Socioeconomic Disparity in my City
Imperative to becoming an engaged activist was studying pertinent issues to my community. In November 2015 Mayor Ed Murray declared a state of emergency on homelessness in Seattle. The two graphics featured below present a powerful visualization of the numbers behind the crisis. Together, they debunk the popular myth that people experiencing homelessness in Seattle are mainly single men from out-of-state. These artifacts prove socioeconomic disparity is an urgent underlying issue for Seattle to address.
My infographic breaks down the 21% increase in homelessness from 2014 to 2015 according to gender and sleeping site. The numbers show the demographics of homelessness have changed over the last 30 years and rent hikes are a causal factor. These statistics prove the rise of homelessness is related to city-wide economic inequality.
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This map of King County served both as an inspiration for how to graphically present data and as a resource for my research of socioeconomic inequality. Popular opinion purports most people experiencing homelessness in Seattle originated from out-of-state. In truth, eighty-seven percent of people accessing homelessness services in Seattle are from King County.
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Gendered Inequality in Developing Countries
Learning how to compare case studies has been vital for identifying overarching global issues. These two papers of two seemingly disparate countries explore how gendered inequality suppresses state stability. My paper on Bangladesh's global progress over the past 30 years links female empowerment to improved national well-being. In contrast, the paper on Lesotho examines how cultural and political disenfranchisement of females has mired the state with instability. Both case studies attest to the role of public policy in reducing socioeconomic inequality in developing countries.
Lesotho is considered to be a failing state across indices. My paper analyzes the country's developmental history and traces the state's most defunct issues to insidious and extensive gender inequality. In disaggregating and studying the factors that stagnate development, I demonstrate that fragile states like Lesotho must address internal inequality through strategic policy in order to survive.
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My paper on Bangladesh's global progress in human development demonstrates my ability to draw larger trends from a single case study. I attest that Bangladesh's progress over the past thirty years is due to astute investment in female empowerment. The Bangladesh case study exemplifies how other developing states can work to build a stronger state over the long term.
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Activism on a Global Scale
Beyond merely expanding my intellectual knowledge, my work in ISS has inspired action. My paper on Globalization allowed me to reflect on how I am personally shaped by neoliberal ideas and practices that perpetuate socioeconomic inequality across the globe. The Ignite Talk I produced addresses the global issue of homelessness using a cross-national perspective of social and political patterns. Each artifact emphasizes advocacy and activism through analyzing the social and political factors that create systemic inequality.
In my Ignite Talk video I weigh and compare the influence of social housing policies, national income distribution, and mental health issues on national rates of homelessness. By employing cross-national studies of western countries I identify patterns in public policy. These patterns demonstrate how policies impact rates of homelessness and allow me to critique institutional systems that perpetuate inequality. |
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The above photo features my exchange group in the Czech Republic in 2009. The experiences I had while abroad exemplify benefits of globalization, but I am also shaped by neoliberal practices that have far reaching global consequences. My globalization paper probes the ways I am influenced and can influence global structures that produce social and political ills. By scrutinizing how my life intertwines with patterns of globalization I am able to advocate alternative solutions to capitalistic systems.
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