Rutgers Newark professor Paul Boxer and Temple University professor Franklin Moreno publish their article "Advancing a transnational ecological systems framework for research on exposure to violence".  

Scholars have underscored the need to integrate research from more diverse contexts and local realities across national borders to inform global perspectives on developmental science. As multination developmental studies have increased, one area requiring further attention is the ways in which countries that wield greater power influence the local realities of youth in other countries. The domain of public safety, insecurity, and violence for youth evinces important issues related to local conditions shaped by foreign government policy interventions. In this paper we draw from multinational studies, research on exposure to community violence, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development, and policy between the United States and Central America. Utilizing Central America as a case study, our analysis examines how transnational governmental policies of the US are distal processes that have real-life impacts on youth’s proximal experiences with violence and safety in Honduras. We propose a transnational ecological systems framework for advancing developmental theory and research on violence to expand from a within country application of ecological systems to a between country model to account for these transnational, distal processes. We conclude with theoretical and research implications and applications with the aim of advancing a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of context-specific and general developmental processes and outcomes.

To read the paper, click here.

Professor Antonio Hernandez-Matos, an instructor in the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies, recently presented his paper "To Be or Not to Be Modern: Fashion, Gender, and Ambiguity Towards Modernity in Early 20th Century Puerto Rico” at the Fashion/Media: Power and Possibility Conference in Dallas, Texas on February 28-March 1, 2025. He was part of a panel titled "Structures and Barriers of Fashion".

Panelists of Structures and Barriers of Fashion, Fashion and Media, Power and Possibility Conference, SMU, Dallas, Texas, on March 1, 2025. (Photo, Chloe Casdorph)

Puerto Rican historiography still argues that Puerto Ricans resisted the modernity represented by the U.S. from the beginning of the change in colonial power. However, this paper argues that at the start of the 20th century, Puerto Ricans had an ambiguous and tense relationship with a “colonial modernity” they both desired and feared.  To support this argument, this paper examines two representations that coexisted in Puerto Rican periodicals: the first is the “masculinized” modern woman, portrayed as cold-blooded, egocentric, narcissistic, greedy, opportunistic, and calculating. The paper analyzes what critics perceived as the symbols of Puerto Rican women's masculinization: the fading “art of crying” and the bobbed hair that crowned the head of so many chicas modernas. Critics considered Puerto Rican modern women to be in the process of masculinization. They denounced fashion and modernity as the culprits, arguing that they were encouraging Puerto Rican modern women to dispose of any trace of sentimentality.  

The other representation analyzed is the “naked” chica moderna, depicted as lost in worldly pleasures and always being on the verge of corruption and damnation. The paper examines the representations of the gradual “stripping” of modern women’s bodies by fashion, focusing on the symbolism of three pieces of clothing: the tube dress, the short skirt, and the bathing suit. Critics and commentators correlated fashion’s unveiling of women’s bodies with a public display of eroticism on their part, which represented a problem for the keepers of social morality, secular or religious. The paper shows how these two opposite representations of Puerto Rican women are the best examples of Puerto Rican's tense, ambivalent, and ambiguous relationship with the unforeseen consequences of colonial modernity.

Over spring break, eight Masters in Social Work (MSW) students, guided by Dr. Elsa Candelario, traveled to Puerto Rico for a 10-day immersive study abroad experience. They engaged with human service organizations, connected with Puerto Rican social work students and professionals, attended the NASW-PR conference, and took part in rich cultural experiences across the island.

The trip proved to be deeply meaningful—described by several students as one of the most impactful moments of their MSW journey.