Sustainability and Social Justice
The Sustainability and Social Justice department (formerly International Development, Community, and Environment or IDCE) is home to scholar-practitioners pursuing solutions to pressing challenges in the 21st century. Our mission is to strive for a more just and sustainable world. We embrace the complexity of urgent social, political, and ecological problems and seek to approach these challenges through multidisciplinary teaching and learning, collaborative scholarship, and innovation.
Complex challenges require novel solutions built on a deep, multifaceted understanding of the task at hand. For example, how can we support marginal communities as they adapt to the impacts of climate change? When do market forces succeed in increasing wealth and well-being, and when do they fail? What gives rise to health disparities across communities and countries, and how can we address them? The Sustainability and Social Justice community engages in translational, hands-on research that defies disciplinary categorization, and is uniquely effective.
Faculty Works from 2020
Developing Composite Indices for Assessing Vulnerability, Ronald Klimberg and Samuel Ratick
Evaluating Effective Performance Using Ordered Weighted Averaging and Data Envelopment Analysis Optimization, Ronald Klimberg and Samuel Ratick
Doing Feminism: A Conversation Between Cynthia Enloe and Roxani Krystalli, Roxani Krystalli and Cynthia Enloe
Gender and Trait Preferences for Banana Cultivation and Use in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Review1, Pricilla Marimo, Cynthia Caron, Inge Van den Bergh, Rhiannon Crichton, Eva Weltzien, Rodomiro Ortiz, and Robooni Tumuhimbise
Spatial patterns of adverse birth outcomes among black and white women in massachusetts – the role of population-level and individual-level factors, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger and Madeline Haynes
Faculty Works from 2019
Migration Transforms the Conditions for the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, W. Neil Adger, Emily Boyd, Anita Fábos, Sonja Fransen, Dominique Jolivet, George Neville, Ricardo Safra de Campos, and Marjanneke J. Vijge
Losing the Elite: Caribbean Educational Policy Responses to the Emigration of Skilled Labor, Nigel O.M. Brissett
Climate-Governance Entrepreneurship, Higher-Order Learning, and Sustainable Consumption: The Case of the State of Oregon, United States, Halina Szejnwald Brown and Maurie J. Cohen
Hosting as Shelter During Displacement: Considerations for Research and Practice, Cynthia Caron
Properties and Projects: Reconciling Resilience and Transformation for Adaptation and Development, Edward Carr
Frontline Narratives on Sustainable Development Challenges/Opportunities in the ‘Illegal’ Gold Mining Region of Madre de Dios, Peru: Informing an Integrative Collaborative Response, Phyllis Duff and Timothy Downs
Modeling the Potential Dispersal of Asian Longhorned Beetle Using Circuit Theory, Arthur Elmes, John Rogan, Christopher Williams, Samuel Ratick, and David Nowak
Wounds: Militarized Nursing, Feminist Curiosity, and Unending War, Cynthia Enloe
Ask a Feminist: Gender and the Rise of the Global Right, Cynthia Enloe, Agnieszka Graff, Ratna Kapur, and Suzanna Danuta Walters
“The Prostitution Problem”: Insights from Senegal, Ellen Foley
Climate Services Can Support African Farmers' Context-Specific Adaptation Needs at Scale, James Hansen, Catherine Vaughan, Desire Kagabo, Tufa Dinku, Edward Carr, Jana Körner, and Robert Zougmoré
The Rohingya Crisis and the Practices of Erasure, Ken MacLean
Spatial Analysis of Drug Poisoning Deaths and Access to Substance-Use Disorder Treatment in the United States, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger
Analyzing the Relationship Between Perception of Safety and Reported Crime in n Urban Neighborhood Using GIS and Sketch Maps, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Laurie Ross, Thomas Caywood, Marina Khananayev, and Casey Starr
