Category: Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

BigBelly Solar-Powered Trash Bins: Funded by the Patriot Green Fund.

Author(s): Connor Cuevo

Mentor(s): Amber Saxton, Office of Sustainability

Abstract

You may have noticed something new on campus: BigBelly waste bins! But what are they. Approved for university funding by the Patriot Green Fund, these new-fangled receptacles are Mason’s latest commitment to sustainability on campus. A small team of dedicated individuals working in conjunction with the office of sustainability brought this project to fruition. The need for a more innovative trash can was realized in the last few years as a burgeoning student population pushed trash infrastructure to its limits and a wave of scavenging critters menaced traditional waste units. By contacting other universities, cities and institutions, the team was made confident that the Bigbelly units would make an excellent addition to the Fairfax Campus waste stream. But in order to be approved for funding, some issues needed to be tackled first. The facilities department had to approve the installation, the funders had to make sure it was a competitive offer and the university had to know how many units to buy. The group decided that the project had the best chance of success as a pilot program with the potential for further funding. Complicated by supply chain issues and stalled by a global pandemic, the effort to install BigBelly waste units on campus began in earnest in January 2020 and came full circle in July 2021. Additional challenges included writing a formal contract with the vendor, obtaining offers from competitions to ensure a favorable market rate for the product, and multiple meetings with a dedicated design to team to ensure the trash cans looked stunning. These BigBelly units show that George Mason university is fully backing a transition to a sustainable future. The Patriot Green Fund is an excellent opportunity for students to apply their skills and put their ideas to work.

Audio Transcript

If you’re a student on the Fairfax campus, and you’ve walked by Northern Neck Hall this semester, you’ve probably wondered “What are those weird looking trash cans?” What if I told you it was a student like you who got them installed?

The University facilities team sets aside $100,000 per year in an independent organization known as the Patriot Green Fund. Run by a dedicated committee of faculty, staff and students, this fund identifies areas of infrastructure improvement on George Mason University campuses. It accepts, critiques, selects and finances creative, innovative, and eco-friendly solutions to these issues submitted primarily by students.

I and my team had the honor of being awarded university funding in the spring of 2021. We proposed a pilot program to assess the performance of a solar powered, self-compacting, high capacity trash receptacle to be installed outside of the Starbucks in Northern Neck hall.

I was approached almost two years ago in January 2020 by Sustainability Program Manager Amber Saxton, who notified me of several areas of potential campus improvement. I decided to explore alternative waste receptacles, due to the high costs and environmental impacts of providing liners for current trash bins and the frequently arising need to empty them, as well as rising complaints about litter and scavenging animals. After cursory research of the problem, an independent vendor known as BigBelly Solar seemed to provide a creative, sustainable and cost-effective solution.

BigBelly units are large trash cans that compact the trash inside them. They are fully powered by renewable solar energy and hold nearly twice as much as standard campus trash bins, meaning less work and money saved for the university. A metal hatch seals the units to prevent access by pests and ensures that what goes in, stays in.

Amber introduced me to Colleen Regan, the Campus Efficiencies Assistant, who helped me conduct research and draft a proposal. Together we reached out to cities, universities and institutions all across the country who had previously purchased these units and asked all manner of questions about their specifications, cost, performance and maintenance. I also reached out to BigBelly directly for more information on their products. During this period, the three of us identified additional benefits of purchasing BigBelly units, such as a built-in ashtray, a foot-pedal to activate the hatch, and advertising space on the sides. Colleen and I determined that the University should purchase one trash bin and one recycling bin situated beside each other, with the future possibility of a compost receptacle or additional bins located elsewhere.

Amber, Colleen and I drafted a proposal. Before we began, I had the opportunity to meet with Sarah D’alexander, the Director of the Patriot Green Fund. Sarah explained to me that I would need to pass a preliminary round of examination by the committee to advance and become a finalist. My team and I worked hard to explain the problem and demonstrate our solution. The hardest part was crunching the numbers and determining that BigBelly would pay for itself in the span a of a few years. We submitted our proposal and patiently awaited a response.

However, before the committee could meet and assess our proposal, the covid-19 pandemic was gripping the US. Months of patiently waiting went by, before one day in July 2020, I received an email that the proposal had passed the initial stage and was a strong candidate for funding. Unfortunately, the pandemic was the cause of further delays both at Mason and across the globe, and it was not until the spring that we found the opportunity to make progress.

