Digital Commons Network^™

Nepalese Migrant Workers And Their Hardship In The Desert, Ambar Hajariya

Sustainability and Social Justice

The exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers is linked with glitch and the glamor of Gulf states. The gulf is now a glamorous region in the world. Their infrastructures are breathtaking. For example, Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest structure in the world. Some wonderful structures are in progress, such as a Qatar stadium for the FIFA World Cup 2022. However, the exploitation of Nepalese migrant workers exposes the glitch of the Gulf, which is the extreme violation of human rights. Reports reveal that Nepalese migrants are dying at a rate of one in two days while doing a construction …

Aiddata Gis International Fellowship: Ghana West-Africa, Jason N. Ready

Sustainability and Social Justice

My internship, or fellowship as it was commonly referred to, was funded by a non-profit organization out of Williamsburg Virginia called AidData. This fellowship took place in in the country of Ghana, West-Africa beginning in May of 2016 and continued for 14 weeks with 40 hours each week. The objective of this internship was to provide in-depth training on the use of geographic Information Systems to Private and Public sectors within the country to allow for increased efficiency, and transparency through data visualization. In accordance with the requirement of Clark Universities GISDE master’s program this paper will delve into the …

Cloud-Based Land Change Modeler Application: Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Lei Rong

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

Cloud-based Land Change Modeler Application:

Summer Internship with Clark Labs, Worcester, MA

Lei Rong

This report provides a detailed illustration of my internship experience with Clark Labs in Worcester, MA, during the summer of 2015. The internship is about two Land Change Modeler projects which conducted by Esri. The first one is a cloud-based Land Change Model on ArcGIS online for professional change analysts. Another one is a free cloud-based App for land change analysts and the public to explore land change of 48 states in United State. This work mainly relied on TerrSet skills and Land Change Modeler …

Masters Of Science In Environmental Science And Policy Portfolio, Annalise B. Kukor

Sustainability and Social Justice

Through my work as a Master’s student in Environmental Science and Policy at Clark University I have acquired a wide variety of knowledge and skills which will be showcased in this document. The breadth of courses and sub disciplines that I have taken has expanded my awareness and understanding of the current state of Environmental Science and Policy. My undergraduate degree from Clark University in Environmental Science focusing on Earth Systems Science focused primarily on comprehension of the Earth’s physical processes with applications for Global Climate Change. This master’s work has expanded upon those quantitative skills as well as deepened …

Urban Synagogues-Changing Relationship With Tikkun Olam, Rena Schuman Stoler

Sustainability and Social Justice

Synagogues in their urban context are searching for ways to responsibly act on the value of tikkun olam. Tikkun olam has adapted in the American context but in its essence is Jewish value of repairing the world. Five rabbis and one organizer were interviewed to shed light on the intricate dynamic between Jewish synagogues and social justice work in their city. The five synagogues were challenged by the Jewish call to social justice, and challenges that influenced their vision for a better world. Therefore, rabbis need to strike a balance between appeasing internal issues and being a present force in …

Growing The Green Energy Economy: Workforce Development And Cluster Growth In The Pioneer Valley Of Massachusetts, Nicholas B. Altonaga

Sustainability and Social Justice

Workforce development programs have a positive effect on the formation of a cluster. Incorporating these programs into cluster theory is essential to creating more robust and dynamic local growth in the emerging green energy sector. Studying programs in the green energy sector in the Pioneer Valley has shown an increase in collaboration, local and regional connectivity, and industry communication. These aspects reinforce the comparative advantage of organizations within the cluster, while downplaying their challenges . Applying this focus on workforce development is important for cementing the green energy cluster into an enduring force in the domestic economy in the 21 …

Understanding Women's Needs For Weather And Climate Information In Agrarian Settings: The Case Of Ngetou Maleck, Senegal, Edward Carr, Grant Fleming, Tshibangu Kalala

Sustainability and Social Justice

While climate services have the potential to reduce precipitation- and temperature-related risks to agrarian livelihoods, such outcomes are possible only when they deliver information that is salient, legitimate, and credible to end users. This is particularly true of climate services intended to address the needs of women in agrarian contexts. The design of such gender-sensitive services is hampered by oversimplified framings of women as a group in both the adaptation and climate services literatures. This paper demonstrates that even at the village level, women have different climate and weather information needs, and differing abilities to act on that information. Therefore, …

Remote Sensing Of Land Cover Change On Indonesia’S Bird’S Head Peninsula After The Creation Of Marine Protected Areas, Daniel Auerbach