Politically Effective or Just Good at Campaigns?, Margaret Post
Why Some Politically Active 501(c)(4) Organizations Are More Effective Than Others (SSN Key Findings Brief), Margaret Post
Performance Assessment in Grassroots Nonprofit Advocacy: The promise of Qualitative and Participatory Approaches from a Critical Perspective, Margaret Post and Jennifer Dodge
Advancing Sustainable Consumption and Production in Cities - A Transdisciplinary Research and Stakeholder Engagement Framework to Address Consumption-Based Emissions and Impacts, Patrick Schröder, Philip Vergragt, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Leonie Dendler, Neal Gorenflo, Kira Matus, Jaco Quist, Christoph D.D. Rupprecht, Arnold Tukker, and Ronald Wennersten
Research Frontiers at the Nexus of Gender, Environment, and Development: Linking Household, Community, and Ecosystem, Barbara Thomas-Slayter and Dianne Rocheleau
Evaluating Agricultural Weather and Climate Services in Africa: Evidence, Methods, and A Learning Agenda, Catherine Vaughan, James Hansen, Philippe Roudier, Paul Watkiss, and Edward Carr
Faculty Works from 2018
Why Achieving the Paris Agreement Requires Reduced Overall Consumption and Production, Eva Alfredsson, Magnus Bengtsson, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Cindy Isenhour, Sylvia Lorek, Dimitris Stevis, and Philip Vergragt
Governing Extractive Industries: Politics, Histories, Ideas, Anthony Bebbington, Abdul Gafaru Abdulai, Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Marja Hinfelaar, and Cynthia Sanborn
Resource Extraction and Infrastructure Threaten Forest Cover and Community Rights, Anthony Bebbington, Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Laura Sauls, John Rogan, Sumali Agrawal, César Gamboa, Aviva Imhof, Kimberly Johnson, Herman Rosa, Antoinette Royo, Tessa Toumbourou, and Ricardo Verdum
Mining, Movements and Sustainable Development: Concepts For a Framework, Anthony Bebbington and Denise Humphreys Bebbington
Conflicts Over Extractivist Policy and the Forest Frontier in Central America, Anthony Bebbington, Laura Sauls, Herman Rosa, Benjamin Fash, and Denise Humphreys Bebbington
The Infrastructure-Extractives-Resource Governance Complex in the Pan-Amazon: Roll backs and Contestations, Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Ricardo Verdum, Cesar Gamboa, and Anthony Bebbington
Education for Social Transformation (EST) in the Caribbean: A Postcolonial Perspective, Nigel O.M. Brissett
Creating the ‘Girl Effect’: Including Boys and Men to Promote Girls’ Land and Asset Ownership, Cynthia Caron
Pursuing Gender-Transformative Change in Customary Tenure Systems: Civil Society Work in Zambia, Cynthia Caron
Really effective (for 15% of the men): Lessons in understanding and addressing user needs in climate services from Mali, Edward Carr and Sheila Onzere
Promoting a Sense of Global Community, Joseph de Rivera and Caitlin O. Mahoney
Beyond the Ballot: Immigrant Integration Through Civic Engagement and Advocacy, Zita Dixon, Melissa L. Bessaha, and Margaret Post
Predictors of Mortality for Juvenile Trees in a Residential Urban-to-Rural Cohort in Worcester, MA, Arthur Elmes, John Rogan, Lara A. Roman, Christopher A. Williams, Samuel J. Ratick, David J. Nowak, and Deborah G. Martin
The Rise of Social Enterprises in Low-Trust Situations: Nonprofit Organizations’ Survival Strategies in Post-civil War and Disaster-affected Villages in Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka, Jude Fernando, Camilla Orjuela, and Sarah Khasalamwa-Mwandha
Two Types of Vigilance Are Essential to Effective Hazard Management: Maintaining Both Together Is Difficult, Robert Goble, Vicki Bier, and Ortwin Renn
Family Impact Seminar 2018: The Kids are NOT All Right: Policy Options to Address Youth Trauma in Massachusetts, Denise Hines, Laurie Ross Ph.D, and Marianne Sarkis Ph.D
Anticipating Climatic Variability: The Potential of Ecological Calendars, Karim Aly Kassam, Morgan Ruelle, Cyrus Samimi, Antonio Trabucco, and Jianchu Xu
