Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Resource Extraction And Infrastructure Threaten Forest Cover And Community Rights, Anthony Bebbington, Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Laura Sauls, John Rogan, Sumali Agrawal, César Gamboa, Aviva Imhof, Kimberly Johnson, Herman Rosa, Antoinette Royo, Tessa Toumbourou, Ricardo Verdum

Sustainability and Social Justice

Mineral and hydrocarbon extraction and infrastructure are increasingly significant drivers of forest loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and threats to the rights of forest communities in forested areas of Amazonia, Indonesia, and Mesoamerica. Projected investments in these sectors suggest that future threats to forests and rights are substantial, particularly because resource extraction and infrastructure reinforce each other and enable population movements and agricultural expansion further into the forest. In each region, governments have made framework policy commitments to national and cross-border infrastructure integration, increased energy production, and growth strategies based on further exploitation of natural resources. This reflects political settlements among …

Project Renew Worcester, Danni Yue, Amy Zhang, Jing Han, Omid Ashrafi, Yiming Xu

School of Professional Studies

n The client for this capstone project is RENEW Worcester which is a fledgling solar power project whose main goals are to bring renewable energy in the form of solar power into local, primarily low-income communities and are committed to the mission of making the transition off of fossil fuels to clean, renewable power. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, they are a local chapter of Co-op Power which is a consumer-owned sustainable energy cooperative (co-op) made up of numerous different local chapters all over the New England area as well as the state of New York. The problem that we will …

Wellness And Prevention Program Sustainability Design For Clark University Athletics Department, Emily Corbett

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The purpose of this work is to design a wellness based prevention program that is tailored to fit the campus community within Clark University, Worcester, MA, called the Peer Athletes Advocating for Wellness (PAAW) initiative. This paper first presents the current research on wellness related issues within a college campus, specifically surrounding sexual violence. It then outlines the current sexual violence prevention programming that takes place yearly for incoming first year students at Clark University, as well as a one-time initiative during which student athletes participated in the sexual violence prevention programming. There is a review of the current most …

Assessment Of Drinking Water/Aquifer Vulnerability To Contamination By Natural Manganese And Anthropogenic Chemicals In The U.S., Ryan Kelly

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Aquifers in the U.S. store groundwater used by many Americans every day for drinking eating, bathing and cleaning. These underground sources of water are vital to life and may be subject to contamination from both natural and anthropogenic pollution, including manganese (Mn) – especially shallow aquifers (<100 feet to bedrock). Natural sources of Mn are found in soils, surficial deposits, and bedrock, while anthropogenic contamination derives from landfills, waste facilities, or industries that use toxic materials. Pollutants like Mn raise concern because there is no policy in place to enforce regulation of Mn levels in water supplies based on limited information about health effects. Yet studies have shown elevated levels of Mn intake can lead to adverse human health effects. This study uses ArcMap to identify potential sources of Mn and/or toxics contamination in shallow U.S. aquifers based on geologic characteristics of a given aquifer source and proximity to waste sites. The results show approximately 2 million Americans may be at risk of consuming water with natural Mn contamination, and of those 2 million, close to 1.7 million are also vulnerable to additional toxics from anthropogenic waste. …

The Social Value Of Seiu Women, Alex Rothfelder

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper analyzes women in health care unions by specifically examining the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as a case study. Moreover, this paper asks: what motivates these health care workers; is it primarily patient care, or are there other significant issues? How do workers think about their product of care, and how does this affect unionism? And how is gender connected to these issues? After interviewing six health care workers in SEIU, this paper found that the motivation of health care workers is partially motivated by patient issues, but that this occurs in a negative sense. Union organizational limitations …

Learner Persistence In English For Speakers Of Other Languages (Esol) Programs, Elyse Waksman

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Persistence – or continued, intense study – is a common challenge for adults in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs because of various institutional, situational, and dispositional factors. The current state and federal funding standards for adult ESOL programs are driven by human capital theory, and therefore most funders require demonstrated employment outcomes for students. These top-down objectives do not always align with English learners’ own motivations and goals. ESOL organizations must consider the complexities of these interacting forces to develop effective persistence strategies for their constituents. This case study of an ESOL organization in central Massachusetts is …