We got to work on the final proposal, amending our original draft and adding features such as a map to depict the waste bin’s location, and a chart which both detailed and provided a rationale for our expenditures. We explained each of our roles in the final application and demonstrated our commitment to see the project to completion. On February 5th, 2021, we submitted our final draft of the funding application.

Only a week or so had gone by, before I received an email from Sarah, informing me that the final application had been approved for funding. In class at the time, I nearly jumped for joy when I saw the notification. I was very proud of myself and my team. I couldn’t believe that I had won the first grant I had applied to! But I had to remind myself that my work was not done; I needed to follow through on what I had promised to deliver.

A few days later, I met with my team and with Sarah. We discussed the final three action items. First, we had to prove that our proposal was financially competitive, and this we accomplished by contacting two vendors who provide similar product and determining their prices. Second, since Bigbelly had no contract with George Mason University, we needed to provide one. Luckily, we located a similar contract with the vendor from an out of state organization which we were able to adapt to our own purposes. And lastly, we had to schedule several meetings with a university graphic design team to develop a durable, informative and visually appealing exterior for the Bigbelly unit.

Finally, in July 2021, the big day arrived. The facilities team led by Kevin Brim, head of campus recycling, installed the units right next to the Northern Neck Starbucks. Since then I have had the responsibility of continuing to monitor them; making sure that they are in efficient, working order, as well as checking for contamination. One area that needed troubleshooting was to determine the ideal level of waste and recycling the units can hold before they need to be emptied. Along with my team, I have participated in “waste audits” which involve digging through the trash and recycling to monitor contamination, as well as to assess the practicality and durability of the units.

But most of all, this is a pilot program, and if the units perform well, the university will consider expanding the project. BigBelly waste bins are a clear and visible symbol of Mason’s commitment to sustainability and innovation. The Patriot Green Fund is just one of many opportunities Patriots have to effect change on campus and beyond. Who knows what will be next?

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

Trauma Response in Prisons and the effect of COVID-19

Author(s): Brooke D’Antonio

Mentor(s): Taylor Hartwell, Criminology, Law and Society

Abstract

The criminal legal system within the United States has been under a critical review from the public in more recent years, which was heightened with the death of George Floyd in summer of 2020. With police brutality being investigated more in depth, it is important to try to understand how this impacts every aspect of the criminal legal system, including those who are incarcerated. My research URSP project seeks to understand traumatic experiences among people who are incarcerated and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their incarceration experiences. My team and I had to overcome the challenges that come with conducting research with a vulnerable population during COVID-19. The original goal for data collection was to host interviews virtually through the platform Zoom. However, due to complications with the prisons it was not feasible for us to conduct research in this way. This led to a lot of meetings discussing the best way to move forward, which we decided was to mail residents questionaries who have mailed our research team in the past and originally, we believed that the changes were small enough to justify submitting an appendix to our previous IRB application, however we were instructed to submit an entirely new IRB application which caused for significant delays in sending out the questionaries. The new IRB application with the new questions was approved in the end of June and we were able to make envelopes to be sent out the following week. The next steps in my project are to wait for the responses to the questionnaire and transcribe and the data as it comes in. This project has shown me how to adapt to real world problems within research and I am very appreciative for the opportunity.

