Digital Commons Network^™

Comfortability In The Latino And Hispanic Community, Vanessa Flores

Master's Theses

Many organizations often publicize their efforts to help particular communities but, how helpful are they to those who are their targets? For this reason this research focuses on the question of, how do programs create inclusivity and accessibility to the Hispanic community? This study focuses on five specific organizations that all commonly support the Hispanic Community in California, although some do go outside of the state due to extensions. In this study I have analyzed the content presented on each organization's website and determined their accessibility and inclusivity within the Hispanic community. This research analyzes the websites content thoroughly through …

Housing Equity In Golden Gate Village, Nicole White

Social Justice | Senior Theses

For generations, the African American community has faced many forms of housing discrimination that have created major inequalities in their everyday lived experiences (Lockwood, 2020). This study explores the long-lasting effects of discriminatory housing policies in creating disparate housing conditions within the public housing community in Marin City called Golden Gate Village, as well as the role of the Marin Housing Authority in practices of displacement and neglect. The methodology for the study included seven different interviews with Golden Gate Village residents to obtain knowledge about the community as well as grasp an understanding of the lived experiences of the …

I Am Not A Hero: Heroic Action Divorces The Hero From The Political Community, Ari Kohen, Brian Riches, Andre Sólo

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Most people who perform a heroic act will, afterward, deny that their actions were heroic and claim that anyone would have done the same, even though that is demonstrably false (and, often, others were present who failed to act heroically at all). The literature on the psychology of heroism has never investigated why this is. This theoretical paper proposes an answer and seeks to provoke exploration of a previously unexplored topic. We note that people who undertake heroic action face a unique conflict: they embody their community’s highest values, while simultaneously breaking norms to stand apart from that community. We …

Trans Futures In The Present Moment, Willow Grace Eckmayer

University Honors Theses

The current climate for trans folks in the U.S. remains increasingly hostile and many researchers have called attention to the "joy deficit" within the existing trans literature (Shuster & Westbrook, 2022). This study investigates what trans individuals are currently doing to survive, thrive, and resist in a belligerent socio-political climate. To answer this, five community conversations with 25 participants were held using a semi-structured conversation guide. Within the analysis, the central theme that emerged was that trans individuals are using their communities to create radical futures. Our communities are supporting us through mutual aid and radical acts of care, which …

Ci Guardiamo Il Culo: A Phenomenology Of Relevance In Ancient Italian Cultural Heritage, Sophia Hudzik

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Relevance to the public has become critical for Italian cultural heritage institutions, as domestic visitation to archaeological parks and museums remains low while expectations to engage communities rise. This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of the experience of ancient cultural heritage through the lens of individuals located nearby the Villa of the Antonines Archaeological excavation, in Genzano di Roma, Italy. The findings conclude with a set of recommendations for ancient cultural heritage institutions to become more relevant to the existing needs and lived experiences of the community.

Exploring The Impact Of The Habitat For Humanity Home-Building Process On Partner Families' Holistic Well-Being, Hawkley Pusey, Nikhil Mathur, Kathryn Figliomeni, Nanditha Srinivasan, Keely R. Dehn, Jason A. Ware

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how participating in the Habitat for Humanity house-building process influenced participants’ purpose well-being, social well-being, community well-being, physical and mental well-being, and financial well-being, and how effective Habitat for Humanity is in aiding neighborhood revitalization within the Greater Lafayette area. The research project resulted in a presentation of quantitative data and a testimonial video that highlighted the stories of families that had worked with Habitat for Humanity. Quantitative data was gathered through a survey that addressed respondents’ levels of satisfaction within the various categories of well-being mentioned above. Testimonial information was gathered …

Police, Ice, And Knox County: A Timeline Of The 287(G) And Detention Bed Contracts From 2017-2021, Taylor Dempsey

Select or Award-Winning Individual Scholarship

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) continues to heavily collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in spite of the consistent community opposition and ongoing legal ramifications that have resulted from Knox County’s 287(g) and detention bed contracts. Research on these programs and Knox County’s immigration enforcement involvement has largely focused on the logistics of enforcement mechanisms, the racism and xenophobia that construct the programs, and the legal challenges Knox County has faced as a result of their execution of the contracts. This creative project accumulates this research and utilizes public records received from Public Records Act and Freedom of …

A Story Of The Social Life Of Yulupa Cohousing, Kayla Ho

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This capstone is a study of the lived social experience of one cohousing community. Cohousing communities are designed with the intention of fostering a community with a mixture of privately-owned units and publicly shared spaces and responsibilities. The study is conducted at a significant point in American history: these communities are a fast-growing phenomenon in the United States yet they remain unknown and/or unattainable to many Americans.

