Author: TheConversation

By Xavier Ho, Lecturer in Interaction Design, Monash University Mainstream games are embracing openly queer characters, and so are many of their players and fans. The Last of Us, the prestige HBO adaptation of the critically lauded game, has been celebrated (and review-bombed) for delivering a strong narrative featuring prominent LGBTQIA+ cast and characters. In Left Behind, the seventh episode, the show transported us to the time the younger protagonist, Ellie, spent with her childhood friend and love interest, Riley. We also saw in the third episode, Long, Long Time, how Bill and his longtime partner Frank navigated their...

By Derek P. Siegel, Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology, UMass Amherst Since the beginning of 2023, 49 U.S. state legislatures have introduced over 500 anti-trans bills. While mainstream media increasingly cover violence and legislative attacks against trans people, many scholars and activists worry that focusing just on violence and discrimination fails to capture the full experience of being trans. Drawing on the success of movements like the Black Joy Project, which uses art to promote Black healing and community-building, trans activists are challenging one-dimensional depictions of their community by highlighting the unique joys of being transgender. My research on trans parents...

By Stuart Milligan, Associate Teaching Professor of Supply Chain Management, Thompson Rivers University; and Nancy Southin, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, Thompson Rivers University Even though the practice of slavery has been formally abolished, an estimated 49.6 million people are in forced labour globally, a quarter of which are children. Modern slavery is an umbrella term that refers to situations where exploited individuals cannot leave because of threats, violence, coercion or the abuse of power. It includes a variety of practices such as forced labour, bonded labour and human trafficking. Modern slavery affects the supply chains of many...

By Carmen Reese Foster, Interim Online MSSW Program Director, Assistant Professor of Practice, Director of Alumni Affairs, University of Tennessee When George Floyd was brutally murdered in the summer of 2020, a wave of activism spread throughout the country. People protested. Anti-racism books became bestsellers. Diversity, equity and inclusion jobs increased by 55%, and the top 50 U.S. public companies pledged $49.5 billion to tackle racial justice issues. At the same time of this racial reckoning, COVID-19 was disproportionately affecting communities of color in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. In addition, anxiety and depression rates were rising...

By Sophia Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Policy, University of Maryland Latino youth in middle and high school have a lower sense of belonging at school and in the community overall when compared with white peers. That is a key finding from my analysis, which is currently under review and based on surveys with students in midsize districts – one urban and one suburban – on the East Coast. I also found that being a language learner is associated with lower school belonging. To measure belonging, I analyzed a 40-question survey that included questions about belonging at...