Decision Support Capabilities in Excel, Ronald Klimberg and Samuel Ratick
Implications of Indicator Aggregation Methods for Global Change Vulnerability Reduction Efforts, Elia A. Machado and Samuel Ratick
Alinsky Style Organizing, Margaret Post
Problem Analysis in Community Violence Assessment: Revealing Early Childhood Trauma as a Driver of Youth and Gang Violence, Laurie Ross and Samantha Arsenault
Faculty Works from 2017
Understanding the Connections Between Climate Change and Conflict: Contributions From Geography and Political Ecology, Daniel Abrahams and Edward Carr
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Caribbean: Unrealizable Promises?, Nigel O.M. Brissett
Introduction, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Philip J. Vergragt, and Maurie J. Cohen
Preface, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Philip J. Vergragt, and Maurie J. Cohen
Social Change and The Coming of Post-Consumer Society: Theoretical Advances and Policy Implications, Halina Szejnwald Brown, Philip J. Vergragt, and Maurie J. Cohen
Do Markets and Trade Help or Hurt the Global Food System Adapt to Climate Change?, Molly Brown, Edward R. Carr, Kathryn Grace, Keith Wiebe, Christopher Funk, Witsanu Attavanich, Peter Backlund, and Lawrence Buja
Mobilizing Home for Long-Term Displacement: A Critical Reflection on the Durable Solutions, Cathrine Brun and Anita Fábos
Displaced Citizens and Abject Living: The Categorical Discomfort with Subjects Out of Place, Cathrine Brun, Anita Fàbos, and Oroub El-Abed
Hosting the Displaced – and Being Hosted, Cynthia Caron
Women’s Leadership, Agency and Voice: Promoting Gender Justice within Community-Based Tenure Systems in Bolivia and Zambia: Synthesis Report, Cynthia Caron and Denise Bebbington
Forest Access and Polycentric Governance in Zambia's Eastern Province: Insights for REDD+1, Cynthia Caron and Stephanie Fenner
Tamara Dembo’s Socio-emotional Relationships, Joseph de Rivera
Re-Imagining Environmental Science and Policy Graduate Education for the Twenty-First Century Using an Integrative Frame, Timothy Downs, Edward Carr, and Rob Goble
Addressing Risk Conundrums in Sustainable Development, Timothy Downs, Edward Carr, and Robert Goble
Integrative Education for Climate Change Resilience x Sustainable Development Transformations, Timothy Downs and Nikita Golovko
Effects of Urban Tree Canopy Loss on Land Surface Temperature Magnitude and Timing, Arthur Elmes, John Rogan, Christopher Williams, Samuel Ratick, David Nowak, and Deborah Martin
Peace Has to Built: What Feminist Activists Have Taught Me About Peace, Cynthia Enloe
Regulating Sex Work: Subjectivity and Stigma in Senegal, Ellen Foley
Integrated Assessment of Shallow-Aquifer Vulnerability to Multiple Contaminants and Drinking-Water Exposure Pathways in Holliston, Massachusetts, Birgit Claus Henn, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Allegra Denehy, Marcie Randall, Nichole Cordon, Bilin Basu, Brian Caccavale, Stefanie Covino, Ravi Hanumantha, Kevin Longo, Ariel Maiorano, Spring Pillsbury, Gabrielle Rigutto, Kelsey Shields, Marianne Sarkis, and Timothy Downs
Witnessing and Disrupting: The Ethics of Working with Testimony for Refugee Advocacy, Leora Kahn and Anita Fábos
Development of a Practical and Effective Forecasting Performance Measure, Ronald K. Klimberg and Samuel Ratick
A Novel Approach to Forecasting Regression and Cluster Analysis, Ronald K. Klimberg, Samuel Ratick, and Harvey Smith
For Function or Transformation? A Critical Discourse Analysis of Education Under the Sustainable Development Goals, Radhika Mitter and Nigel O.M. Brissett
Participatory research strategies in nuclear risk management for native communities, Dianne Quigley, Virginia Sanchez, Dan Handy, Robert Goble, and Patricia George
Analysis of Worcester's Youth Employment Sector, Laurie Ross PhD, Ramon Borges-Mendez PhD, and Alex Rothfelder
