Community-Based Research Commons^™

Different Names For Bullying, Marco Poggio

Capstones

“There's all different forms of bullying,” says Steven Gray, a Lakota rancher and former law enforcement officer living in South Dakota. In this look into Gray’s life, we learn about two instances of bullying: the psychological and physical harassment that pushed his son, Tanner Thomas Gray, to commit suicide at age 12; And the controversial construction of an oil pipeline in an ancient tribal land that belongs to the Lakota people by rights of a treaty signed in 1851, which Gray sees as an institutional abuse infringing on the sovereignty of his people. Gray is involved in the movement that …

Multi Identity Conflict: A Case Study On Sudanese Refugees And Asylum Seekers In Jordan, William C. Clifton Jr.

MA TESOL Collection

This inquiry was a completed as part of the requirements for earning a master of the arts degree in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation for the student William Clifton at SIT Graduate Institute. It was an independent practitioner inquiry based on the methodology of Grounded Theory that utilized qualitative research by way of in depth interviews and a focus group to understand how the identity shaped the experience of Sudanese migrants living in Jordan. In addition to these qualitative methods, a review of the literature was conducted on Sudanese populations in Sudan and in outside communities to help guide the process …

Multi Identity Conflict: A Case Study Of Sudanese Refugees And Asylum Seekers In Jordan, William C. Clifton Jr.

Capstone Collection

This inquiry was a completed as part of the requirements for earning a Master's of Arts degree in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation for the student William Clifton at SIT Graduate Institute. It was an independent practitioner inquiry based on the methodology of Grounded Theory that utilized qualitative research by way of in depth interviews and a focus group to understand how the identity shaped the experience of Sudanese migrants living in Jordan. In addition to these qualitative methods, a review of the literature was conducted on Sudanese populations in Sudan and in outside communities to help guide the process and …

Beyond The Edge Of The Planted Field: Exploring Community-Based Environmental Education, And Invisible Losses In Settler And Indigenous Cultural Contexts, Samantha Da Rosa Holmes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Walpole Island Land Trust and the Sydenham Field Naturalists came together for a focus group at the Walpole Island Heritage Centre and spoke of the relevance environmental education plays in the awareness of a shared history between communities from separate cultural contexts. From the focus group this research is able to contextualize the conversation between a non-Indigenous and an Indigenous community-based environmental organization, and their focus on the relationship between people, place, and history. The context of the conversation being the colonial legacies of land use management and educational practices and how these institutions prolong the effect of invisible …

The Role Of Liberian Community Organizations In The Integration Of Liberian Immigrants: A Case Study Of Immigrants In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Solomon M. Muin

Capstone Collection

Immigrants that settled in a dominant new culture face challenges during the process of acculturation. Though minority culture is always at the disadvantaged end of acculturation in most cases, most research done on acculturation in the West mostly focused on the impact of immigrants on their societies, or on ways of strengthening integration in the host countries. As this continues, the dominant culture role and importance of the majority culture is what influence most narratives and not much is seeing from the minority culture. Most research on acculturation in the United States, for example, placed more emphasis on the Hispanic …

Fortaleza's Immigrant Song: Portrait-Narratives And An Identity Needs Analysis Of Recent Immigrants' Lived Experiences, Carl Weitz-Santiago

Capstone Collection

This inquiry sheds light on the personal stories and lived experiences of a group of recent immigrants currently living in Fortaleza, the sprawling capital of the Northeastern state of Ceará, Brazil. Utilizing a theoretical framework guided by “Epistemologies of the South,” ethnographic principles, and constructivist grounded theory, this capstones presents five first person portrait-narratives highlighting intimate details of project participants’ lives prior to immigrating, and uncovers four persistent and recurrent themes expressed by project participants: (1) language and communication, (2) professional opportunity, (3) personal growth, and (4) “saudade” and belongingness.

