Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Our National Shame, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

I spend a lot of time with my students working at soup kitchen and homeless shelters, and each winter, when it gets really cold and dark, my thoughts more often turn back to Dick. Dick died on Jan. 31, 1988. He was a veteran who served in Germany in the 1950s and was a graduate of St. John's University in New York, where his father has been an Engligh professor.

Dick had completed most of the work for his MBA during a career which included positions at Procter & Gamble, Federated Department Stores, and National Cash Register. At the time …

A Convergence-Building Model Of Superfund Site Communication: Building On Lessons From The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Anna G. Hoover, Lindell Ormsbee

Anna G. Hoover

Best practices approaches have guided governmental risk communication efforts at Superfund and other chronic risk sites for more than two decades, playing an important role in the ways in which those most affected by contamination make sense of risk. Such approaches can affect the information environment in two separate but related ways: 1) directly, through the explicit sharing of information, and 2) indirectly, through ongoing stakeholder interpretations of the processes by which that information is shared. To date, the indirect, process-related effects have not been addressed in assessments of communicative efficacy at Superfund sites. Thus, it increasingly is necessary to …

Challenging Homelessness, Elizabeth D. Marshall

SURGE

I had been homeless for about 28 hours. I sat on a sidewalk in Georgetown with a friend holding a cardboard sign that read, “Put a Smile on Our Faces” with a Dunkin Donuts cup at our feet. In the two and a half hours we sat there, hundreds of people passed, hundreds of people avoided eye contact, hundreds of people detoured around the lamppost on the street side of the sidewalk. A few people glanced at our sign. [excerpt]

The Primacy Of Context: An Exploration Into The Causes Of Food Insecurity In Kitere, Kenya., William O. Aludo

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore the specific reasons why households in Kitere village, Kenya experience persistent food insecurity every year while the region enjoys the advantage of two planting/harvest seasons in a year. Kitere village lies within the lakeside region of Nyanza Province in Kenya, generally considered to be one of the more agriculturally productive parts of the country. The Participatory Rural Appraisal method was employed to gather qualitative data on the causes of food insecurity in Kitere village. The data sources were focus groups and a self-administered, one-time survey of random and non-random samples of key …

Identifying And Describing The Network Of Health, Education, And Social Service Non‐Profit Organizations In Southern Nevada, Shannon M. Monnat, Anna Smedley, Fatma Nasoz

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

This brief presents the results of a partnering survey designed to measure the partnering power of each health, education, and social service non‐profit in southern Nevada indicated by the connections between these organizations. The survey documents which organizations engaged in the most partnering, increasing the potential that they could better leverage investments and philanthropy through their social network. University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), United Way of Southern Nevada(UWSN), HELP of Southern Nevada, Catholic Charities, Three Square, the Clark County School District, Goodwill of Southern Nevada, and Opportunity Village consistently ranked highly in terms of overall participation and activity, influence, …

Moral Economy And The Upper Peasant: The Dynamics Of Land Privatization In The Mekong Delta, Timothy Gorman

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper examines how people mobilize around notions of distributive justice, or ‘moral economies’, to make claims to resources, using the process of post‐socialist land privatization in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam as a case study. First, I argue that the region's history of settlement, production, and political struggle helped to entrench certain normative beliefs around landownership, most notably in its population of semi‐commercial upper peasants. I then detail the ways in which these upper peasants mobilized around notions of distributive justice to successfully press demands for land restitution in the late 1980s, drawing on Vietnamese newspapers and …

Progression Through Partnerships, Aurelia Spaulding, Editor, Leah Ashwill, Director

ALIVE Center Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impacts Of Education: A Case Study Of Muslim Women In Ngaoundéré, Cameroon, Margo Brookfield

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the product of a study on the ultimate impacts that education can have on the lives of Muslim women in the city of Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. Women in the North of Cameroon have been confined within traditional gender roles that have been in place for generations, due to deep ties with culture and religion in the region. This research explores Muslim women’s opinions on the impacts of the modern education system in place in the city. In addition it looks into the impacts that this education can have on different aspects of a woman’s life, including her relations …