Analysing Transition Pathways In Developing Cities: The Case Of Nairobi's Splintered Sanitation Regime, Mara J. Van Welie, Pauline C. Cherunya, Bernhard Truffer, James T. Murphy

Geography

Today's rapid global urbanization highlights the need for long-term transformations of basic service sectors in developing cities in order to improve the livelihoods of the urban poor. Sustainability transitions frameworks have proven fruitful for addressing these sort of challenges. However, they have been at pains so far in accounting for the heterogeneity and complexities that typically characterize informal settlements in the Global South. We therefore propose a conceptual framework that extends the conventional analysis of socio-technical regimes by distinguishing the two levels of sectoral regime and service regime. Challenges for sustainability transitions may then be identified by missing alignments within …

Education For Social Transformation (Est) In The Caribbean: A Postcolonial Perspective, Nigel O.M. Brissett

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper critically examines the possibilities of education for social transformation (EST) in the context of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). This is a region with a history of colonialism and embodies some of the central dilemmas of globalization, such as inequality and environmental precarity. Thus, conceptually, EST holds great promise for social justice and environmental sustainability. The paper argues, however, that EST can be relevant to the region only if it takes account of the enduring deep-seated legacy of asymmetries of power, exploitation and inequality in the broader society and within the education system resulting from colonialism and now exacerbated …

Middle-Range Theories Of Land System Change, P. Meyfroidt, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, A. De Bremond, E. C. Ellis, K. H. Erb, T. Filatova, R. D. Garrett, J. M. Grove, A. Heinimann, T. Kuemmerle, C. A. Kull, E. F. Lambin, Y. Landon, Y. Le Polain De Waroux, P. Messerli, D. Müller, J. Nielsen, G. D. Peterson, V. Rodriguez García, M. Schlüter, B. L. Turner, P. H. Verburg

Geography

Changes in land systems generate many sustainability challenges. Identifying more sustainable land-use alternatives requires solid theoretical foundations on the causes of land-use/cover changes. Land system science is a maturing field that has produced a wealth of methodological innovations and empirical observations on land-cover and land-use change, from patterns and processes to causes. We take stock of this knowledge by reviewing and synthesizing the theories that explain the causal mechanisms of land-use change, including systemic linkages between distant land-use changes, with a focus on agriculture and forestry processes. We first review theories explaining changes in land-use extent, such as agricultural expansion, …

Correlation Between Music And Preliteracy Skills In Preschool Age Children, Katherine G. Swierk

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Is there a relationship between music and knowledge? If there is evidence that music is influential for processing complex cognitive information, it is reasonable to consider that if children are exposed to music early, it will help them develop literary skills. In the last decade, researchers have paid more attention to possible relationships between musical-rhythmical skills and reading acquisition. Our study chose to focus on the relationship between music and literacy development in preschool children. We hypothesized that since both music and reading involve the sequential processing of units of information, there must be a positive correlation between musical-rhythmical skills …

Efficaciousness Of Mindfulness Interventions For Trauma Using Psychophysiological Measures: A Review, Sherief Y. Eldeeb

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

In recent decades the efficaciousness of mindfulness has been proven in a wide variety of contexts, but some crucial populations remain understudied. This review critically examines the literature on mindfulness in individuals with trauma using psychophysiological measures. Psychophysiological measures offer critical insight into this intersection of mindfulness and trauma due to the known somatic components in each, as well as serving as an objective response. Mindfulness-based treatments seem to show great promise in treating trauma, however there are significant limitations in the literature. Future studies should standardize the minimum length of treatment, utilize gender-balanced and ethnically diverse samples, and introduce …

A New Mass Incarceration: Community Corrections, Carceral Geography, And Spatial Power, Iolanthe Brooks