Through the lens of Johan Galtung’s Basic Needs Approach, …

The Captivity Of Opportunity: The Conversation Surrounding Church-Going Hispanic Immigrants, Nicolet Hopper Bell

Master's Theses

Immigration is a long-standing topic of discussion in the United States. Hispanic immigrants, or families of Hispanic immigrants, living in America face unique challenges. Through focus group interviews, participants from a predominantly Hispanic Protestant church narrated their experience of living in the United States. Guided grounded theory data analysis revealed three categories and 14 subcategories, or themes of conversation, surrounding this hot topic. Participants shed light on the distinctive challenges they faced, how these challenges affected them, and how they attempted to overcome these difficulties. By exploring these results through the lens of social stigma theory (Goffman, 2009) and intergroup …

Eveleth, Minnesota: A Portrait Of My Home Town, Judith I. Luna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This 30-minute documentary film provides snapshots of the small northeastern iron mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Iron Range. It uses a two-pronged approach: 1) a first-person return to the town by the filmmaker almost 50 years after graduating from high school to see how the town may have changed, 2) a look at some historical and cultural factors which made the town what it was when the filmmaker was growing up and what continues to animate the town in the face of iron mining’s decline and rebirth. The latter include the immigrant experience and influence as the …

Songs From The Willow Tree: Staging Collective Inspiration For Creative Songwriting, Aubrey W. Carpenter

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The songwriting process, inspiration to song, can take many forms. This project explores a highly structured approach, using themes derived from reported individual experience to direct the creation of musical ends addressing common experience.

Social Ecological Food Systems: Sustainability Lessons From Maine Dairy Networks, Julia B. Mcguire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Milk production has played an integral role in the culture, landscape, and economy of Maine’s agriculture. Maine dairy farmers have faced numerous sustainability challenges to economic, environmental, and social aspects of their industry. Like many other complex social ecological systems, the Maine dairy industry faces a gap between scientific knowledge and actionable management or policy. A cultural dichotomy exists between conventional and organic farming. Shifting the focus from this binary, metrics such as social capital may play a key role in solving sustainability issues. Difficulties arise in the governance of complex social ecological systems when the scales of assessment, management, …

Coastal Louisiana: Adaptive Capacity In The Face Of Climate Change, Tara Lambeth

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Extreme weather events can result in natural disasters, and climate change can cause these weather events to occur more often and with more intensity. Because of social and physical vulnerabilities, climate change and extreme weather often affect coastal communities. As climate change continues to be a factor for many coastal communities, and environmental hazards and vulnerability continue to increase, the need for adaptation may become a reality for many communities. However, very few studies have been done on the effect climate change and mitigation measures implemented in response to climate change have on a community’s adaptive capacity.

This single instrumental …

Attitudes And Barriers To Women’S Participation In A Proposed Community-Based Conservation Program In Western Belize, Amanda Shay Kaeser

Doctoral Dissertations

World conservation issues have been addressed in many ways around the world. The use of community-based conservation (CBC) as a method to reduce harmful practices has gained in popularity in the past few decades. This dissertation reports results from a pre-analysis of a proposed CBC program in western Belize. Through qualitative interviews with 47 stakeholders, and a quantitative survey with 486 Belizean women, we determined that a CBC program designed especially for women should be successful. Some of the aspects of a program that women expressed a desire for was more conservation and forest education. However, contrary to our assumption …

The Effect Of Face-To-Face Versus Computer-Mediated Communication On Interpersonal Outcomes In Getting-Acquainted Situations, Nicole Rae Brandon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People use technology more today than ever before to self-disclose and form new relationships with others. Successful relationship development is often marked by the presence of positive interpersonal outcomes (i.e., closeness and liking). However, there is contention regarding whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) is as effective at developing positive interpersonal outcomes compared to face-to-face (FtF) communication. CMC is often considered subpar due to the lack of nonverbal cues that can be expressed. Two studies were designed to 1) compare the effect of FtF and CMC platform self-disclosures on closeness and liking in zero-acquaintance situations and 2) explore mediators that might explain …

Young Adults And The Consequences Of Precarious Work, Aaron Robert Lemelin

Masters Theses

Despite the appearance of affluence attained by the community’s economic growth, the prevalence of service sector jobs have altered the employment structure of South County. Within this thesis, it is my purpose to answer two questions. First, how are young adults limited in their economic security due to precarious work? Second, how has precarious work disempowered young adults and altered their ability to respond to their immiseration? In order to answer these questions I conduct qualitative interviews with young adults within a region of Hillsborough County, Florida. These interviews help me elaborate on young adults and their experiences with precarious …

Black Gentrification Twice Removed: A Study Of Migration And Community Involvement In Washington, Dc, Janwin A. Zeegar-Holman

Capstone Collection

This paper is about Black people and community involvement against the backdrop of gentrification in Washington, DC, and possibility of Black-led neighborhood revitalization. My practicum in Southeast Washington DC compelled me to examine the ability of a Black person in Washington DC to sustain commitment to a community that they do not live in, and if Black people moving to gentrifying areas of Washington DC can help the predominantly Black non-gentrifying areas to gentrify on their own terms.

