Earlier this year, I was interviewed about the topic of environmental justice, greening, and community change for the Delaware Nature Society’s blog. Here is the article by Ken Mammarella. Take a look for an interesting discussion of racial residential segregation, environmental racism, and development through the “green orthodoxy,” with a focus on South Wilmington, DE. One pertinent question that emerges from our discussion is “how do we understand the long-term, intrinsic value of greening efforts that unfold over many years, in light of possible alternatives that may reflect contemporary community preferences?”

A joint effort between me, the Delaware Nature Society, US Fish and Wildlife Services, and the Southbridge Community Development Corporation was successful in getting funding for rain gardens designs to help mitigate flood water and mosquitoes in Southbridge. Read more about the $25,000 grant in the News Journal here.

Dr. Asia Friedman and I just published a case study on the role of brain imaging in promoting and validating new diagnoses. Certain types of sound sensitivity have often been symptoms associated with other, established psychiatric conditions, but have not necessarily been promoted as discrete clinical entities (i.e., diagnoses on their own). Recently, researchers using brain imaging to study misophonia have been instrumental in making claims about the condition and establishing its legitimacy as a separate diagnosis. Here’s the abstract from our paper:

“Misophonia has gained attention in scientific circles that utilise brain imaging to validate diagnoses. The condition is promoted as not merely a symptom of other psychiatric diagnoses but as a discrete clinical entity. We illustrate the social construction of the diagnostic category of misophonia through examining prominent claims in research studies that use brain imaging to substantiate the diagnosis. We show that brain images are insufficient to establish the ‘brain basis for misophonia’ due to both technical and logical limitations of imaging data. Often misunderstood as providing direct access to the matter of the body, brain images are mediated and manipulated numerical data (Joyce, 2005, Social Studies of Science 35(3), p. 437). Interpretations of brain scans are further shaped by social expectations and attributes considered salient to the data. Causal inferences drawn from these studies are problematic because ‘misophonics’ are clinically pre-diagnosed before participating. We argue that imaging cannot replace the social process of diagnosis in the case of misophonia, nor validate diagnostic measures or otherwise substantiate the condition. More broadly, we highlight both the cultural authority and inherent limitations of brain imaging in the social construction of contested diagnoses while also illustrating its role in the disaggregation of symptoms into new diagnoses.”

I was recently featured in the UDaily series “How I Teach.” As American Sociological Association research shows, most students that become sociology majors do so because they were inspired by their Introduction to Sociology class. I have taken great pride and joy from teaching this class for almost 20 years!

In the August 2022 issue Place Matters, Bill Swiatek and I have a new article entitled “Greening, Revitalization, and Health in South Wilmington, Delaware.” From the abstract: “We highlight the potential for paradoxical impacts of green infrastructure integrated with urban redevelopment. Absent directly addressing social inequalities in parallel efforts, green infrastructure may lead to negative health outcomes of disadvantaged residents, including eventual displacement. We present the research literature and reviews on this topic. We next highlight the case of recent in-migration of higher-income Whites and others in South Wilmington, Delaware, spurred on by high-end Riverfront redevelopment at Christina Landing. This migration may obscure how greening efforts—such as a new wetlands park to control area flooding—influence health outcomes in Southbridge, a low-income, African American neighborhood also within South Wilmington. The area’s Census tract boundary, often used in both health and equity assessments, is shared by these distinctive communities. When viewed through the lens of inequality, greening can have multi-faceted impacts that structure health outcomes. We underscore the importance of the mitigation of its potentially harmful effects.”