Video Transcript

Hi, my name is Brooke D’Antonio and I am a senior here at George Mason University I am studying conflict analysis and resolution with a concentration in justice and reconciliation and I will be graduating in December. The project that I am currently trying to research is focusing on trauma response within prisons and specifically how COVID-19 has affected people in prisons and what trauma they have experienced while being in prisons during the pandemic. In my video presentation here today, I would like to discuss the process of what it is like to conduct a research project like this in a global pandemic because Due to the nature of things constantly changing our whole project was started over multiple times in order for us to gather the data we need to collect research. Because we are working in prisons which is a very vulnerable population to begin with conducting research during COVID-19 has proven to be very difficult. The original plan was to do zoom interviews with residents and staff members to figure out how COVID-19 has affected everyone. However, because the prisons were not taking any researchers at the moment because they were handling the global pandemic, we had to switch gears a little bit. So, our next plan was to mail back residents who have already been mailing with us through a bigger project that my whole team is a part of so that we can send out questionnaires with all our research questions on it so they can answer it properly. I am part of a giant team about 15 to 20 people who are at each doing their own research projects surrounding what it is like in prisons to gather more data on what prison is so they can use it in future research. So, our whole team put together a questionnaire so we can send it out to the residents so everyone can get their data accurately represented. In doing so we had to submit a whole new proposal to the IRB because originally, we predicted that we would just submit an amendment to our original proposal that we submitted for the interviews. The IRB did not approve of us submitting an amendment to that because it was a different type of process, we were going through so we submitted a whole new proposal which did cause some delays in us writing the questionnaire and getting it approved so we can send it out. We did get the final approval at the end of June so then we were able to process the questionnaires and send them out which is the current part of the process. We are currently waiting on we did send them out a couple weeks ago and we are waiting on the results so we can interpret the data we receive and go from there with our research questions. The whole process has been changing of course but due to the nature of it is expected for our research job like this and I am very appreciative for the opportunity to learn how research works in the real world as well as working on a team with creating my own questions and having mentors and coworkers who support the type of research I will be doing. And am very appreciative for URSP and I hope that once my data is collected, I therefore can go further with my research on trauma within prisons because I think it’s very important research to be conducting. I hope everyone has a very nice day and I can’t wait to hear everyone else’s projects.

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution Honors College Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) - OSCAR

The Role of Interpersonal Conflict Between Carceral Residents and Correctional Officers

Author(s): Sarah Abbas

Mentor(s): Insert Mentor Name, Mentor Department; If there are more

Abstract

Power plays an important role in correctional facilities. This project will consider the role of power in the conditions that escalate conflict. In Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement, Den G. Pruitt and Sung Hee Kim examine the conditions that encourage conflict. In order to understand the power dynamics between residents and correctional officers (COs), I will use the framework surrounding the features of the relationship between the parties as power is a relational component. Particular relationships create the distribution of power. In Interpersonal Conflict, Hocker and Wilmot use the relational theory of power to assert that “excluding situations of unequal physical power and use of violence, power is a property of the social relationship rather than a quality of the individual” (2018, p. 114). Our plan was to collect data by interviewing and collecting field. However, due to complications with the facilities, this plan was not feasible. We then planned to gather data by holding interviews virtually. That wasn’t feasible either. We had to be very flexible and creative in order to overcome the challenges that come with conducting research with a vulnerable population during the pandemic. Our team met and decided to mail residents who have consented to receive mail. We had to submit a new proposal for IRB approval which delayed our entire data collection process. The new proposal was finally approved in late June. In the Fall I will begin data coding and analysis as we receive completed research packets from prison residents. Aside from research results, this experience taught me the importance of flexible, creative problem-solving. I did not realize how unpredictable research can be. In school, I learned about how important planning and structure are when conducting research, but I never learned about the fluctuating nature of research in the real world.