This paper focuses specifically on Black individuals who have spent time in DC and proposed ways that Black non-gentrifying communities can revitalize …

A Temporary Hometown: Gendered Labor And Social Citizenship In Bremerton, Washington, A Domestic Military Colony, Anna K. Fern

MAIS Projects and Theses

This mixed-methods study addresses social construction of home and belonging for residents of a vice labor and military veteran class in Bremerton, Washington, a US military manufacturing and base city. This thesis seeks to explain how some workers and residents in the city of Bremerton, Washington have been historically marginalized, even as their roles, framed as patriotic contributions, have been integral to the socioeconomic efforts and successes of the dominant militarized culture. I explore how study participants make meaning of their experiences – some in gendered and sexualized vice labor in service to military and federal personnel, and some who …

Restoring Ubuntu: Ecosystemic, Biopsychosocial, Afrocentric Networks For The Trauma-Healing Of Sexual Violence Survivors In Eastern Congo, Summer D. Downs

Honors Projects

The purpose of this paper is to propose that trauma healing in the Congo should be directed by the agency of Africans, characterized by an ubuntu-based systems epistemology, and facilitated throughcreative, multi-modal networks.

Media Representation Of Asian Americans And Asian Native New Yorkers’ Hybrid Persona, Min Huh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Asian Americans, having been degraded in the realm of popular media and neglected in the consumer market, have been unable to obtain a voice or leave a trace in American pop culture. The meager representation that Asian Americans rarely have is highly controlled through a distorted lens, inclined to paint them in a grotesquely exaggerated light for comic relief. The absence of Asian Americans in the media has compelled the Asian American youth to adapt the personas of different cultures in their desires for social and cultural mobility. These factors have given birth to a hybrid persona among Asian Native …

Baby Cribs In Prison Cells: Assessing Opinions About Prison Nursery Programs By Humanizing Incarcerated Mothers, Erin Ostheimer

Honors Theses

Through my research, I analyzed prison nursery programs in the United States. Prison nurseries are programs that exist in nine states that allow mothers who are pregnant when they are incarcerated to keep their infants with them in prison for a finite amount of time. Previous scholarship on the topic has shown that prison nurseries are effective in reducing rates of recidivism and fostering a bond between mother and infant. My research explored the question of why these programs are so rare given their success. I assessed Union College student and professor attitudes about maternal incarceration to better understand how …

Minorities' Perceptions Of Child Protective Services, Vernae Elaine Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study examined minority persons’ views and experiences with Child Protective Services (CPS) in the community. This study used a qualitative design with face‑to‑face interviews with 12 participants in the community. This study used the “Post‑Positivist” data analysis, which is qualitative in evaluation and explained each participant’s subjective reality.

The study found that most participants were satisfied with the results and were dissatisfied with the process in and of itself. Overall the study found that most participants felt that there was some sort of a disconnect with social workers in reference to cultural competency. Miscommunication between the social workers at …

Can You Help Me Now?: The Effects Of Cell Phone Use On Social Capital Formation In A Group Setting, Simon J. Purdy

Dissertations

This study examines the cause and effect relationship between the use of cell phones, which are the widest spread communication technology in the modern day, and the formation of social capital which occurs among members of small groups. Previous research into the effects of cell phone use has primarily focused on individual-level effects, such as texting while driving, leaving a gap in our understanding of the technology’s larger social implications. One social process that cell phones may affect is social capital, or the networks of assistance which exist in our lives, and the associated norms of trust and reciprocity therein. …

K-12 And The Active Shooter: Principals’ Perceptions Of Armed Personnel In New Jersey District Factor Group Gh Public Schools, Brian P. Kelly

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to explore the predicament school principals face when formulating the best methodology to provide a safe environment for their students and faculty, while simultaneously creating an atmosphere that is conducive to education.

