monday, November 15, 2021, the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) — an international non-profit organization devoted to promoting research and discussion about service-learning and community engagement — hosted a virtual ceremony for their 2021 research recognition awards. During this ceremony, two exemplary UC Davis researchers were awarded for their community-engaged research.

NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE: The Socio-Ecological Niche

Ecologists recognise that we live on an increasingly human-dominated planet, yet most of the field's foundational concepts remain essentially biophysical, with little reference to human society. There are few better examples of this divide between ecological and social theory than the niche concept. During its century-long history, the niche concept has been defined in many ways, including to describe the ecological roles of humans. To date, however, it has not incorporated human influences into its various descriptions of other species' ecological roles.

NEW PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE: After Katrina: Disaster and intimate partner violence research

In this commentary for the special issue on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we trace where the field of disaster and intimate partner violence (IPV) research has gone since to guide future directions. Research on and after Hurricane Katrina opened the door for the study of the unique effects of disaster on IPV prevalence, characteristics, and interventions.

NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE: Sociodemographic characteristics predicting psychological and physical IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of this research is to identify sociodemographic factors related to psychological and physical intimate partner violence (IPV) across the first year of the pandemic in the United States. Using a novel data set of four waves of data collected over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, a series of generalized linear mixed models were performed to determine sociodemographic explanatory factors of the relationship between psychological and physical IPV over time.

NEW PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE: Examining Intervention Programs for Perpetrators and Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Review of Contemporary Approaches

A systematic review of the effectiveness of intervention programs for perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) was conducted. Inclusion criteria for studies included publication in a peer-reviewed journal, a representative, community, or clinical sample, written in English, and conducted in the United States. A total of 40 articles were included. Comparisons to a prior review highlight developments in research in the past 10 years.

NEW PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE: “Assessing primary prevention programs for intimate partner violence: A review of contemporary approaches.”

A systematic review of primary prevention programs for intimate partner violence (IPV) was conducted. Inclusion criteria for studies included publication in a peer-reviewed journal, a representative, community, or clinical sample, written in English, and conducted in the United States. A total of 24 articles were included. All studies included some kind of intervention, such as knowledge and/or behavioral, to change outcomes in IPV perpetration and/or victimization. Of the 24 studies, 16 used experimental designs, with the majority focused on adolescent samples (n = 14).

NEW PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLE: Institutional Designs for Procedural Justice and Inclusion in Urban Climate Change Adaptation

Although there is broad consensus that more inclusive approaches are needed in climate adaptation planning, it is unclear how cities should redesign rules, institutions, and decision-making processes to produce more equitable forms of participation and engagement. This paper evaluates different planning procedures and institutional arrangements across twenty-five U.S. cities. Although arrangements are context-specific, institutional designs fall into three categories: consultative partnerships, strategic collaborations, and expansive co-governance arrangements.

NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE ALERT: Critical Environmental Injustice and the Distribution of Toxics

Environmental justice research has focused on the distribution of environmental inequalities, such as proximity to landfills, across the U.S. and globally. Background: Public health research and environmental health research, specifically, have focused on toxic exposure—encompassing individuals or communities that are disproportionately exposed to contaminants that are harmful or potentially harmful to them.

Dr. Cannon Elected Vice President of the Society for the Study of Social Problems

Dr. Clare Cannon has been elected Vice President-Elect (2024-2025), Vice President (2025-2026) of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), an academic organization dedicated to social justice. SSSP is "an interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, advocates, and students interested in the application of critical, scientific, and humanistic perspectives to the study of vital social problems." Her two-year term begins during their annual meeting August 9-11 in Montreal, Canada. 

NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE ALERT: Examining stress and multiple disaster exposure

Examining stress and multiple disaster exposure: An exploratory analysis of the role of sociodemographic characteristics and disaster preparedness

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and disaster preparedness on both multiple disaster exposure and perceived stress, for residents of the Gulf Coast (United States) at risk of experiencing multiple disasters. Binary logistic regression was conducted using primary survey data collected from 2020 to 2022, which captured two hurricane seasons (n = 807).