The Trajectory Of Warwick Junction As A Site Of Inclusivity In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Kara Van Schilfgaarde Van Schilfgaarde

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Warwick Junction, a thriving trading hub in the inner city of Durban, has long been considered one of the best examples of collaborative urban management practices between the local government and informal traders. In a post-apartheid South Africa, there was a national desire to transform the old systems of governance, which in Warwick translated to city government institutions making an effort to include informal traders in the policymaking and management processes. This paper tracks the history of Warwick Junction, using its oppressive past to frame common perspectives of informal trade. It considers the legacy of the post-apartheid era South Africa, …

Modernization And Its Effects In Loma Bonita: A Leap From Historical Subsistence Agriculture Into The Precarious Commercial Market, Piper Halpin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This investigation studies the modernization effects on Loma Bonita and how these changes will ultimately shape the community in the future. By performing of series of 50 interviews and surveys, I used anecdotal and observational research to my make conclusions about the effects of electricity installation, road construction, and foreign influences on the town. Although it is recognized that there are an abundance of factors contributing to modernization, the scope of this paper only focuses on the three components mentioned above.

Daily lives of Loma Bonita residents have already been drastically changed by the electricity, road, and foreigners. The community …

Una Primavera Incierta: El Momento De La Política Educativa En Chile, Alexandria Sadler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El estudio trata de la oportunidad presente para el movimiento estudiantil Chileno en un momento de incertidumbre política. En palabras más específicas, la investigación enfoca en el movimiento estudiantil en el contexto de las elecciones de la Federación Estudiantil de la Universidad de Chile y de la elección presidencial de Chile del año 2013 que resultaron en cambios del poder. La investigación examina el desarrollo del movimiento estudiantil en el contexto de las instituciones políticas en inestabilidad y explora la oportunidad para el movimiento estudiantil de no solo luchar por educación gratuita y fin al lucro, sino que la deconstrucción …

Examining The Effectiveness Of The Millennium Villages Project Through The Health And Education Sectors: A Case Study In Ruhiira, Uganda, Meixi Guo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is meant to present the information gathered by the researcher during a 6-wwek practicum with the Millennium Villages Project Ruhiira office. The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of this organization by looking at its Health and Education sectors. By studying the interactions between the two, the paper aims to analyze the pros and cons of their interventions. During the course of this study, the researcher also learns about the local people’s view on the Millennium Villages Project as well as the difficulties Millennium has encountered when implementing the project.

The researcher used multiple methods …

El Legado Colonial En El Turismo Comunitario : El Caso De Valle De Elicura, Fatma Shuaipi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cultural or community-based tourism has grown exponentially in the last decade. This article seeks to, from a post-colonial theory perspective, analyze the process of developing community-based tourism in indigenous communities, identify the conditions that allow for the reproduction of colonial elements in this activity, and explore the elements that guarantee a higher degree of autonomy in the community to generate new decolonization processes. The hypothesis argues that community-based tourism carries both a colonial legacy and elements that allow for a process of decolonization or the creation of a new consciousness in relation to such colonial legacy. The article presents the …

Himalayan Heritage: Local Organization And The Role Of Tradition In The Community Development Of The Thakali People, Erik Svedberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Within the communities of the Thakali people of Mustang, Nepal, decisionmaking power has traditionally been held by the local chieftain, the Mukhiya. However, this traditional authority appears to be threatened by two trends of Nepali development: the institutionalization of the Village Development Committee (VDC) as the official entity of local government, and the proliferation of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) as part of a development push to expand community participation in decisionmaking. Current scholarship has deeply explored the sociocultural dynamics of the Mukhiya as well as how the sociopolitical landscapes of Thakali societies are changing, but a scholarly link between the …

Impacts On The Contemporary Visual Arts Community In Samoa, Sarah Cancelarich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study illuminates the world of contemporary visual art in Samoa. Research was primarily conducted using personal communications with members of the contemporary visual art community. A basic framework of the community was established by overviewing the present informal galleries, formal galleries, and art schools. This project explores the impacts felt on the contemporary visual art community; their subsequent challenges, and successes. These impacts include; a cash economy, conflict between traditional and contemporary styles, a need for higher education, Christianity, Samoan artists overseas, in-country and international support. Possible solutions and hopes for the future are also discussed.