Qualitative information from the community’s current residents is gathered by using research tools of interviewing and photography. Interviews were completed virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photographs were created during a three-day visit …

Police, Ice, And Knox County: A Timeline Of The 287(G) And Detention Bed Contracts From 2017-2021, Taylor Dempsey

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Farmers Markets And Social Cohesion In A Post-Covid-19 World, Daniel Falknor

Culminating Experience Projects

The sense of belonging to a community, or social cohesion, is established in food spaces enabled by three separate and unique mechanisms: proximity, frequency, and interactions. This study looks specifically at the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids and the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on the social benefits derived from the mechanisms of social cohesion, in an attempt to identify and discover new ways to leverage social cohesion in food spaces. Three populations were identified at the farmers market: customers, vendors, and market staff. Surveys and informal interviews provided evidence that proximity to and within the market, higher …

Action Research In Hospitality And Tourism Research, Denise O'Leary, David Coghlan

Books/Book Chapters

In the context of tourism and hospitality studies, the potential of action research for generating robust actionable knowledge has not been yet realized. This chapter provides an account of the theory and practice of action research, demonstrates how it may be designed and implemented, and how it may generate actionable knowledge. It provides illustrative examples and shows how this research approach aligns effectively with some of the themes that currently engage the attention of researchers in the fields of tourism and hospitality such as process improvement, sustainability, and community-based tourism development. Thus, it makes a case for more widespread use …

Attuning To Need: Reconceptualizing “Help” In Poor Rural Areas, Jennifer M. Frank, Laura Brierton Granruth, Brittany Leffler, Rachel Preibisch, Dawn Watson, Heather Girvin, Mary Glazier

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Social isolation is closely linked to overall health and well-being and is a serious concern for those in rural areas. Our research seeks insights into the needs experienced in poor rural areas by utilizing letter writing between students and community agency participants as a research methodology. In the letters, we observed that community participants relied upon friend and family style relationships and even viewed their agency relationships as such. This suggests that transforming "professional helping relationships" into alliances that are less impersonal might be in order. Such relationships and connections seemed conducive to the development of empowering self-efficacy. This finding …

A Purdue Community Partner: The Hartford Hub Of Lower Lincoln, Mark D'Aloia, Nick Young

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The Hartford Hub is a community center located in downtown Lafayette. The Hub is a unique opportunity for community members and Purdue students to get involved locally. The Hartford Hub was created to support the Lafayette community members and help residents connect and build meaningful relationships. Faith Development Corporation created the Hub as well as the North End Community Center to create a space for residents to gather and use as they need. The Hartford Hub is located in the Lower Lincoln neighborhood, a high turnover neighborhood with mostly rental properties. The goal of the Hub was to unite the …

The Life And Death Of Mambo: Culture And Consumption In New York's Salsa Dance Scene, Carmela Muzio Dormani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent decades salsa dancing has become a global phenomenon, spawning a variety of styles and levels. Although formerly passed from person to person through Latinx family and community networks, salsa dance has long been practiced in a more codified way. Today, salsa is largely reproduced in dance studio classes, congresses, and competitions collectively referred to as “the salsa scene”. In New York City, the salsa scene retains vestiges of Nuyorican and Afro-Caribbean identity, though it is practiced by people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and marketed to a global base. Building on long term participation observation and nearly …

Entire Ethnography, Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This is the entire ethnography of Sikaiana. Separate chapters are also listed at this location.

A related website is www.sikaianaarchives.com

Community Doulas' Impact On Women Of Color With Low Incomes, Emely Matos

Digital Repository: Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence

No abstract provided.