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

In the age of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow (2010), promises to depopulate overcrowded American prisons, and a mainstream acknowledgement of mass incarceration, the American criminal justice system is anything but inert. Instead, modalities of punishment are shifting, particularly towards community-located corrections involving GPS surveillance. This paper seeks to examine this evolution of the carceral state through the marriage of two theoretical lenses: carceral geography and Foucauldian spatial power analysis. Carceral geography offers a theory of the embodied nuance of movement. Its work revolves around the three mobilities of the carceral system: movement to/from, within, and between prisons. This …

Smart Earth: A Meta-Review And Implications For Environmental Governance, Karen Bakker, Max Ritts

Geography

Environmental governance has the potential be significantly transformed by Smart Earth technologies, which deploy enhanced environmental monitoring via combinations of information and communication technologies (ICT), conventional monitoring technologies (e.g. remote sensing), and Internet of Things (IoT) applications (e.g. Environmental Sensor Networks (ESNs)). This paper presents a systematic meta-review of Smart Earth scholarship, focusing our analysis on the potential implications and pitfalls of Smart Earth technologies for environmental governance. We present a meta-review of academic research on Smart Earth, covering 3187 across the full range of academic disciplines from 1997 to 2017, ranging from ecological informatics to the digital humanities. We …

Swot Analysis Of Comprehensive Anti-Gang Strategies (Cags), Jenelle Howard

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Worcester has faced many challenges with violence among youth in underserved areas. Over the past couple of years, there has been an increase in violent behaviors on the East-Side of Worcester. This dual degree report will evaluate a program that was developed to help with combating youth violence on the Eastside of Worcester. Comprehensive Anti-Gang Strategies (CAGS) is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the amount of $327,312 for two years. This evaluation of CAGS will include an analysis using the SWOT framework to help analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that CAGS …

Building A Sense Of Community: A Case Study Of The Fairmount Neighborhood In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Bethany Yeo

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This thesis study examines the relative sense of community by isolating key factors that contribute to a sense of community: social trust, identity, and bridging/social cohesion. It also analyzes the relationship, if any, between these three factors and the built environment. Data was collected from 107 archived community impact measurement surveys from NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley. The results show that residents experienced a lack of sense of community despite the built environment although results were not significant.

Foreclosures For Sale: Revisiting Stories Of Worcester's Mortgage Crisis, A Radio Documentary, Hallie Blashfield, Beatrice Misher

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This radio documentary uses the personal stories of homeowners fighting to keep their homes in Worcester Massachusetts to explore the state of Foreclosure in Worcester ten years after the Great Recession. It follows the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team (WAFT) and its members in their fight against illegal foreclosures and their battles in Worcester Housing Court. Grounded in personal narratives, the documentary highlights systemic issues with the banking and legal system.

Queering Sexual Health: The Intersection Of Sexual Health And Lgbtq Identities In Worcester, Ma, Sara Richman Davidow

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research examined what support, services, and programming existed at the intersection of sexual health and LGBTQ identities in Worcester MA. The data analyzed were interviews with professionals in sexual health or LGBTQ related fields as well as the public websites of sexual health or LGBTQ organizations. The researcher examined this data, along with literature on the rise of sexual health and LGBTQ communities, to understand (1) how inclusive sexual health resources in Worcester were and (2) what themes still need to be addressed to make gender and sexuality minorities comfortable seeking sexual health medical aid. The findings indicated that …

Social Justice In Outdoor Experiential Education: A Literature Analysis Of K-12 Outdoor Education Programs In The United States, Digby Kalert

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Historically, the field of outdoor experiential education (OEE) has been exclusionary and has primarily served white middle- and upper-middle class male populations. Scholars have called for research on how to address issues of social justice in the field for decades, and leaders are finally making steps toward becoming more inclusive. Through a secondary analysis of empirical studies on OEE, this paper examines how the field has modified its focus towards minority populations in K-12 OEE programs in the United States and provides recommendations for practitioners of OEE. There is evidence of an increase in studies on how OEE is perceived …