Fearless: Jessie Pierce, Jessie M. Pierce

SURGE

A vocal advocate for socio-environmental justice issues and a believer in the potential for social change in the developing world, Jessie Pierce ’14 fearlessly travels, volunteers, and researches to promote awareness and change. Studying abroad last year for both semesters, spending one semester in Denmark and one in India, gave Jessie the interest, skills, and drive to continue pursuing a deeper understanding of these issues while at Gettysburg. [excerpt]

Ua1b1/7 Invitation To Health Sciences Complex Dedication, Wku Special Events

WKU Archives Records

Invitation to dedication of The Medical Center - WKU Helath Sciences Complex facility.

Friends Of Rainbow Company Program Evaluation, Holly Balmer, Christian Downing, Eric Garner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Friends of the Rainbow Company (Friends) is a nonprofit organization that supports the mission of The Rainbow Company Youth Theatre (Rainbow Company) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Established in 1978, it supports the Rainbow Company through non-traditional financial streams and hands-on support. The Rainbow Company receives primary financial support from the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs. Being the City’s only youth theatre education program of its kind, it has received local governmental funding since 1976. The City support is mainly for salaried employees and facilities.

Friends and the Rainbow Company are very closely linked in several ways. First, …

Understanding Research Fatigue In The Context Of Community-University Relations, Elora Way

Local Knowledge: Worcester Area Community-Based Research

Community research fatigue has been understudied within the context of community-university relationships and knowledge production. Community-based research (CBR), often occurring within a limited geography and population, increases the possibility that community members feel exhausted or over-whelmed by university research —particularly when they do not see tangible results from research activities. Prompted by informal stories of research fatigue from community members, a small graduate student team sought to understand the extent to which community members experienced research fatigue, and what factors contributed to or relieved feelings of research fatigue. In order to explore these dimensions of research fatigue, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews …

Overcoming Barriers To Local Food Access: A Case Study, Brittany Ryan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on the idea that food insecurity and access are real issues in the lives of many Americans. Simply stated, food insecurity is when a person does not have enough food to eat or does now know where his/her next meal is coming from. More importantly when looking at food insecurity is the realization that healthy, local food access is even more prevalent an issue – with increasingly more under-resourced individuals and families being food insecure and unhealthy at the same time. This thesis includes a literature review on diet and nutrition in the United States, a chapter …

Milking The System: Do Poor People Deserve Fresh Food?, Melanie M. Meisenheimer

SURGE

Poor Americans are all lazy, selfish people who must first prove their worth as human beings if they want to be able to feed their children.

It sounds harsh, stereotypical, and judgmental when you put it like that, and few people would feel comfortable saying that exact phrase. However, it’s a perception of poverty in America that I’ve found still has a strong grip on our way of thinking. [excerpt]

International Non-Governmental Organizations In Vietnam: A Case Study With Project Gaia, Alyssa L. Bosold

Celebration

In 1986, the Vietnamese government undertook a series of reforms known as doi moi. These reforms were mainly economic adjustments that encouraged globalization through capitalism, international trade, and foreign investment. They restructured Vietnam’s economy from a centrally-planned system to a market economy with a socialist orientation. This presentation focuses on the political and cultural aspects of globalization after doi moi, and analyzes the development of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Vietnam. Specifically, it seeks to address the following research question: How has the INGO sector changed with increasing globalization in Vietnam after the 1986 doi moi reforms, and what are …

Urban.Boston (Urban Research-Based Action Network): Creating Connections Between Community + Academia, Urban.Boston, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Urban Research-Based Action Network (URBAN) is a national platform that facilitates community-based research, teaching and learning for action across disciplinary lines, connecting scholars and community activists within and across cities. It was started in 2011 to honor the memory of activist scholar Marylin Gitell, and has received generous support from SAGE Publications. URBAN currently has local nodes in Boston, LA, NY, and Northern California. It also has nodes that connect at the national level among sociologists, education researchers and community planners.