Video Transcript

Hello everyone, my name is Sarah Abbas. I am an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor of science in conflict resolution and analysis, with a concentration in law and justice. The research that I will be presenting today is about the role of power in interpersonal conflict between carceral residents and correctional officers. My research is part of a larger ongoing research initiative with Dr. Danielle Rudes and Taylor Hartwell: Changing the Hole Mind: Living & Working in Solitary Confinement During Reform. Taylor is an advanced Ph.D. student, the Co-PI on Changing the Hole Mind, co-directs Dr. Rudes’ Undergraduate and Graduate Research Labs at the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence, and has worked on the solitary confinement project for four years. This year will be the third year of data collection. In the criminal justice field, research on power dynamics is often focused on how power can be perceived as legitimate in order to maintain order. Some examples of such research include studies conducted on the implication of prison staff using soft power on the legitimacy of the institution. In the field, there is often an emphasis on ensuring compliance, order, and obedience. Power is particularly important in the realm of correctional facilities because it plays a key role in prison society and in the interpersonal conflicts that arise between prisoners. The role of coercive power and predictability in literature implies that prison culture might exhibit a destructive kind of order in which violence is the norm. The Conflict field focuses on how power imbalances can be a source of conflict. A common theme is that conflict is especially likely when ambiguity exists about the nature of power. Also, research in the field shows that a system that has inconsistent status positions can escalate conflict The conflict field also specifically focuses on theory, dynamics, and ideas. While there is the application, it is often limited to broad conflicts. For example, Pruitt and Kim apply their framework to various contexts such as The Vietnam War and the Palestinian and Israeli conflict (2004, p. 23-25). However, there is no further research to support their claims. My research considers broad conflict theories in a specific context. Additionally, there is rarely an intersection between the criminal justice and conflict analysis disciplines. My research will demonstrate how conflict theory can be useful within the criminal justice discipline. My research question is what is the role of power in interpersonal conflict between carceral residents and correctional officers? Also, what conflict resolutions recommendations can be provided based on the dynamics seen in my findings? Ideally, my data will allow me to identify patterns and systems of interpersonal conflict in correctional facility settings. I mainly am taking a look at the role of power. My questions aim at measuring the perceived power of inmates and CO’s and examining the role it plays in interpersonal conflict. My research specifically takes a look at organizational and interpersonal conflict within correctional facilities. When it comes to organizations like various departments of corrections, it is paramount to ensure that conflicts are constructively managed or resolved, because the services provided directly influence the personal lives of many. Initially, our plan was to collect data by observing, interviewing, and collecting field notes in person. However, due to complications with the facilities, this plan was not feasible. We then planned to gather data by holding interviews virtually. That wasn’t feasible either. We had to be very flexible and creative in order to overcome the challenges that come with conducting research with a vulnerable population during the pandemic. Our team met a lot and discussed the best ways to react to this rapidly changing and unpredictable situation. We decided to mail residents who have previously mailed us and consented to receive mail. We had to submit a new proposal for IRB approval which delayed our entire data collection process. The new proposal was finally approved in late June. Our team met, prepared the envelopes, and mailed them out. Now I am awaiting responses to my section of the questionnaire. I will begin data coding and analysis as we receive completed research packets from prison residents. Aside from research results, this experience taught me the importance of flexible, creative problem solving, and working as a team. I did not realize how unpredictable research can be. In school, I learned about how important planning and structure are when conducting research, but I never learned about the fluctuating nature of research in the real world. This experience definitely taught me that. Thank you!

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution College of Humanities and Social Science Honors College Summer Team Impact Project

COVID-19 Food Security Project

Author(s): Allie Phillips, Zachary Wolfson

Mentor(s): Lawrence Cheskin, Nutrition and Food Studies; Matthew Rossheim, Global and Community Health; Alison Evans Cuellar, Health Administration and Policy; Zimako Chuks , Erika Kennedy , Graduate Assistants

Abstract

Since early 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic has significantly altered the lives of billions of people across the globe and hundreds of millions of people in the United States. One of the issues impacted most severely by the pandemic is food security, a measure of people’s ability to access food that fulfills their dietary needs and does not exceed their economic capabilities (World Food Summit, 1996). The COVID-19 crisis exacerbated food security challenges by disrupting food systems and restricting physical and economic access to resources. COVID-19-related relief programs disproportionately affected subpopulations such as university students, as many were ineligible. University students were especially affected by the pandemic due to campus closures and changes in employment status. Students who worked fewer hours than before the pandemic saw a decrease in food security compared to their peers whose employment situation did not change (Mialki et al., 2021). Prior to COVID-19, approximately 60% of college aged adults experience a decrease in food security at any one time during their college careers at 4-year institutions (AACU 2019). Food security challenges are often associated with other challenges for students such as lower grades, housing insecurity, and mental health issues. For example, Fang et al. (2021) found that food security challenges are associated with a 257% higher risk of anxiety and a 253% higher risk of depression. While previous studies have examined the characteristics that negatively impact food security in college students, specifically employment and student demographics, this project examines the relationship between COVID-19 and student perceptions of their personal health and wellbeing by studying the health effects that limited food availability, choice, and accessibility had amongst college students. This information can be instrumental in helping administrators and legislators implement policies to better address the dietary needs and wellbeing of students in their respective universities and states.