Connections: Social Media And Parents Raising Children With Profound Multiple Disabilities, Amy Ann Terra

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Parenting plays an important role in many adult lives. Parenting a child with profound multiple disabilities results in a distinct parenting experience. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the role of social media in the lives of parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities. Five parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities were interviewed, and resulting themes were identified.

Consistent with previous research, parents described the initial adaptation to their child’s disability-related needs as the most challenging period of their parenting to date. Adaptation was followed by an acclimation to a new normal of their parenting experience. Parents described moving from …

Beyond The Neighborhood: Defining Membership In Diverse Community Contexts, Brad Forenza, Brian Dashew, Diana Cedeño, David T. Lardier

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this research is to form an overarching definition of community membership that encompasses all community contexts. Utilizing qualitative interviews with 102 members of five known community contexts (communities of action, circumstance, interest, place, and practice), the authors use cross-case analysis to explore common, transcendent themes of membership. Three takeaways emerge: first, that individuals identify with communities to address personal needs but come to see social benefits; second, that individuals join communities to deepen existing relationships, but develop new ones; and third, that through engagement, individuals strengthen a sense of self that is unique to community context. Through …

Programs And Strategies For Community Resilience In A Metropolitan Area Public Library: A Case Study, Andreas Vårheim

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper reports a case study on community-oriented public library programs in a metropolitan Texan city. A main purpose of the paper is to report the findings from this explorative case study on the relationship of a public library system with its communities from a community resilience perspective. The study is a part of a research project aiming at creating empirically-based knowledge on the role of public libraries in forming community resilience. The description of specific library programs is a basis for further study of the mechanisms contributing to community resilience. Community resilience enables communities to face major environmental change …

Understanding The Development Of A Logic Model In A Multi-Agency Resource Centre, Alexandra M. Boston

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In response to social and economic decline in the downtown area of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, over thirty diverse community organizations collaborate to deliver services out of the Neighbourhood Resource Centre (NRC). This study seeks to uncover how the objectives of the NRC are being interpreted and enacted by community organizations, and how the organizations navigate diverse desired outcomes to create a logic model. Through participatory action research, the study sought to answer the research questions through field observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. An analysis of the data yields that, through collaboration and engagement the NRC has strengthened the …

Situating Social Sustainability On Spartanburg’S Northside: An Engaged Neighborhood Study Of Community, History, And Place Making, Helen S. Seddelmeyer

Community Based Research

From the very beginning of my research, I have been interested in sustainability and what it means to be sustainable. I was previously partial to environmental sustainability but came to the realization that understanding social sustainability is a more relevant and important topic for the Northside at this time. When a neighborhood is socially sustainable, they are investing in the next generation, building sincere relationships founded on trust, are adaptable, and have networks with civil society organizations such as schools, churches and businesses. Saffron Woodcraft defines social sustainability as, “a process for creating sustainable, successful places that promote well-being by …

Coastal Plastics Abatement On Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island: Stakeholder Perspectives And Lessons Learned, Paige Myatt

Sustainability and Social Justice

This practitioner research focuses on the stakeholder perspectives and lessons learned about mitigating plastic pollution in the marine environment of Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island. It uses a mixed method approach of surveys, interviews, focus groups, and active participation in mitigation strategies to answer four main research questions. These questions aim to gather perspectives on the problem from multiple stakeholders in the community, including the general public, the restaurant industry, and local and state governments. This research also investigates what factors make this community a leader in igniting social change and reducing plastic pollution. The active involvement of the researcher via …

Radical Moves: Negotiating Community And Transformation With (Some Of) Sit/South Africa’S Students Of Color, Kavita Sundaram

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Finding its foundations in inquiries of community, knowledge(s), relational truths, and radical transformation, this project wonders specifically how students of color from the School of International Training (SIT)/South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights Spring 2019 semester abroad in Cape Town experience, negotiate with, and envision the potential futures of community/ies in and around the program. My research operates within a socioprogrammatic context which is highly racialized, seeking to listen to, document, and place in conversation the perspectives of our students of color. My meditations ground themselves in the individual and collective narrative(s) of our students of color, explored primarily in …

Tweenage Volunteer Engagement In Peel: A Community Based Research Project, Abigail Salole

Publications and Scholarship

How young is “too young” when it comes to volunteerism? If you were to look to the majority of research on volunteerism and volunteer opportunities to answer this question, you might conclude that high-school age (or about the age of 15) is when youth should start volunteering. Volunteering research includes the exploration of youth volunteering but, often, the research excludes youth under the age of 15. For example, the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, uses the age bracket of 15-24 to refer to young people (Hall et al., 2009). There remains, then, a significant gap in research …

The Unity Mural: Bridging Communities Through Artmaking, Margaret A. Walker

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

A visual essay of a community based art education mural between two universities and a local community, following a tragic hate crime.