This multiple-case study is a replication of a dissertation published in 2014 which explored a unique phenomenon containing multiple variables within an urban public school district. Conversely, this research study examined suburban public school districts within communities that possessed a median household salary ranging between $86,000 and $105,000, where the socioeconomic status of these schools is identified and delineated by New Jersey …

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?: Food Inequlaity And Black Americans, Christina Foster

Capstone Collection

Food insecurity is an issue that plagues many people throughout the world. It only requires a brief search on the United Nation’s (U.N.) World Hunger Map to determine that this is indeed a worldwide crisis. Conversely, within the United States, the issue of hunger is often treated as “minimal” in comparison to other countries. A deeper inquiry into hunger within the U.S. reveals an even more disturbing connection: the role of white supremacy and systemic racism in regard to hunger. Academic research pertaining to food access is quite recent. Be that as it may, it is of no surprise that …

Are They Matching Up? An Analysis Of Study Abroad Outcomes And The Vocational Needs Of A Southern Appalachian Area, Brynn A. Smith

Capstone Collection

With an increased amount of people seeking higher education, it has become vital to connect education to career in American colleges and universities. To better understand the value of education abroad, international educators must make this connection clear. This research examines student outcomes from Maryville College’s (MC) study abroad programs and compares them with human resource needs, with special attention given to the local job market in the surrounding area. A case study approach was used to gather data from MC study abroad returnees, local HR professionals, and national sources to understand where student outcomes are or are not lining …

Multicultural Advertising And Updated Branding For Wedding Photographers, Kaitlyn Wimmers

Honors Projects

A traditional image of a couple getting married includes one man, one woman, who are young, white, and do not have children. Yet, demographics of prospective couples have become more diverse in terms of age, race-ethnicity, sexual orientation, and family composition. This project examines the extent to which these changes toward diversity in prospective couples are reflected in wedding photographers’ marketing strategies, using content analysis of photographs (N = 960) from photographers' Wedding Wire profiles, personal photography websites, and professional Facebook pages. Eight photographers were chosen from the Midwest (Chicago and Indianapolis) and the West Coast (Los Angeles and San …

Women And Healthcare In Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance And The Role Of Technology, Ashley Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported …

Towards Embracing A Critical Love Ethic In Community Development: A Case Study From Nicaragua, Patrick Barnosky

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research is based on a community sanitation project from Cuajchillo Dos, Nicaragua, in which I served as a field volunteer for Walu International and simultaneously conducted interviews and focus groups with project participants.The goal of this research is to determine to what extent dialogues that took place in this project were based on an ethic of critical love, which is has two primary components: relationality and critical social consciousness. The main findings from this research were that the essential components of dialogue based on a critical love ethic are: listening deeply and sharing openly, building trust and relationships, entering …

A Partnership's Capacity For Community Impact Understood Through Neoliberal Technologies Of Risk And Responsibilization: A Look At Worcester Massachusetts Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initative Partnership Worcester Massachusetts’ Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative Partnership, Katie Byrne

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Since 2006, the Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative has sought to reduce youth and gang violence in multiple Massachusetts cities through partnerships of community organizations, research institutions and police departments. Worcester, Massachusetts was an original recipient of Shannon funding due to its historic and increasing problem of youth and gang violence. Using a framework of governmentality, one of the ways crime is problematized and controlled is through the use of neoliberal technologies of risk and responsibilization, underscoring neoliberalism’s emphasis on personal responsibility. When risk is used to govern and assigned to individuals and groups of people living in …

Looking Ahead With The World In Their Hands: The Postsecondary Aspirations Of East Island Youth, Abby E. Roy

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Does Crime Correlate With Fear?: Analyzing The Spatial Relationship Between Perceptions Of Safety And Crime Using Sketch Maps And Geographic Information Systems (Gis) In The Main South Neighborhood Of Worcester, Ma, Marina Khananayev

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The relationship between reported crime and residential perceptions of safety is understudied and inconclusive due to its highly complicated nature. This study seeks to narrow this gap by using sketch maps collected from residents about their safety and crime data. Two methods, one visual, the other statistical (Bivariate LISA), were tested using data from sketch maps drawn by about 95 survey respondents and crime data spanning three years (2011-2014). Data was disaggregated by gender, age, and length of residency. Visual analysis of results show that perceptions of safety occur at a fine scale. Respondents marked sketch maps at varying scales …