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report is an account of my time spent on a summer internship at the World Wildlife Fund’s Washington, DC office. I interned there for 9 weeks from June to August 2015. I worked for the science team under Dr. Louise Glew. The official title of the internship was “Land-Use Change Remote Sensing Intern.” My task was to remotely sense land cover change on a remote peninsula of Indonesia, and to see if any significant changes occurred following the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the traditional fishing grounds surrounding the peninsula. The internship was an opportunity for me …

Innovations In City-Level Climate Policy: Building Energy Efficiency And Retrofitting Programs In C40 Cities, Benjamin Tweed

Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract

Innovations in City Level Climate Policy: Building Energy Efficiency and Retrofitting Programs in C40 cities

Benjamin Tweed

Worldwide buildings account for approximately a third of global energy use and a quarter of GHG emissions. In large cities these proportions can double or even triple. Combined with a slow rate of building turnover, this creates a need for policy instruments designed to address the energy efficiency of existing buildings. With a lack of national attention, cities are stepping forward to offer a solution. This paper examines policy approaches taken by six cities, all members of the C40 Climate Leadership Group. …

The Ethics Of Care And Refugee Education: Promoting Caring Envrionments In U.S. Urban Schools To Address The Needs Of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors, Tina Meetran

Sustainability and Social Justice

The United States has resettled more than 2 million refugees since 1975 and approximately one third of them are children. Some of the children who arrive in the U.S. are unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), meaning they arrive without a parent nor guardian. The absence of a parent figure heightens the adversities of escape and acculturation for URMs. However, due to the lack of available information on URM experiences, their physical, emotional and psychosocial needs in the U.S. are continually unmet. This paper considers the role that schools and teachers have as agents of care to foster positive growth and acculturation …

Breaking The Legacy: Recognizing And Prosecuting Sexual Violence As A Violation Of Human Rights In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Miranda L. Weinstein

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper aims to outline the existing policies aimed at providing protection for sexual abuse survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In an attempt to provide justice for the survivors of sexual abuse, an analysis of the 1992-1995 Bosnia and Herzegovina post-conflict reconstruction is included. In particular, prosecution of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war will be provided in order to weigh the benefits and weaknesses of international criminal law. The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo witnesses widespread and systematic sexual violence abuses. With over 60 armed groups at any given day, …

Nuclear Power Plant Policy Comparison Between The U.S. And Republic Of Korea, Vara Ha

Sustainability and Social Justice

Five years after the Fukushima accident, people and countries still argue about the opportunity costs of denuclearization. While nuclear power generation has safety and waste issues, it is carbon free. Climate change has created more pressure for greenhouse gas reduction, so a few countries have decided to maintain or even increase nuclear power generation. The United States ranks first for using nuclear power produced by electricity generation, while the Republic of Korea, the closest country in proximity to Japan, ranks fourth in countries that use nuclear power. In fact, Korea even rapidly increased nuclear business after the Fukushima accident. Despite …

Young Liberian Women In The Diaspora: The Dilemma Of Returning ‘Back Home’, Jedidia Yaa-Sakumah Adusei

Sustainability and Social Justice

Women in Liberia have played an important role in ending the civil war in Liberia. This paper addresses the question of return for young Liberian women living in the diaspora particularly in Rhode Island, and the motivation and dilemma they may face in the process of deciding to go ‘back home’. The division of Liberian citizens; Americo-Liberians and the indigenous Liberians created a series of civil wars, which later created a large number of Liberians to be resettled in the U.S. Rhode Island, is among one of the three states to have the largest population of Liberians in the U.S. …

An Analysis Of The Intercultural Bilingual Education (Ibe) Of The Indigenous Communities In The Peruvian Amazon, Rubi Rojas Vasquez

Sustainability and Social Justice

Peru is a multicultural and multilingual country. Through the Peruvian history, there has been a marginalization of indigenous peoples. For instance, this marginalization has been represented in their educational policies. For that reason, the program of Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) should be a bridge of integration of all the different cultures in Peru. In order to analyze the reality of the program, there is an explanation of the theoretical concepts of intercultural and bilingual, as well as, the definition of indigenous and the international law that protects them and how the government considers them in their policies. I believe that …

Creating Value In The Voluntary Carbon Market: Opportunities For Small-Scale Coffee Producers In Latin America To Access Carbon Capital., Ruby Woodside

Sustainability and Social Justice

Agroforestry producers have not participated on a large-scale in carbon markets. This paper assesses the potential for small-scale coffee producers to access the voluntary carbon market. A review of the current market including standards, trends, and how value is created is followed by an overview of Latin American coffee production. Drawing on tools from the conceptual framework of global production networks I explore how coffee producers can benefit from the development of carbon credits. Current carbon credit projects under development with coffee producers are considered, and one case study presented. The tools and conditions necessary for full access to carbon …