The Characteristics Of Women Seeking Funding From The Dc Abortion Fund, Karin Elizabeth Bleeg

GW Research Days 2013

Objectives: To determine whether the population DCAF serves, based on current research, are those most in need of its financial services. Describe the population that DCAF is supports by age, race and ethnicity, poverty, educational attainment, union status, contraceptive method used, referral source, and number of prior pregnancies.

Methods: An adapted version of The Guttmacher Institute's National Patient Survey will be used to collect data from women who contact DCAF for financial assistance for their abortion (n=150). The data will be collected for one month and then analyzed in SPSS.

Results: Between January and March 2013 approximately 400 women contacted …

Chieftaincy-Based Community Dispute Resolution: The Case Of Sierra Leone, Whitney Mcintyre Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Sierra Leone suffered a destructive 11-year civil war that largely left its communities torn apart and in need of vast redevelopment. One of the ways that communities are rebuilding and making efforts to move forward is through the chieftaincy-based community dispute resolution process. Based on historical norms, this process involves the community leader, or chief, helping to resolve disputes within the community. This article reviews this chieftaincy-based community dispute resolution process, discusses the types of disputes settled, and provides broader lessons learned for communities who may be interested in truly community-based dispute resolution.

Participatory Visual & Digital Methods, Aline Gubrium, Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

Table of contents and introduction of Participatory Visual and Digital Methods by Aline Gubrium and Krista Harper. Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book editions from Left Coast Press .

Gagner La Vie: Examining Return Preparedness And Resource Mobilization Among Moroccan Immigrants To France Who Return To Live Permanently In Agadir, Morocco, Karolina Michelle Dos Santos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If Moroccan immigrants are so in tune to their home culture and home happenings, under what conditions do they stay in France facing the problems of unemployment and homelessness? This study focuses on the return migration of Moroccans from the Sousse region; specifically Agadir and the surrounding Tiznit areas, who left Morocco during the decade of 1960 and who have permanently returned to live in Morocco. The study was conducted by using the snowball sampling technique to conduct semi-structured interviews of Moroccan return migrants in AitMelloul, a neighborhood of Agadir. My findings suggest that the return migrants from the Sousse …

Fruitful Communities: Evaluating The History And Impacts Of Treepeople’S Fruit Tree Program, Kayla B. Imhoff

Pitzer Senior Theses

TreePeople is a Los Angeles based non-profit organization that uses environmental education, initiatives, and programs to engage with the greater community to work towards the goal of a sustainable future for Los Angeles. The Fruit Tree Program is one of TreePeople’s longest running programs of 29 years, which distributes free bare-root fruit trees to economically disadvantaged communities as a source of fresh fruit and the other environmental benefits that trees offer. This paper is a comprehensive report detailing the history of the program and the impacts it has had on communities across Los Angeles County. Looking at three communities in …

¿Mi Casa Es Su Casa?: Inmigración, Discriminación E Interculturalidad En Liceo Miguel De Cervantes Y Saavedra, Kathia Dumelle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio se trata de las dinámicas de inmigración, discriminación e interculturalidad en el Liceo Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, establecimiento municipal, ubicado en la Región Metropolitana de Chile en la comuna de Santiago. Se propone conocer si lo que está pasando en la sociedad chilena, específicamente la discriminación contra los inmigrantes vecinos, se reproduce en la escuela, o si la escuela está cambiando las relaciones interpersonales entre los chilenos y los inmigrantes. Se investiga mediante una etnografía del liceo, realizando observaciones de la escuela, y entrevistas formales e informales con estudiantes inmigrantes, estudiantes chilenos, profesores y profesoras. Se observa …

Going Green And Staying Sustainable: Community Based Tree-Planting Projects In Mongolia, Rachel Klassen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Community based tree planting projects are abundant in Mongolia and have become a popular form of social movement towards promoting a healthy environment. With so many different varieties of tree planting projects in Mongolia, it is necessary to evaluate how well the different forms of Community-based tree planting projects function. The first research question created to access said Community projects is, are Community based tree planting projects environmentally sustainable? And the second, are Community-based tree planting projects in Mongolia sustainable from an organizational standpoint? To answer these questions interviews, surveys and case studies were given in the three …