Justice Lens Research Articles

Integrating personality psychology and intersectionality to advance diversity in the study of persons

AbstractConsideration of how interrelated social structures relate with personality has been limited. In this paper, we discuss how researchers might apply an intersectional framework–which uses a social justice lens to examine how social structures are interconnected and impact individuals—at three distinct levels of personality including traits, characteristic adaptations, and integrative life narratives. We begin by providing conceptualizations of personality and intersectionality and describe considerations for their integration, including the need to widen the methodological and epistemological scope of personality science. Key areas of research that demonstrate the promise of an intersectional framework for unpacking structures of power and oppression in relation to the person are then described for each level of personality. Specifically, recommendations for how an intersectional framework may be used to examine structural identity domains in relation to trait levels, values and goals, as well as the content and process of narrated lives are offered. We conclude with discussion of how application of an intersectional framework is crucial for promoting inclusion and generalizability in personality science.

Artificial intelligence and assisted reproductive technology: Applying a reproductive justice lens

In recent years, health-data-driven artificial intelligence and machine learning applications have been introduced to many areas of medicine. In the field of assisted reproduction, artificial intelligence and machine learning applications and related technologies have been hailed as (potentially) significant and ground-breaking, not least because they promise standardisation and automation in in-vitro fertilisation clinics – a precondition for scaling up and branching out in the fertility bioindustry. Artificial intelligence data-driven algorithms promise time- and cost-effective selection of ‘high-quality’ reproductive cells and successful personalised treatments. In this essay, we aim to critically discuss artificial intelligence as a technological clinical practice, which is currently moving from bench to bedside internationally. Through an analytic framework of reproductive justice, we propose that introducing artificial intelligence into this already stratified context threatens to black-box health disparities and to generate what we refer to as ‘hyper-stratifications’ of reproduction in the context of rising health and social disparities in the European context. As feminist, social science and bioethics scholars, we are all too aware of how reproductive technologies reinforce normativities rather than unravel them. We cannot presume that artificial intelligence is an ethical technological agent or user of health data but, instead, need to keep a critical eye on the moral ambivalence of emerging and evolving artificial intelligence-assisted reproduction technologies practices and their gendered consequences. Given the current hype around artificial intelligence, but also with concerns around the fast development and deployment of artificial intelligence generally and in artificial intelligence-assisted reproduction technologies particularly in mind, there is an urgent need to engage in critical feminist discussion of such developments.

Inhabiting digital spaces: An informational right to the city for mobility justice

Space is often produced digitally before it is produced physically. This article investigates how the right to the city can be broadened to include the appropriation of digital spaces to produce ‘lived’ transportation spaces. Focussing on mobilisation against highway expansion in Dallas, Texas, we ask the following: (1) what are the mechanisms through which space is conceived, perceived, and lived through the lens of mobility justice; (2) how might claims for technical information challenge dominant transportation policies and projects; and (3) how might participants inhabit digital spaces? We conduct a qualitative analysis of transportation planning narratives, visualisations, and public comments in three documents: the Dallas City Center Master Assessment Process, Coalition for a New Dallas’ I-345/45 Framework Plan, and public survey data regarding proposed highway changes ( n = 1241). Findings demonstrate how residents challenge transportation ‘needs’ as often determined in conceptual planning spaces. Further, technologies can be appropriated to produce differential spaces, which can alter the trajectory of highway projects. Challenging the legitimacy of institutionalised knowledge through the appropriation and production of digital spaces forms part of a larger claim to the right of the city.

