Engaging in the Fight against Injustice

Ashley M. Votruba, J.D., Ph.D., University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Many of us are embarking on the start of the semester. With that comes the excitement of a bustling campus full of students rushing to class and labs that are gearing up for new data collection. Personally, I’m happy to see campus come back to life, but I miss my nearly completed to-do lists of summer.

Reflecting on summer has me also reflecting on the SPSSI 2019 Conference: Fighting Injustice: The Power of Research, Policy, and Activism in Challenging Times. Much of the conference highlighted the research-policy connection that is important to SPSSI and its members. Throughout the conference, we acknowledged the challenges we face and reaffirmed the power of social science research to inform policy surrounding those challenges. In this issue of The Forward, we asked a few of the conference presenters and discussion leaders to offer their reflections from conferences events.

In this issue, Matt Knierim and Jalonta Jackson offer a thoughtful discussion of the distinction between “advocacy” and “activism” and why it is important. They highlight some of the questions that were pondered during the interactive discussion they lead on this topic at the SPSSI 2019 Conference.

Diane Hall discusses creating agents of change by implementing service learning opportunities in her undergraduate courses. These opportunities engage students in community-based service activities, often requiring them to prepare for and reflect on that engagement in a way that highlights preconceptions and unique challenges.

Alisha Jimenez provides an overview of the implementation of restorative justice in the juvenile justice system in Nebraska. She discusses how the Office of Dispute Resolution has bridge social science research with policy implementation in an attempt to break the “school to prison pipeline” that is prevalent when a youth is formally processed through the juvenile justice system.

Linda Silka reflects on themes from the SPSSI 2019 conference on the research to policy implementation connection and the opportunities and barriers that the connection encounters. This reflection includes realizations from a discussion session she co-led that we all struggle with our research having less impact than it should and the reasons this might be the case.

SPSSI Journals & Books

In this issue of The Forward, we also provide updates from our journals and published books.

Chris Aberson, Editor-in-Chief of Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, provides an update for the journal. He discusses the journals introduction of Open Science Badges, a streamlined review option for recently rejected articles, and plans to develop a Registered Reports option for submissions.

Carey Ryan, Editor of the Journal of Social Issues, discusses changes to the submission guidelines for the journal. More specifically, the informal proposal step has been eliminated and those who are interested in editing an issue should email her directly to inquire about the appropriateness of the topic for the journal.

With regards to Social Issues and Policy Review, Jolanda Jetten and Naomi Ellemers have worked with article authors to assemble a summary of each journal article for January 2019 issue of SIPR providing a synopsis of the findings and policy recommendations available on SPSSI’s website. And, we also announce the latest contribution to the SPSSI Contemporary Social Issues book series: Ableism: The Causes and Consequences of Disability Prejudice.

Finally, we also have updates from the SPSSI representatives to the APA Council of Representatives, Luis Rivera and Kim Case; SPSSI’s intern Abby Korb; and the latest edition of the Graduate Student Newsletter, Social Issues from Student Perspectives with contributions from newly elected committee members and other SPSSI graduate student members.

If you are interested in contributing to future editions of SPSSI's The Forward, submissions for the fall edition will be accepted until Monday, October 7, 2019. Contact Ashley Votruba for more information about submitting a column.