Redefining The Impact Of Public-Access Media In Worcester, Ma, Anthony Ortiz

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research presents findings from a study of how Worcester’s current public-access media center can serve as an anchor institution for two-way communication between the producers and the audience. More generally, it addresses two questions: 1) How to ensure maximum participation and 2) How can active communication be preserved (or maintained) between the producers and the audience. Drawing on case studies done around the U.S. this paper offers a model of community based media that can be essential for empowering people to serve as active receivers of information. The concept for community based media should allow as a grassroots oriented …

Disrupting Eurocentric Education Through A Social Justice Curriculm, Joanna Cidalia Miranda Dacunha

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper will illustrate the project conducted to disrupt Eurocentric education through a social justice curriculum. Eurocentric education has silenced and misconstrued the history and truth of marginalized communities. There is a need for curriculums that challenge the dominant narrative and help students of color acknowledge the triumphs and challenges their people face. This curriculum was created to assist students of color towards the process of developing critical consciousness and self-awareness. Through Critical Race Theory and other frameworks we were able to conduct a series of workshops. Through these workshops youth began a process of self-awareness and critical consciousness through …

Adopting New Banana Varieties In Uganda: The Role Of Gender And Head Of Household Status, Emily Albertson

Sustainability and Social Justice

Recognizing the gender gap that exists in the adoption rates of improved agricultural technology is crucial in increasing agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. A gender-disaggregated framework is used to examine key variables that guide the adoption decision of improved agricultural technologies by gender and household headship. Drawing on household data collected in two districts in Uganda and constructing a probability model, key variables will be analyzed as to their significance in the adoption decision for improved banana cultivars. The analysis shows that gender alone is insufficient in fully understanding adoption decisions, as other significant factors exist. Using the literature and …

When Reality Crashes The Imagination: Experiences Of Young Qurbojoog (Foreign Raised) Somalis In Somaliland, Amina Musa

Sustainability and Social Justice

As the Somalis territories are re-building there is heightened migration of people returning. They are heavily involved –formally or informally in development in the region. In the case of Somaliland, it is a semi-autonomous state championed by the diaspora. This assignment centers the experiences of young diaspora Somalis raised abroad in Somaliland. This demographic has grown up in the shadows of the civil war is the first generation to not grow up in the Somali territories. To capture their experiences, I carried out ethnographic fieldwork in Hargeisa, Somaliland over the summer of 2015. For this study I argue that young …

Barriers To Energy Efficiency In Hospitals: Building A Better Business Case For Sub-Metering, Chris Davies

Sustainability and Social Justice

The natural world finds itself placed in an ever more precarious position as climate change is continually exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels. Achieving greater energy efficiency in resource intensive industries has emerged as part of the immediate solution to this problem, a solution which can be financially, environmentally, and socially beneficial. Healthcare is one such industry where energy efficiency has high relevance. With hospitals operating 24/7 and energy intensive equipment running all day long, the healthcare industry offers high potential for successful building energy efficient retrofits. Yet it also faces many unique barriers. This paper identifies some of …

Including Men And Boys In Programming Of Violence Against Women And Girls: A Case Study Of The Safe Schools Program In Ghana And Stepping Stones Program In Uganda, Nana A. Ampofo

Sustainability and Social Justice

Violence against women and girls and its potential solutions increasingly garner international attention in the media and find themselves at the center of development agency portfolios. Program interventions aimed at eradicating violence against women and girls must create solutions that examine the socio-cultural values and normative expectations that boys and girls, men, and women place on one another. Many scholars argue that changing social norms or beliefs is an inter-generational process, as they are entrenched in and reproduced through social institutions such as the family, schools and religion (Enloe, 2013). Over the past decade, scholars and practitioners have noted violence …

Social Entrepreneurship As A Response To The Energy Crisis, Climate Change And Women’S Inequality In Developing Countries: Women Managed Solar Cooker Production Business In Rural Haiti, Lelani S. Williams

Sustainability and Social Justice

In developing countries such as Haiti, households heavily rely on charcoal and wood to satisfy their energy needs. The unsustainable use of these fuels accompanies adverse health and women's inequality impacts. As well as have severely altered Haiti’s environmental landscape. Solar cooking is one clean energy alternative to these issues. Despite its multiple benefits; solar cookers have had little traction in developing countries. Most research is focused only on technical improvements of solar cookers. This paper looks at how the utilization of solar cookers can positively impact the problems facing Haiti due to traditional cooking methods (1) environmental, (2) energy …

Infrastructure And Exclusion: Roadbuilding, Extractive Industries And Environmental Degradation In The Case Of Iirsa Sur Through Southern Peru, Kimberly S. Farias