A Narrative Review of LGBTQ+ Marketing Scholarship

Marketing research on LGBTQ+ people has increased over the past two decades, entering mainstream marketing discourse – aligning with greater societal acceptance. This paper provides a contemporary review of marketing scholarship on LGBTQ+ communities published in Q1, and Q2 ranked Scimago marketing journals. Taking a social justice lens, this review examined whose voices were represented and how those voices were represented. The finding suggests samples studied were skewed towards heterosexual samples and those from the Global North. Where LGBTQ+ samples have been included, these were predominantly gay men. Three theoretical perspectives were adopted: attitudes and identity, meaning and interpretation and critical perspectives. In addition, the focus of the studies centred on four main themes: LGBTQ+ imagery in advertising, consumer behaviour of LGBTQ+ people, brand positioning and LGBTQ+ as a consumer market segment. Based on the findings, future scholarship should consider nuancing the multidimensional nature of the LGBTQ+ markets and investigates LGBTQ+ consumers as individuals with real and unique needs in their own rights.

How are teacher shortages in hardest-to-staff schools represented in (inter)national policy documents from England and Australia?

ABSTARCT Teacher shortages are a significant global problem disproportionally affecting “hardest-to-staff” schools and subjects. To better understand (inter)national policy responses to teacher shortages, this paper uses a Bacchian-inspired approach to critically examine proposals suggested as solutions in policy documents from England and Australia, and thus how the problem is being thought about especially in relation to hardest-to-staff contexts. We contend that the problem representations in the policy documents are narrowly conceived and need to be considered differently through the lenses of (re)professionalisation and social justice.

Relational Approach Towards Decolonizing Curriculum Development within the Colonial Postsecondary Institution

The Canadian academy is dominated by Western epistemologies that devalue Indigenous ways of knowing and marginalize Indigenous communities, cultures, and histories (Louie et al., 2017). This paper draws on a cross-disciplinary, interprofessional collaboration between a School of Public Health Sciences and School of Social Work to develop an online graduate course that sought to advance knowledge and practice in Indigenous wellbeing and health through a social justice lens. We explore key considerations, strategies, and challenges undertaken by an interdisciplinary group of non-Indigenous professors to create a learning experience for students that challenges colonial ways of seeing, being, knowing, and doing in the professional practice fields of public health and social work and that serves to elevate and sustain Indigenous voices, knowledges, sciences, and practices within the academy. In doing so, we centre the process of course development, including working with an Indigenous Advisory Circle and Indigenous contributors of content, guest lecture videos, and artwork. The paper describes the creation of a relational teaching and learning community, while raising concerns about the institutionalization of this approach to Indigenous-focused course development in the absence of the structural changes needed to enhance the presence of Indigenous faculty and Elders in academic institutions.

Societal Co-benefits of Zero-Emission Vehicles in the Freight Industry.

This study was set in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), where commercial vehicle movements were assigned across the road network. Implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air quality, and health were examined through an environmental justice lens. Electrification of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks was assessed to identify scenarios associated with the highest benefits for the most disadvantaged communities. Using spatially and temporally resolved commercial vehicle movements and a chemical transport model, changes in air pollutant concentrations under electric truck scenarios were estimated at 1-km2 resolution. Heavy-duty truck electrification reduces ambient black carbon and nitrogen dioxide on average by 10 and 14%, respectively, and GHG emissions by 10.5%. It achieves the highest reduction in premature mortality attributable to fine particulate matter chronic exposure (around 200 cases per year) compared with light- and medium-duty electrification (less than 150 cases each). The burden of all traffic in the GTHA was estimated to be around 600 cases per year. The benefits of electrification accrue primarily in neighborhoods with a high social disadvantage, measured by the Ontario Marginalization Indices, narrowing the disparity of exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Benefits related to heavy-duty truck electrification reflect the adverse impacts of diesel-fueled freight and highlight the co-benefits achieved by electrifying this sector.

Encountering mobility (in)justice through the lived experiences of fishing communities in Dakar and Saint Louis, Senegal

Placing attention on counter narratives from fishing communities in Dakar and Saint Louis in Senegal, we present how the climate crisis and its complex nexus with (im)mobility is instrumentalized to mask the underlying structural causes. We evidence the intertwined impacts of the climate crisis as rooted in global unequal structures, state-level fishing agreements, and global and local waste (mis)management on lives and livelihoods through the lens of mobility justice. Mimi Sheller’s concept of ‘mobility justice’ reflects the interconnecting strands that emerge from the interdisciplinary research project ClimateOfChange on which the paper is based: the right to mobility, the right to live in a healthy environment, and the unequal access to such rights across the globe. Our aim within this paper is to deconstruct depoliticised narratives of the climate crisis, particularly those related to so-called ‘climate migrants’ and instead to unravel the ongoing colonial continuities underpinning the climate crisis and the structures of racial capitalism that create socio-spatial inequalities in environment and mobility. Empirical data is drawn from qualitative research conducted with local people/activists, including a one-month climate diary capturing visual perceptions of mobility (in)justice.

