In South Africa, the majority of youth entering emerging adulthood find themselves in a protracted struggle to access further education, training or to secure their first decent job. The purpose of this multi-case study is to deepen the understanding of how capability measurement approaches and tools can empower marginalized youth to better understand their aspirations and map their way through emerging adulthood and out of poverty. This research aims to deepen the understanding of youth's experience utilizing 'Poverty Stoplight'; a poverty measurement and capability building instrument that utilizes a self-assessment survey and mentorship methodology. The researcher utilized a youth-focused participatory approach in conducting focus groups and in-depth one-on-one interviews across five marginalized communities in the Western Cape to gain insight into their experience using the tool, their ability to envision their future selves and develop their aspirations. What emerged from the data were insights into the youth's aspirations, the perceived enabling factors and impediments towards their aspirations and their experiences utilizing Poverty Stoplight. This process enabled youth to genuinely reflect and assess their situation, and have the opportunity to define their aspirations. Overall the Poverty Stoplight programme was experienced as empowering by participants, with several implications for the programme pertaining to data accessibility, communication, mentorship and solution sharing, as well as the importance of youth-specific participatory approaches. Aligned to this, the findings yielded several recommendations pertaining to providing support and enabling opportunities for emerging adults to realise their aspirations. Despite the limitations of this research, this study is relevant for stakeholders in South Africa and globally as it examines the critical issue of youth development, with a focus on the ability of young people to attain their aspirations. Further, it analyses the capability measurement approach as a means to ensuring young people can better understand and plot their way out of poverty, making the most of their individual capabilities and attributes within the broader structural and systemic challenges they face. This exploration of practical tools and methodologies being developed and utilized by pioneering organisations in the South African context provides empirical evidence of the merit of such approaches, with recommendations on how tools and approaches can even better serve the needs of youth. Further, longitudinal research is merited into the use of such capability measurement approaches to empower youth and the further use of participatory methodologies.

Covid-19 shed a light on how disparities, influenced by institutional racism and social determinants of health, led to negative healthcare outcomes. This inspired community organizations such as the Black Doctor’s COVID-19 Consortium to take matters into their own hands and play their part in meeting the needs of the community. With evident gaps in healthcare for marginalized communities, I believe that community-based health interventions are an ethical approach to ensure care for marginalized communities. To ensure that a proper intervention is being crafted for these communities, it is important to define what community-based means. This paper explores four models for categorizing community-based: community as setting, target, resource, and agent. While traditional research focuses on the voice of the academic, using Community Based Participatory Research amplifies and recenters the voice of the community, while providing a means to increase their capacity, fostering agency, and promoting solidarity. This paper explores local community-based health interventions in North Philadelphia and emphasizes partnering with the community to determine their needs before creating an intervention. Using community-based interventions to increase access to healthcare for marginalized communities in tandem with existing models of healthcare, follows a utilitarian approach to ensure that the greatest number of individuals can benefit. Community-based health interventions are the most ethical approach to bringing healthcare to marginalized communities. / Urban Bioethics / Accompanied by 1 PDF file: Francois_temple_0225M_171/Step 2 Recall.pdf

Prenatal care (PNC) is an essential health service that can reduce adverse health and social outcomes through prevention, detection and treatment of abnormalities of pregnancy. It offers an opportunity to mitigate the impact of the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) on individual patients through advocacy and referral to social services. Despite a publicly funded health care system in Canada, disparities in access to PNC persist. Much is known about the barriers to PNC and client experiences of inadequate PNC (IPNC). Very little is known about care provider perspectives of IPNC, what should be done about it and are the barriers to doing it. The goal of this project was to address this gap in knowledge to inform the development of novel care delivery models that could reduce disparities in access to PNC in Hamilton. Using a Critical Theory lens, I conducted an interpretive descriptive study using individual interviews and focus groups with health and social service providers in Hamilton to explore their understandings of IPNC. Participants viewed IPNC as a small but important phenomenon disproportionately impacting people who are marginalized. The experience of IPNC is chaotic, worrisome and joyful for providers. An interdisciplinary, midwifery-led outreach PNC model would better meet the needs of the client population and providers alike. A Community Centred Care model of PNC embodies and enhances participant suggestions for addressing IPNC. Access to abortion, postpartum care and newborn apprehension require special attention. Peer participation and the impacts of patriarchy and racism must be addressed in the development of future PNC models. The ways in which participants described and proposed intervening in IPNC revealed an individualized understanding of the SDoH that is paralleled in existing research on IPNC. This conceptualization of the problem obscures the root causes of disparities in access and warrants future consideration. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Prenatal care (PNC) can help to reduce complications of pregnancy and birth and connect expecting families with other support services. Even though health care is free in Canada, people who are marginalized struggle to access enough PNC. We know the complexities of people’s lives and their negative experiences with the health care system prevent them from getting PNC. We know little about what PNC for people who don’t access it is like for the providers or why they can’t make their care easier to access. Mindful of systems of power, the goal of this research is to explore how health and social service providers understand inadequate PNC (IPNC), to inform accessible PNC models. Participants proposed an interdisciplinary outreach PNC model responsive to needs of the community. The Social Determinants of Health were an important part of how participants understood IPNC which shaped the way that they proposed to address it.