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper considers the case of the Southern Interoceanic Highway, a major transportation corridor linking the Atlantic and pacific coasts through Southern Peru under the auspices of the Initiative for Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA). The highway has raised significant social and environmental issues, including concern around the lack of mitigation planning on the part of the Peruvian government as well as the exclusion of civil society from participating in a review of the project. Based on GIS mapping of this highway and secondary research this paper finds that unprecedented migration into the region has contributed to an increase …

Climate Change Instability And Gender Vulnerability In Nepal: A Case Study On The Himalayan Region, Akriti Sharma

Sustainability and Social Justice

For the past decade, low-income developing countries have and will continue to remain on the frontline for the consequences of human induced climate change. While climate change is expected to have universal negative impacts on the health, well-being and the livelihoods of people, it is expected to specifically affect women from low-income developing countries where poverty and gender inequality are both still very prevalent. A closer look at previous research reveals that women, specifically in the Himalayan region of Nepal are more vulnerable due to the already challenging terrain in which they live in. This paper analyzes the vulnerability of …

The Intersectionality Of Poverty, Disability, And Gender As A Framework To Understand Violence Against Women With Disabilities: A Case Study Of South Africa, Megan Humphrey

Sustainability and Social Justice

Impoverished women who have disabilities make up some of the most isolated and overlooked people in the world. Often, they are excluded from women’s movements due to their disability, disability movements due to their gender, and One-Third World contexts due to their poverty. Gender, socioeconomic status, and disability create multiple layers of discrimination. These intersectional forces impact the ways in which impoverished women with disabilities experience violence, making them two to four times as prone to violence as their able-bodied counterparts. In low resource settings, women with disabilities encounter many forms of violence, including caretaker abuse, forced sterilization, and sexual …

Natural Disasters Aren't The Problem: Poverty And Environmental Degradation In Rural Coastal Tanzania, Sarah R. Martin

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper examines how two theoretical frameworks, systems and resilience thinking, provide differing understandings of natural disasters, poverty and environmental degradation in rural coastal Tanzania. Both frameworks aim to expand the scope of reductionist thinking, in order to better understand the complex interrelationships between various actors, which may have not otherwise been considered. Although both theories have their individual strengths and weaknesses, neither have been able to catalyze effective solutions to these problems. As a result, I propose a hybrid version of systems and resilience thinking, as a means to best examine poverty and environmental degradation in rural coastal Tanzania. …

Environmental Conservation As An Instrument Of National Political Economy: Culture, Livelihoods, And Territorial Rights Of The Emberá Of Panama, Sara M. Taylor

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper argues that areas of environmental conservation in the Panama Canal Watershed Zone were originally designed to fit an economic utility rather than to protect habitat. As a result there was an exclusion of forest-based communities in policy design and implementation, creating lasting impacts on indigenous Emberá territorial rights, livelihood opportunities, and traditional cultural practices. Based on recent fieldwork and a review of relevant secondary literature, this paper discusses how Emberá communities in in Chagres National Park have adapted their culture and livelihoods to accommodate environmental regulation and explores what prospects the Emberá see for future generations if they …

Mobile Health And Its Role In Addressing Maternal Health In Sub-Saharan Africa, Tarikwa M. Leveille

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT Background: In the last 10-15 years, mobile health (mHealth) interventions have generated considerable interest as tools for sustainable development in the global health sector as well as to improve access to care for remotely isolated populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores existing literature on mHealth for clinical data collection for maternal health, discusses some of its benefits and challenges, and addresses mHealth’s limitations, such as 1) inadequate monitoring and evaluation framework; (2) inability for project scalability; and (3) lack of partnerships that are unsustainable and inclusive of all stakeholders. Although the healthcare sector acknowledges the potential benefits of …

Assessment Of The Environmental Sector And Climate Change In Malawi: Relationships Between Environmental Policy, Scientific Literature, And Development Projects, Esther A. Baumann

Sustainability and Social Justice

As funding increases for climate change related issues in Sub-Saharan Africa there should also be an increase in research to understand how scientific literature in the environmental sector can assist in developing policy and implementing development projects. Using secondary research, this paper centers on Malawi to develop an understanding of what is occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole in regards to climate change and environmental policy, science and development projects. It sought to determine if scientific thematic areas of research and recommended courses of action were being incorporated into actual government policies and on the ground development projects. This …

Comparative Organizational Assessments And Partenship Potential For Sekou Pou Nanm-Yo And Asirans Community Counseling Center, Lauren M. Mawe

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper assesses the organizational capacity of two small Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Each NGO has a staff of under 15 members. At the time of the assessment, they were both in early stages of their development, with one in its first year of operations, and the other in its fifth year. Both embody grassroots, community organizations because of their connections to the communities in which they work, their willingness to travel to those communities, and their predominantly Haitian staff. The fieldwork included interviews, focus groups, and three months of participant observation and work with these organizations. In …