Arts And Social Justice: The Role Of Art Organizations In Building Community, Hannah Romig

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

ABSTRACT

ARTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: THE ROLE OF CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS IN BUILDING COMMUNITY

HANNAH ROMIG

This research paper will examine how art can be used as a tool for community development and social change, using a community arts program in one city’s multi-cultural district as a case study. Research will be conducted using a variety of methods, including quantitative data analysis and qualitative data collection. Interviews with key informants and organizations will be a primary source of qualitative data. Observations and census data will be used to supplement information gathered from interviews. This particular community arts program employs principles of …

An Analysis Of Trade-Offs: The Artisan Fair Trade Sector, Stephanie Leiderman

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper examines the history, frames, critiques and current applications of Fair Trade in the artisan sector, with an eye to raising up the specific trade-offs being made, and their implications for an evolving artisan market in the global north and south. It includes a discussion of the history of the Fair Trade idea, including that sector’s increasing focus on certification, agricultural commodities, and corporate involvement. It investigates the potential lessons the artisan sector can learn from the agricultural one, as well as the lessons learned from current actors in the artisan Fair Trade field. Using a continuum of trade-offs …

Ecological Sustainability Within California's Improved Forest Management Carbon Offsets Program, Cory Hertog

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Forest Carbon offsets are being used as a climate change mitigation strategy in multiple programs around the world. But, are programs setup in a way that are ecologically sustainable? This paper reviews concepts pertinent to ecologically sustainable forest management and then examines if Improved Forest Management Carbon offset policies and projects within the California emissions trading scheme are setup in an ecologically sustainable manner. After a review of the Improved Forest Management Protocol and 31 project documents, it is apparent that policies and projects promote aspects of ecologically sustainable management. However, there is room for improvement when managing for natural …

Life Can Change In The Blink Of An Eye Capstone, Christopher Rutigliano, Jillian Elalaoui, Kristin Humphrey, Phillip Gates, Mohamed Ndjikam, Highness Meena, Adam Menard, Spencer Pickney

School of Professional Studies

Texting and driving is one of the most widespread and uncontrollable of epidemics that have arose to prominence in the 21st century. Texting and driving is now a global issue, that has left nations across the road scrambling to implement new laws and preventative measures to stunt the increasing rates of accidents and fatalities caused by texting and driving. The severity of the issue has lead to a multitude of different entities ranging from domestic and foreign governments, cell phone and car manufacturers, cell phone carriers, and insurance agencies to seek new methods to prevent texting and driving. Determining the …

A Guide For Hiring Mature Employees At Ascentria, Binghe Change, Calleigh Leach, Elsie Lu, Hongquiang You, Mengge Wang, Nina Mariotti

School of Professional Studies

This paper will explore existing literature on aspects of an intergenerational workplace in a nonprofit organization and provide recommendations for recruiting and retaining older employees for a human service organization, Ascentria Care Alliance, in Worcester, MA. The paper will review research on trends in the nonprofit industry, a comprehensive breakdown of generational workplace values, reasons people are returning to work and effective marketing strategies that appeal to older generations. Marketing strategies specifically will explore best practices for website design, social media usage, and job descriptions. Additionally, this paper will research case studies of nonprofits with successful intergenerational workforce initiatives, as …

Leicester Research A Study In Effective Technology In Education, Jimeshkumar Chauhan, Anna Lakomy, Li Liu, Christina Mccarthy, Scott Mccarthy, Roman Pena, Emilie Smiley

School of Professional Studies

The LPS Research Team has been tasked with researching and recommending a technology plan for a new school that Leicester Public Schools is planning to build. In this paper, we present an overview of the our goals and our client’s goals, an introduction to industry trends, and discuss our findings based on research conducted via interviews with schools that have undergone similar projects. We also outline the conclusions drawn from this research and our analysis of the data we uncovered, and make specific recommendations for technology to be utilized in Leicester’s new school. Finally, we present a 3-part framework that …