Community Service Perspectives on Climate Change and Social Justice in Western Australia

ABSTRACT Social workers increasingly recognise the relationship between social injustice and climate change, which is underpinned by oppressive systems of power such as colonialism, racism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Climate change exacerbates existing structural inequities, with disproportionately negative impacts on marginalised populations. In their work across diverse fields of social work practice, community service organisations (CSOs) have an important frontline role in supporting communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In the state of Western Australia (WA), a group of CSO leaders and university researchers commenced a feminist participatory action research (FPAR) program about climate justice and community services. In the first FPAR cycle, they undertook a survey, interviews, and workshops with CSO workers to examine social justice impacts of climate change in WA. CSO workers generally self-reported a low understanding of social justice and climate change. They identified climate impacts across themes of health, economic injustices, discrimination and access, housing and displacement, and gendered injustices. The authors contend that as climate change intensifies, CSOs must embed climate justice in their operations and services so that they might adequately prepare for, and respond to, the social justice impacts of climate change. IMPLICATIONS Increased understanding of workers’ perspectives of the social justice impacts of climate change in Western Australia can identify knowledge gaps in the community service sector. Embedding a climate justice lens can assist CSO operations and programs to prepare for, and respond to, the social justice impacts of climate change.

Medicalisation, depoliticisation and reproductive stratification: lessons from Canada's Muskoka Initiative

Based on critical discourse analysis of Canada's Muskoka Initiative (2010–15), this article outlines how medicalisation contributes to the depoliticisation and technocratisation of global maternal health, while reinforcing patterns of reproductive stratification. By constructing maternal health as a problem of managing medicalised risk, the Muskoka Initiative was able to position family planning as a risk-minimising practice that can improve health by averting pregnancy among populations deemed high risk. Interpreting this construction through the lenses of reproductive justice and biopolitics, I argue that this construction contributes to reproductive stratification and exemplifies how medicalised discourses have replaced overt discourses of population control within development policy, while continuing to discourage reproduction among racialised women in the Global South.

Exploring energy security in China: our distance to energy justice

Energy justice serves as a pivotal factor in the global shift towards energy transition. A comprehensive evaluation of energy security necessitates the integration of energy justice principles. Accordingly, this study introduces an energy security index (ESI) from the perspective of energy justice and assesses the energy security of 30 provinces in mainland China. The analysis, covering data from 2001 to 2020, explores the spatiotemporal variations of ESI across these provinces. It also examines their spatial relationships and clustering tendencies using Moran's I analysis. The findings indicate that, when viewed through the lens of energy justice, the majority of provinces display a low ESI, characterized by modest enhancements and persistent low-value conditions from 2001 to 2020. This trend primarily results from the inadequate emphasis on justice components in China's energy transition and the continuous failure to significantly boost regional energy supply capabilities. Additionally, this study highlights significant spatial disparities and positive correlations in ESI values across provinces. Regions abundant in resources tend to register higher ESI values, whereas resource-scarce but economically advanced areas show lower values. These insights are crucial for the formulation and adaptation of differentiated energy strategies, especially those focused on achieving energy justice and fostering a balance between regional energy supply and demand.

Welcome to Dear Earth: Resourcing Spirit for the Anthropocene Era

The devastating impacts of climate change on daily life are becoming more and more apparent. These challenging times call for religious educators in all contexts to help faith communities bring the lens of climate justice to all aspects of faith formation. In this article, the Religious Education Association (REA) 2024 program chairs share experiences that have shaped their own commitment to climate justice and offer insight into the foci of the upcoming Dear Earth conference.