Video Transcript

Zach Wolfson: Welcome everybody to our OSCAR Summer Team Impact Project presentation. Today we’re going to be examining COVID-19’s impact on food security in George Mason undergraduate students. So firstly here, I’m going to introduce you to some of our wonderful student researchers. We have Emma, who is a highschool volunteer, myself, a student at George Mason University, Allie, who is a student researcher from William and Mary, and Zimako, who is our fantastic Graduate Research Lead. Zach Wolfson: So, food security, what is it exactly? The COVID-19 Pandemic has significantly altered the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the United States. One of the issues impacted most severely by the pandemic is food security which, according to the World Food Summit, is a measure of people’s ability to access food that fulfills their dietary needs and does not exceed their economic capabilities. There are some significantly important questions that must be explored in terms of how COVID-19 may have exacerbated food security issues for college students, particularly as they were often ineligible for COVID-19 relief programs. This topic is important as food security challenges are often associated with lower grades, housing insecurity, and mental health issues. In a university environment, this is particularly troubling. We hope that, with this research, we can provide valuable insights into what universities can do to better address the needs of college students whose food security may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Allie Phillips: So, I’m going to be talking about our project’s methods of approach. The overarching goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of how Mason students’ lives were altered in various ways due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we conducted semi-structured in-person interviews all led by student researchers. We asked open-ended questions about their socioeconomic status, gender, race, and ethnicity as well as other challenges they may have faced during this time. To the best of our ability, we encouraged unique, in-depth responses from participants, as we wanted each interview to run like a casual conversation rather than interrogation. We were able to interview over 130 undergraduate students here at Mason, all of whom took classes after March 2020. They were recruited to participate via email invitation sent out to a multitude of student organizations and clubs back in late May and early June, and they were each compensated with a $25 gift card. Interviews were audio recorded and automatically transcribed through zoom, though all of the transcriptions needed a little manual perfecting afterward. Then, student researchers attempted to draw out a variety of themes pertaining to academic, economic, social relationship, mood and mental health, behavior, housing, substance use, and belief factors. Our group analyzed these common themes and how they intersected between to make conclusions about student food security. Zimako Chuks: We collected qualitative data to examine common themes in our participants. After editing interview transcripts and organizing participant data into the themes mentioned, we measured the prevalence of specific themes. We found that around 36% of student participants stated they ate healthier during the pandemic. The majority of students discussed how they ate primarily home cooked meals because of stay at home orders. Our findings were mixed when it came to eating frequencies during the pandemic: Some participants stated they skipped meals while others stated they ate more frequently. Less than 5% of participants stated that they had a decrease in food insecurity but the reasons for this are still unclear. Emma Yang: The research indicates that the food security of select students at George Mason was not significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is likely due to their overall financial stability and access to resources like grocery stores and food delivery. Due to campus closures, many students also moved home to live with their parents. This also affected students’ food security because students living at home likely did not have to worry about lack of access to food. These results build on existing evidence that students living off-campus and with their parents/guardians experienced no impact or an increase on their food security. However, in line with the research question, students’ self-perception of their well-being was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students reported that they were healthier during the pandemic due to eating more home-cooked meals, and that they were watching their weight by not consuming too much junk food. Alternatively, other students felt that their well-being declined due to less exercise and getting more food delivered. The generalizability of these results is limited by the fact that George Mason is located in an affluent metropolitan area near Washington D.C., where there are high living standards and average income. Zimako Chuks: It is pressing that further research explore the relationship between COVID 19 and food security in college students. This study faced a few limitations because it was a convenience sample. Because of this, certain subpopulations were overrepresented in the data, which could be one reason our results did not find as many participants that stated they had a change in food security, differing from the studies we read prior to the project. Zach Wolfson: In addition, participants may have not felt comfortable sharing some of the deeply personal information we asked for with little warning. Future efforts should attempt to do research over a long period of time, particularly as the new Delta variant of COVID-19 became more publicly prominent toward the end of this study. Allie Phillips: Additionally, two to four person focus groups could also be useful for gathering student insights on food security challenges. Further research on this topic would be extremely useful in developing nutrition intervention programs on campus. Emma Yang: Thank you for watching our presentation. If you have any questions, feel free to email one of us.

For more on this topic see:

Economic Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on GMU Students

COVID-19’s Impact on Under-Resourced/Underrepresented College Students and their Peers