A new publication is always thrilling, and even more so when it’s with a wonderful student turned collaborator! The journey this paper traversed, from class paper to conference talk to adding new theoretical lens to finally publication in the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, has been incredible and I’m glad to have worked with Allison Lucas on it! 😊 Read the article here.
My new paper, coauthored with Christine Nyawaga, is finally out in print at the Journal of Professions and Organization, part of a Special Issue on “Opening up the meanings of ‘the professional,’ professional organizations, and professionalism in communication studies.” Our paper is titled, Black frontline workers navigating everyday workplace tensions through professionalism, and you can see it here.
The RISE Lab is happy to release a White Paper detailing how institutional authorities in the State of Michigan and City of Detroit addressed water affordability and the mass water shutoffs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the first cases of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, were identified in the United States, community activists appealed to authorities to reverse this shutoff policy. Although the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) urged people to wash their hands regularly for at least 20 seconds to prevent community spread of COVID-19 , activists pointed out that this was impossible for many Detroit residents who lacked running water in their homes. Their pleas were initially dismissed, however, and it was not until March 10, 2020, by when Detroit had emerged as a national epicenter of COVID-19, that Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued executive order EO2020-28 halting water shutoffs and restoring water to disconnected homes. In December 2020, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that the City would cover outstanding payments through 2022 and permanently end shutoffs, but questions remain about whether these promises will be upheld, if they have not fundamentally changed their language and assumptions of the root problems related to water affordability.
Rahul Mitra 