My Choice Greens, Alina Zulfikarova, Amelia Mohr, Hesi Zhang, Ruiqi Huang, Sean Tatar, Yuhao Zhou, Zijun Zhou

School of Professional Studies

My Choice Programs for Independent Living is a nonprofit in Worcester, Massachusetts that helps individuals with special needs. In 2016, My Choice Programs added a branch to their organization called My Choice Greens. My Choice Greens is committed to growing fresh produce in their hydroponic farm. The profit generated from selling their vegetables is put back into direct programming for My Choice Programs. My Choice Greens is the first hydroponic farm in Worcester, but unfortunately not many people are aware of their program. Also, since they are a small nonprofit, they do not have sufficient funding or resources to market …

Optical Heritage Museum: An Interactive Touch, Connor Guerin, Ankur Halwai, Jinzhao Liu, Qi Liu, Yangjing Wang, Yashaswini Bharti

School of Professional Studies

Optical Heritage Museum (OHM) was established in 1983 with the aim to preserve, promote and display historical artifacts of the optics industry and educate all of its vital role optics has played in societal development. Over the years, the museum has grown in its physical space along with exhibit development to engage audiences in innovative, effective methods. Clark University’s School of Professional Studies department and curator of Optical Heritage Museum, Mr. Whitney’s Whitney, have establish a collaboration that has spanned over two semesters with the goal to support and aid in improving OHM. Our capstone group was assigned the task …

Leicester Public Schools Information And Data Portal: Research And Recommendations, Yue Cen, Natalie Bonetti, Rashida Buchanan, Sathark Jain, Yuwei Wong

School of Professional Studies

The purpose of this project is to develop a strategy for the creation of a multifaceted portal to help with the organization and dissemination of information about the Leicester public school district. The functionality of this portal is to provide comparative financial, demographic, and academic data to other relative school districts in the area, both for the parents’ and for the city’s reference. It will be an examination into the best practices for creating a portal, both technological and aesthetic recommendations, as well as research into the value the publication of this data would provide for the parents of current …

Water In Worcester A Campaign For Public Fluoridation, Ryan Early, Xiao Gu, Yajing Huang, Lauren Meininger, Emma Phillips, Yao Su

School of Professional Studies

Water in Worcester: A Campaign for Public Fluoridation arose as a project from our sponsors, Chris Philbin, Vice President of Government Relations at UMass Memorial Health Care, and Joe O’Brien, former Worcester Mayor, Executive Director of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and Clark University Adjunct Professor. Our goal has been to produce resources that will support the fight for fluoridation in the City of Worcester. Fluoridation has failed to pass in Worcester on four separate occasions, but Mr. Philbin and Mr. O’Brien believe that the time has come to try again.

In order to fluoridate Worcester’s water supply, the municipal …

Epoca House: The Implementation Strategy, Courtney Thomas, Yaffa Fain, Shuxiao Teng, Mingjun Xie

School of Professional Studies

This capstone report provides a written strategic implementation plan for EPOCA House. EPOCA, Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, is a non-profit dedicated to creating better resources and opportunities for prisoners and ex-prisoners in Worcester. The organization’s most recent initiative, EPOCA House, is a transitional facility that will provide reentry services and temporary housing to ex-offenders in and around the Worcester area. Recently, Massachusetts passed a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill that will dramatically reduce the number of people being incarcerated; however, little attention is focused on what will happen to individuals after they leave prison. At the same …

Canine For Disabled Kids Awareness Campaign Research And Implementation Plan, Jiamin Gu, Kendall Harcourt, Chang Liu, Kiamu Liu, Jemmie Tejada

School of Professional Studies

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service animals are: “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities” ( ADA, 2015). On the other hand, emotional support animals are: “dogs that provide comfort and support in forms of affection and companionship for an individual suffering from various mental and emotional conditions.” In addition, an emotional support animal is not required to perform any specific tasks for a disability like service dogs are (Ibid).

The ADA limits the number of questions that can be asked to protect the privacy of utilizers. In fact, …