Women in the Province of Manitoba are discharged daily from provincial jails back to their communities after an interruption in their lives of anywhere from days to years. Many of these women cycle in and out of jail on a regular basis. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the daily lifeworlds of re-imprisoned women during their return to the community. Twelve women (nine Aboriginal, three Caucasian) were interviewed. Analysis of the study themes using van Manen’s existentials: temporality, spatiality, relationality, and corporeality revealed the complex multi-systemic issues that affect women’s lived experiences. The essence of the women’s accounts provides some insight into how the role of intergenerational, personal trauma and accumulated trauma impacted their lived experiences and continues to do so when they re-enter the community. The opportunities and options that women had to make positive life changes were obscured by insidious barriers and challenges impairing their ability to avoid re-imprisonment. / May 2016

This qualitative study is a narrative investigation that analyzes the educational experiences of the segregated Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina during the integration movement. Four participants share their stories of how attending an elementary school for Turkish students affected their integration into White high schools. Oral history is the specific research methodology that is used. The theoretical framework that guides this study is critical-narrative theory. Through critical research, the researcher analyzes how “the social institution of school is structured such that the interests of some members and classes of society are preserved and perpetuated at the expense of others” (Merriam, 2001, p. 5). Narrative theory also informs this study. Connelly and Clandinin (1990) explain that the heart of narrative analysis is “the ways humans experience the world” (p. 2). The research questions that guide this study are the following: (1) How do the Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina, who attended public school during the early part of the 20th century, describe their educational experiences?, and (2) What are the perceptions of the Turkish people regarding the integration movement, educational power struggles and oppression? Through in-depth interviews, participants discuss (a) thoughts on being Turkish, (b) feelings of isolation, (c) experiences at the Dalzell School, (d) experiences at the high schools (Edmunds and Hillcrest), (e) attitudes toward other ethnic groups, and (f) perceptions of the integration movement. The overwhelming evidence from interviews supports Freire’s (2006) two stages of the pedagogy of the oppressed. Freire states, In the first, the oppressed unveil the world of oppression and through the praxis commit themselves to its transformation. In the second stage, in which the reality of oppression has already been transformed, this pedagogy ceases to belong to the oppressed and becomes a pedagogy of all people in the process of permanent liberation (p. 54). The educational implications of this study offer insight into how today’s educators are called to “renew our minds so that the way we live, teach, and work can reflect our joy in cultural diversity, our passion for justice, and our love of freedom” (bell hooks, 1994, p.34).

This study identifies effective practices in the design of alternative education programs; and more specifically, programs that support the positive social engagement and healthy development of adolescents who have left the public education system and are labeled as marginalized or street involved. Effective practices were identified theoretically through a critic of current educational practices within the North-American public system and through the application of an integral systems theory framework of human development that identifies patterns of relationships between seemingly divergent perspectives in order to achieve the broadest breath of understanding through the inclusion of the truths held within each. A case study of a program that applied these practices within a community agricultural context was then analyzed to test their relevancy in the field. Through an analysis applying qualitative descriptive methodologies the following practices were identified as being effective in supporting positive engagement: 1) an experiential curriculum geared towards developing employable skills, 2) program activities that directly contributed to the local community, 3) the provision of a wage for program participants 4) adults facilitating the program trained in providing supportive caring relationships, 5) program peer groups being composed of youth and young adults of mixed ages and socio-economic backgrounds with marginalized youth being a minority, 6) a social co-operative organizational structure to administer the program. Limitations of the study were the small number of youth sampled as a result of the nature of the structure of the program in the case study. / Graduate

abstract: The asylum seeking process in the United States is arbitrary in nature, many aspects of which have been well documented. The legal process rests the burden of proof upon the asylum seeker to demonstrate he or she is truly fleeing persecution to a legal system where asylum seekers are not eligible for free representation. This contributes to a lower rate of success and an uncertain future, due to the limited or no access to employment, education, and health benefits, within the country in which they seek asylum. However, the academic literature pertaining to the repatriation process of the failed asylum seeker in the United States remains relatively unexplored. Consequently, the true failure rate remains unknown. This paper contends that genuine asylum seekers may fall through the cracks, unable to show evidence of their persecution. Thus, repatriations result in a dual victimization of the failed asylum seeker resulting in situations where a genuine case can be exposed to the very same dangers he or she fled in the first place. This is a grave violation of their human rights and the principle of Non-refoulement. Therefore, this paper argues the theory of the Marginalized Other in Human Rights Law (Simmons 2011) can be extended to the repatriations process of failed asylum seekers in the United States. Using secondary data and reports this thesis breaks down the repatriations process into three components in order to demonstrate how the failed asylum seeker is treated as a Marginalized Other during each point of contact. By addressing the victimization that occurs during the repatriations process this paper concludes the threat posed to the human rights of failed asylum seekers can be minimized. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Justice and Human Rights 2016