Greener through gender: What climate mainstreaming can learn from gender mainstreaming

AbstractAddressing the urgent global climate crisis demands a rapid and meaningful expansion of “climate mainstreaming,” which refers to the integration of climate objectives in all aspects of development programs and policies. However, progress remains slow and uneven due to bottlenecks in policy and institutional change. Considering the parallel struggle recorded over decades to mainstream gender across the same policy arenas, a key question emerges: what can climate mainstreaming learn from gender mainstreaming? To answer this question, we review 57 policy, strategy, and guidance documents of United Nations agencies, all of which integrate these themes into food security and broader development programming. Our analysis identifies gaps in climate mainstreaming efforts and derives lessons from gender mainstreaming to bridge these gaps. It underscores the importance of adapting programmatic mainstreaming strategies in response to evolving contexts, for example, by simultaneously considering both mainstreaming and targeted interventions. Additionally, it highlights the need to adopt organizational climate mainstreaming and establish mechanisms for accountability. Finally, it emphasizes the urgency of embracing a climate justice lens; in practice, this involves prioritizing populations at greater risk of climate change impacts and actively engaging diverse perspectives in decision‐making, particularly communities facing multiple forms of discrimination.This article is categorized under: Integrated Assessment of Climate Change > Assessing Climate Change in the Context of Other Issues Climate and Development > Sustainability and Human Well‐Being Policy and Governance > International Policy Framework

Promoting Equity: Examining Participatory Justice in Free Lunch Program Planning to Combat Stunting in Indonesia

This study examines the organisation of complimentary meal initiatives in Indonesia through the lens of participatory justice. The study methodology employed is a normative juridical approach within a descriptive-analytical framework. Data were gathered via literature reviews and subjectively assessed. The results indicate that public policy should consider the active involvement of different societal stakeholders. Participatory justice fosters socioeconomic inclusivity and equity in the process of decision-making. While the free lunch program is a tangible measure to combat stunting, active involvement from the impacted individuals is crucial to guarantee the efficiency and equity of this program. Challenges in implementing participatory justice are the credibility of public involvement, dispute resolution, and the influence of experts in decision making procedures.

Equity and justice should underpin the discourse on tipping points

Abstract. Radical and quick transformations towards sustainability will be fundamental to achieving a more sustainable future. However, deliberate interventions to reconfigure systems will result in winners and losers, with the potential for greater or lesser equity and justice outcomes. Positive tipping points (PTPs) have been proposed as interventions in complex systems with the aim to (a) reduce the likelihood of negative Earth system tipping points and/or (b) increase the likelihood of achieving just social foundations. However, many narratives around PTPs often do not take into account the entire spectrum of impacts the proposed alternatives could have or still rely on narratives that maintain current unsustainable behaviours and marginalize many people (i.e. do not take “b” into account). One such example is the move from petrol-based to electric vehicles. An energy transition that remains based on natural resource inputs from the Global South must be unpacked with an equity and justice lens to understand the true cost of this transition. There are two arguments why a critical engagement with these and other similar proposals needs to be made. First, the idea of transitioning through a substitution (e.g. of fuel) while maintaining the system structure (e.g. of private vehicles) may not necessarily be conceived as the kind of radical transformation being called for by global scientific bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Second, and probably more importantly, the question of positive for whom, positive where, and positive how must be considered. In this paper, we unpack these narratives using a critical decolonial view from the south and outline their implications for the concept of tipping points.