Determining The Physical And Social Barriers That Prevent Food-Insecure Students At The University Of Arkansas From Using The Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Campus Food Pantry, Sarah Elizabeth Yanniello

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the reasons why 38% of the students at the University of Arkansas experience food insecurity, yet only 1% of students have used the Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Campus Food Pantry, in hopes to provide a guide to the Center for Community Engagement in their endeavors to reduce food insecurity on campus (Lisnic, 2016). An online survey was created using Qualtrics software, was submitted to and approved by the University of Arkansas Institutional Review Board, and was distributed to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Arkansas. The sample size …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Impact Of Child Custody Loss On Drug Use And Crime Among A Sample Of African American Mothers, Kathi L. H. Harp, Carrie B. Oser

Health Management and Policy Faculty Publications

This study examines the influence of child custody loss on drug use and crime among a sample of African American mothers. Two types of custody loss are examined: informal custody loss (child living apart from mother but courts not involved), and official loss (child removed from mother’s care by authorities).

Methods—Using data from 339 African American women, longitudinal random coefficient models analyzed the effects of each type of custody loss on subsequent drug use and crime.

Results—Results indicated that both informal and official custody loss predicted increased drug use, and informal loss predicted increased criminal involvement. Findings demonstrate …

Community-Based Initiatives For Neighborhood And Community Rehabilitation: A Case Study Of The Mission District, San Francisco, California, Francesca Monique Gallardo

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Through the case study of San Francisco, CA’s Mission District, this research project addresses how community-based affordable housing development is operationalized to rehabilitate communities and neighborhoods experiencing effects of gentrification, mass displacement, and cultural dilution. My goals were to identify how the processes of building a sense of community, trust, and cohesion- rehabilitating and critical to affordable housing development efforts in the Mission District? And, how are nonprofit community development organizations engaging with these processes in collaboration with citizen and community partners? The final objective is to provide evidence-based strategies to assist other at-risk minority communities and neighborhoods in the …

Playing With Others: The Community, Motivations, And Social Structures Of The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band, Sarah E. Wilson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore motivations for participation, how social structures influence the adult non-professional members of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band (HRCB), and identify the characteristics of community present in the band. The following questions framed the investigation within an interpretative phenomenological approach:

1. What motivates the band members to participate in the HRCB?
2. How do the institutional social structures influence the sense of belonging, development of social capital, and socialization of band members?
3. What characteristics of community are present within the HRCB?

Data was collected from long-term researcher observation and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with each participant. …

Documenting ---- In Bloomington-Normal: A Community Report On Intolerance, Segregation, Accessibility, Inclusion, And Progress, And Improvement, Brittany Ashmore, Molly Cook, Alyssa Cooper, Teddy Dondanville, Ryan Duncan, Lindsey Earl, Justin Estima, Jake Fredericks, Mary Frey, Diamond Frison, Doug Gass, Myer Hursey, Kathryn Jones, Alesha Klein, Megan Koch, Kathryn Mcgee, Taylor Messamore, Jonathan Mansma, Jaresa Morrison, Jake Murray, Renee Palecek, Rainee Sibley, Chaney Skadsen, Vanessa Soto, Emily Spencer, Danielle Stevens, Corinna Strawn, Patricia Longwood, Frank D. Beck

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

For the local chapter of Not In Our Town, we document intolerance, discrimination, segregation, disparities of access, and disparities in the criminal justice system in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Using archival material, secondary data, and primary data, we examine these issues from the mid-1990s to the present. We also assess the position of the organization in the community and provide strategies for future success. In sum, Bloomington-Normal was and is intolerant; discrimination did and does take place in this community; there are disparities of access and in the criminal justice system; we are segregated. The community is also less of these things …