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): one of the richest nations in natural resources; one of the poorest in human rights. In the past decades, DRC has undergone two civil wars, alongside with a history of exploitive colonization. In North Kivu Province, DRC’s most volatile province, non-government organizations (NGOs) take leading roles to provide welfare for marginalized groups, such as orphans, children involved in armed conflicts or living on the streets. This case study aims to describe how two local NGOs operate in order to explore the ways they are making use of social capital to empower marginalized children in North Kivu Province. I chose empowerment and social capital theories combined with a contextualized model of analysis created by the author and based on meaning condensation to analyze the interviews collected from eight workers from NGOs specialized in child welfare. The main findings (1) reinforce that networks between and among NGOs have great potential to impact positively the work on marginalized groups and (2) highlight that volunteer participation and community leaders have vital roles in such organizations. / République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) : un des pays les plus riches en ressources naturelles ; une des plus pauvres en droit de l’homme. Pendant les deux dernières décennies, RDC a enduré deux guerres civiles ajoutées à une histoire d’exploitation coloniale. À la province du Nord Kivu, la région la plus volatile de DRC, organisations non gouvernementales (ONGs) jouent un rôle principal d’apporter assistance aux groupes marginalisés tels comme orphelins, enfants engagés aux conflits armés et enfants (dit) de la rue. Cette étude de cas se propose à décrire comment deux ONGs locales fonctionnent afin d’explorer leurs respectives utilisations de capital social pour épanouir des enfants marginalisés au Nord Kivu. J’ai choisi les théories de capital social et d’autonomisation liés à un modèle d’analyses créé par l’auteur et basée sur la méthode condensation deiiisignification pour analyser les interviews collectées de huit employés d’ONGs spécialisées dans l’assistance aux enfants marginalisés. Les conclusions générales (1) renforcent que les réseaux entre et dedans les organisations ont la potentialité d’avoir un impact positif sur le travail avec des groupes marginalisés et (2) soulignent que l’engagement volontaire et la participation de leaders communautaire jouent rôles capitaux dans ces organisations.

In Ontario, 1% of women who give birth have their newborn infant apprehended by child protection agencies (~200/year). Hospital-based perinatal nurses are in a unique position to support mothers. However, there is a lack of research examining mothers’ experiences of newborn infant apprehension. The purpose of this study was to explore mothers’ experiences with nurses and other providers when newborn infant apprehension occurs. Doka’s Disenfranchised Grief Framework was used as a lens to help guide the research questions, methods and analysis. Thorne’s Interpretive Descriptive approach was employed. Mothers who had experienced newborn infant apprehension in the last 10 years were recruited from an agency in Ontario. Nine individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted. When analyzing the data, the researchers identified patterns and themes from among the mothers’ varied experiences. The analysis resulted in four themes: Not good enough, I am a mother, I have rights, I live everyday like I’m grieving, and Hope in the face of adversity. The findings illuminated the imbalance of power that mothers face when experiencing newborn infant apprehension, where power and authority rest with health and social service providers. This research study will focus on the findings describing what mothers want - for nurses to be open-minded, non-judgmental, to teach mothers regarding cycles of violence, and to advocate for mothers’ rights. Ultimately, the mothers posited that nurses are well positioned to empower mothers, thereby giving them the opportunity to begin recovery. The findings indicate a need for nurses to provide safe, compassionate, competent, ethical care and inform how perinatal nurses can better support mothers experiencing newborn infant apprehension.

Residents in marginalized areas tend to show a lower level of confidence in the criminal justice system and carry out police reports and testimonies to the criminal justice system to a lesser extent than residents in other areas. In this scientific essay, a qualitative study is conducted to analyze the disinclination to leave testimonies and report crimes in marginalized areas, along with researching possible ways to improve the residents relationship with the criminal justice system. The theoretical framework for this study consists of Žižeks theory of violence, territorial stigma and social exclusion. The sample group for the study is advocates in non-profit organizations operating in marginalized areas. Using a semi-structured interview method, this study’s empirical findings reveals that a critical view of the criminal justice system, lack of confidence in the criminal justice system, ambivalent feelings about the residential area and mass medias stigmatizing effects are believed to cause a reluctance to cooperate with the criminal justice system in marginalized areas. Furthermore, our findings show that an admittance of the existence of racism within the justice system, increased communication, cultural competence, and safe meeting places are believed to improve the relationship between the residents and the criminal justice system.