Inclusive Science Communication Approaches Through an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (EDISJ) Lens

Science communication has taken center stage in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines in the context of public outreach and citizen science. Developing practical communication skills is imperative for all scientists to be highly successful in their careers and more so for underrepresented and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals in STEM. The program, led by the Engineering and Science Librarian at the University of Victoria (UVic) Libraries, aimed to equip students and early career scientists with critical communication skills by leveraging the unique voices and lived experiences of BIPOC speakers in STEM disciplines. Through this program, a unique toolkit with engaging modules consisting of 30 short videos, each three minutes long (30 x 3) by BIPOC speakers was created to provide broad foundational skills in verbal and visual communication, using an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (EDISJ) lens. A two-day conference offered networking and communication development opportunities to students and early-career scientists in STEM disciplines by connecting them with BIPOC STEM leaders and visionaries who promote STEM advocacy. This paper will discuss the methods used in the creation of the toolkit and conference using an EDISJ lens.

Research overview and outcomes: just transitions to decarbonisation in the Asia-Pacific

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of a study examining microgrids for off-grid rural electrification in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam within the ASEAN context. Utilising mixed methods, this study delved into the techno-economic aspects of these systems and explored varied business models and governance strategies. It assessed how these models and strategies impact rural electricity access and contribute to a just regional energy transition. The study highlights the dual benefits of enhancing regional energy access and community empowerment while addressing shared challenges in climate change and decarboni- sation. It identified potential market opportunities at the national level, with an expectation of increased private sector involvement amid prospective system liberalisations. Viewed through the lens of energy justice, the regional energy transition is presented not only as an environmental imperative but also as a catalyst for economic growth. This involves creating jobs, expanding electricity access, and mitigating climate impacts for local communities and the broader region. This study also sheds light on workforce and labour support and industry transformation, suggesting avenues for future research.

Are cathedrals the arks of today? Some reflections on cathedral mission and spiritual seekers

ABSTRACT This paper examines the theological concept of ‘ark’ as a useful metaphor for assessing the potential of cathedrals for effective mission and social action. The popular concept of ark as shelter and means of salvation is but one way of thinking about cathedrals, but the paradoxical and complex nature of what it means to be ‘ark’ for others in Scripture and tradition provides other ways of assessing and developing mission potential. These different ways of thinking about the cathedral will be set against stories obtained from talking to people seeking different forms of help from cathedrals, in order to show in what ways the cathedral was ‘ark’ for them and to test what the limits of that perspective might be. The paper concludes with some suggestions for strategic action within cathedrals to maximise this particular mission and social justice lens.

External power dynamics and international climate governance in a crises-constrained world

ABSTRACT This paper explores equity in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations during a time of multiple overlapping global crises. Drawing on a combination of semi-structured interviews and a roundtable with key negotiators and observers engaged in the UNFCCC process during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a collaborative ethnographic study and social media analysis on the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), we find that inequities within the UNFCCC process reflect the broader social and geopolitical inequities at international and intranational levels. Multiple intersecting crises reinforce and compound these inequities for particularly marginalized and vulnerable groups and slow progress in tackling climate change in an equitable manner. Applying a critical climate justice lens, we show that in order for the climate negotiations to be resilient to global crises, the process needs to go beyond a surface-level attempt at achieving justice through representation and move towards a more active shifting of power to poor and climate-vulnerable countries and populations.

Moving School Psychology Beyond the Clouds of Injustice: A Blue Sky Discussion

This paper based on the opening address for the 2023–2024 School Psychology Futures Conference, reflects on contemporary inequities in school psychology practice, research, and graduate education. Challenges as the profession reckons with its oppressive past are highlighted. Drawing on concepts from liberation psychology, critical school psychology, and the psychology of radical healing, the author presents a vision for school psychology’s reimagined future with steps that can be executed across all levels (e.g., practice, research, graduate education, advocacy and leadership). In order to imagine a new future for school psychology, we must not repeat the mistakes of our past and instead demonstrate cultural humility, center marginalized communities, and embrace anti-oppressive and liberatory approaches. This will allow school psychology to meet its potential and become a profession that effectively serves ALL children and youth. Impact Statement The 2023–2024 School Psychology Futures Conference had an intentional focus on examining school psychology from a social justice lens. This article critically examines contemporary and historical inequities in school psychology to identify mistakes of the past and applies concepts from liberation psychology, critical school psychology, and the psychology of radical healing to describe a more just future for the profession.