A Multi-Criteria Geographic Information Systems Approach for the Measurement of Vulnerability to Climate Change, Daniel Miller Runfola, Samuel Ratick, Julie Blue, Elia Axinia Machado, Nupur Hiremath, Nick Giner, Kathleen White, and Jeffrey Arnold
Conclusion and Outlook, Philip J. Vergragt, Maurie J. Cohen, and Halina Szejnwald Brown
Toward a Socio-Territorial Approach to Health: Health Equity in West Africa, Lucie Vialard, Clara Squiban, Florence Fournet, Gérard Salem, and Ellen Foley
Introduction: Health Governance in Africa: Taking Stock, Blé Marcel Yoro and Ellen Foley
Faculty Works from 2016
From Consumerism to Wellbeing: Toward a Cultural Transition?, Halina Szejnwald Brown and Philip J. Vergragt
The Subject of Return: Land and Livelihood Struggles for Place and Citizenship, Cynthia Caron
Understanding Women's Needs for Weather and Climate Information in Agrarian Settings: The Case of Ngetou Maleck, Senegal, Edward Carr, Grant Fleming, and Tshibangu Kalala
An Integrative Framework for Re-Thinking 2nd Generation Sustainable Development (SD2.0) Projects, Education and the University as Catalyst, Timothy Downs and Nikita Golovko
Flick of the Skirt: A Feminist Challenge to IR's Coherent Narrative, Cynthia Enloe
Preface, Cynthia Enloe
Ticonderoga, Gettysburg, and Hiroshima: Feminist Reflections on Becoming a Militarized Tourist, Cynthia Enloe
Twenty-Five Years of Bananas, Beaches and Bases: A Conversation with Cynthia Enloe, Cynthia Enloe, Anita Lacey, and Thomas Gregory
The Social Amplification of Risk: A Conceptual Framework, Roger Kasperson, Ortwin Renn, Paul Slovic, Halina Brown, Jacque Emel, Robert Goble, Jeanne Kasperson, and Samuel Ratick
History Reformatted: Vietnam’s Great Famine (1944–45) in Archival Form, Ken Maclean
Humanitarian Mine Action in Myanmar and the Reterritorialization of Risk, Ken MacLean
Multilevel Provider-Based Sampling for Recruitment of Pregnant Women and Mother-Newborn Dyads, Thomas McLaughlin, Onesky Aupont, Claudia Kozinetz, David Hubble, Tiffany Moore-Simas, Deborah Davis, Christina Park, Ruth Brenner, Deidre Sepavich, Marianne Felice, Chantal Caviness, Tim Downs, Beatrice Selwyn, and Michele Forman
The Maximal Cover Location Model with Hedging: Siting Facilities under Uncertainty, a Lead Poisoning Screening Network for the Dominican Republic, Sam Ratick, Jeffrey Osleeb, and Kangping Si
Forest Fragmentation in Massachusetts, USA: A Town-Level Assessment Using Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis and Affinity Propagation, John Rogan, Timothy Wright, Jeffrey Cardille, Hamil Pearsall, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Rachel Riemann, Kurt Riitters, and K. Partington
Problem Analysis in Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma as a Driver of Youth and Gang Violence, Laurie Ross PhD, Samantha Arsenault, and Sergeant Miguel Lopez
Bono, Band Aid, and Before: Celebrity Humanitarianism, Music, and the Objects of its Action, Ami Shah, Bruce Hall, and Edward Carr
Enhancing and Expanding Intersectional Research for Climate Change Adaptation in Agrarian Settings, Mary Thompson-Hall, Edward Carr, and Unai Pascual
Participatory Modeling and Community Dialog About Vulnerability of Lobster Fishing to Climate Change, Thomas Webler, Esperanza Stancioff, Robert Goble, and Jessica Whitehead
Diversity in the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector, Judith Weisinger, Ramón Borges-Méndez, and Carl Milofsky
Faculty Works from 2015
Cancer Risk: Role of Environment, Nicholas A. Ashford, Patricia Bauman, Halina S. Brown, Richard W. Clapp, Adam M. Finkel, David Gee, Dale B. Hattis, Marco Martuzzi, Annie J. Sasco, and Jennifer B. Sass
Asset-based development and the wealth profile of stateside Puerto Rican households, Ramón Borges-Méndez
Making Homes in Limbo? A Conceptual Framework, Cathrine Brun and Anita Fábos
Rescuing Girls, Investing in Girls: A Critique of Development Fantasies, Cynthia Caron and Shelby Margolin
Political Ecology and Livelihoods, Edward Carr
