Digital Commons Network^™

Trade Rout: As Trade Tensions Built Between U.S. And Canada, This American Border Town Felt The Freeze, Matt Cutler, Isaac Carey

Capstones

A close business relationship with Canada has allowed Plattsburgh to thrive as a manufacturing town. Over 100 Quebec-based companies operate there, and 15 percent of the workforce in the county gets its paycheck from a Canadian company. Even more impressive, this comes at a time when manufacturing jobs are declining nationwide. While factories are shutting down across the rust belt, in Plattsburgh they are opening up.

There is just one problem.

All of this was made possible by the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. And just this April, the Trump administration abruptly threatened to pull out of the …

The Art Of Fortune-Taking, Allison Weintraub

Capstones

People suffering grief or emotional distress turn to many places for comfort, which can make them a target of psychic scam artists. Stigma about falling for scams might prevent victims from seeking help. https://medium.com/@allison.weintraub/the-art-of-fortune-taking-5cdedb6718d0

Sleep Paralysis: Dreams, Demons And Rem-Atonia, Joshua G. Christensen

Capstones

Have you ever woken up from a dream only to find you can’t move? You’re paralyzed and, sometimes, you are even having vivid hallucinations. It’s terrifying, but harmless and very common. Regardless of it being so innocuous, Sleep Paralysis has inspired fear for centuries and many still believe it to be a supernatural phenomenon. This is, most likely, because most people who get Sleep Paralysis, don’t really know what it is. People just like me.

https://medium.com/@joshua.christensen/sleep-paralysis-dreams-demons-and-rem-atonia-27f46c2748cf

Nimby: Not In My Backyard, Ariama Long

Capstones

Ariama Long talks to residents in Flatbush, Brooklyn who are clashing with developers over a hotel that houses homeless people. A hotel development has seemingly split the neighborhood. It’s community versus developer and neighbor versus neighbor.

El Angelito De Los Migrantes Veracruzanos Toma La Forma De Una PaqueteríA Neoyorquina, Julia L. Sclafani

Capstones

Josefina Jiménez says that she’s in the business of “transporting feelings of love”. By that, she means she in the shipping and transport business. Jiménez is a one-woman show; she started her paqueteria business 18 years ago as a way to finance her visits home to Mexico.

Paqueterias, small international shipping businesses, literally bring New York City its vibrant flavor. In any given neighborhood, if you are an immigrant, there is someone who will carry a backpack of school supplies to your kids in Ecuador, carry your old bedroom set to your parents in Colombia, or carefully deliver a little …

The Things They Do Here: Work And Greek Orthodox Death In New York City, Paul Melas

Theses and Dissertations

Based on six months of ethnographic research at a Greek catering hall in Brooklyn, this paper explores how death mediates and negotiates the relationship between the catering hall (and those who are employed by it), and the Greek patrons who come to mourn and celebrate their dead.

The Potency Of Policy?: A Comparative Study Of Filipino Elder Care Workers In The United States And Israel, Abigail F. Kolker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the population of the United States and Israel rapidly ages, the elder care industry is expanding at an unprecedented rate. In-home care work is increasingly performed by migrants, many of whom are from the Philippines. This study, based on two years of ethnographic research and 163 in-depth interviews, examines how the United States’ and Israel’s differing immigration and labor policies impact the lives of Filipino caregivers. Despite vastly different policy approaches to migrant elder care workers—highly unregulated in the U.S. and highly regulated in Israel—this study found many striking similarities between Filipino caregivers’ migration and work experiences in the …

A Sustainable “No Excuses” Charter School Model, Kelly Lerash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As a participant observer working in a charter school and researching charter schools, I critically examine a particular charter school in New York City. I begin with my educational journey and the challenge of being a participant observer. I transition to focus on a general overview of “No Excuses” charter schools in NYC, looking closely at Uncommon Charter Schools, Achievement First Charter Schools, KIPP NYC, Success Academy Charter Schools and Democracy Prep Charter Schools. Next, I share my experiences working for five years in a “No Excuses” Charter School, using a specific lens to examine what makes that school different …