Digital Commons Network^™

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

Infrastructure From Below: Mediasi Dan Politik Pembangunan Infrastruktur Air Di Kota Balikpapan, Muhammad Althaf Nandiati Yusfid

Antropologi Indonesia

The city of Balikpapan is experiencing a water crisis. The discrepancy between the city's water supply and Balikpapan's demography put pressure towards the city's capability of supporting its own citizens. This issue is exacerbated by the development of Indonesia's New Capital (IKN) which is located just outside Balikpapan. Therefore, the development of water infrastructure is imperative for the city. Yet, there's no recent visible development of water infrastructure in the city. However, I argue that water infrastructure development actually exists, though in a subtle form. The informal water suppliers that are prevalent in the city is tied with how the …

"La Vida Es Un Carnaval": An Exploration Of Cuban Identity And Nostalgia Through Dance/Movement Therapy - A Community Engagement Project, Maria Fernanda Mendez Mendoza

Expressive Therapies Theses

“La Vida Es Un Carnaval” is a community engagement project and thesis that explores how identity and nostalgic resilience show up through dance/movement therapy with Cuban immigrants living in the United States, specifically Massachusetts. This project brought together six Cuban-born participants, ages 26 to 67, each with their own unique migration stories; from the Rafter Balsero Crisis of 1994, to the “Wet-Foot/Dry-Foot” policy, and family reunification. Through a mix of in-person and online sessions, participants explored their experiences using intermodal activities including dance/movement therapy techniques, conversation, journaling, artwork, and music. Themes of cultural pride, “Cubanía” – Cuban-ness, culture shock, and …

Proceedings Of The 12th Research Symposium At Mammoth Cave National Park, Pat Kambesis Editor, Lee Anne Bledsoe Editor, Ana K. Celis Editor

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Proceedings of the 12th Research Symposium at Mammoth Cave National Park: Celebrating 100 Years of Scientific Research & Resource Management in the Mammoh Cave Region.

Earth As Archive: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Possibility And Understanding, Alissa Petrizzo

Honors College Theses

This thesis takes the reader on a journey through the process of literary analysis to uncover new considerations of our past, present, and future. Living in the climate crisis, we are in dire need of the humanistic presence within solution-making conversations. I introduce scholarly voices from anthropologists, environmental scientists, and novelists before diving into Pitchaya Sudbanthad's novel Bangkok Wakes to Rain. While you hear my voice throughout the journey, I exist more so as a tour guide, helping you along the way to new possibilities of understanding. We dig up and analyze evidence of the Earth as an archive …

The Human Legacy: Agriculture, Civilizations, Strife, And Pandemics Changing Our Climate, Jacalyn M. Wittmer Malinowski

Climate Change and the Individual, 2025-26

For most of human history, climate has shaped our lives, while our influence on it remained minimal. However, the notion that early humans had no measurable impact on the climate before industrialization is inaccurate. Early in human history, activities – such as the rise of agriculture, the growth of civilizations, periods of conflict, and pandemics – altered greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. These changes contributed to significant periods of climate change long before the burning of fossil fuels set us on the path to today’s global climate crisis.

How The Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe Sustained Their Culture Through Ford's Environmental Exploitation, Tori Sutera

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe is an Indigenous community composed of individuals residing mainly in Ringwood, New Jersey and a few surrounding boroughs. This land holds irreplaceable significance among the community, who, after facing colonial diaspora, have ultimately resided in Ringwood. However, due to the vast effects of the Ringwood Superfund site, this community has dealt with the loss of their people and their culture. Beginning in 1967, Ford Motor Company – partial owners of the site at that time – initiated the dumping of heavily toxic materials into Cannon and Peters Mines. This dumping continued until 1971, and the …

Wildfire And Decomposition: A Taphonomic Analysis Of Thermal Alterations And Decomposition, Ashley Novak

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Within the field of forensic anthropology, practitioners may be faced with remains that have been thermally altered by thermal alterations caused by wildfire. Within the field, very little research has been conducted examining how these thermal events impact rates of decomposition. While research has been conducted generally on the effects of thermal alteration on decomposition, these studies do not look through this lens and provide answers to the question of how do thermal alterations caused by wildfires affect rates of decomposition? This research examines the effects of thermal alteration caused by wildfire on the rate of decomposition. A decompositional study …

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Praktik Memancing Di Jerman: Kegemaran Dan Tanggung Jawab, Adelia Rachman, Setiadi Setiadi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Angling has been taking place and is deeply rooted in historically German culture. Its functionality evolves from subsistence, economic livelihoods, customs and traditions, to recreational activities offering enjoyment of nature. Summer field research was conducted around Baden-Württemberg and Hessen with ten anglers of diverse backgrounds living in Germany. The qualitative ethnographic research and perspective-taking approach were applied through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and literature studies to explore the current angling culture in freshwater ecosystem landscapes comprising angling experiences and practices, and anglers’ perceptions. The research findings demonstrate angling goes beyond fondness, it is a matter of responsibility in terms of …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Mobilizing Discord On The United States’ Many Borders: Critical Social Science And Geopolitical Complexity, Margath Walker

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Attention to the political landscape connecting the United States, Mexico, and Central America has returned with glaring intensity, highlighting the visibly geostrategic elements of bordering practice. Scholars have focused on how state power materializes at multiple scales while at the same time being attentive to the contestable and mutable nature of myriad agentic forces. This talk operates similarly by considering prospects for a frictional and at times ambiguous spatial politics. I extend the notion of discord as a productive lens through which to consider securitization, mobility, and migration. I use two short examples—the border-industrial complex and migrant caravans—to illustrate my …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 27, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Editorial History

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

George C. Roberts Award Recipients

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

96th Annual Iass Conference Call For Papers

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Religiosity And Violence Prevention Programs On Violence Amongst Adolescents In The U.S., Ngoc Nguyen, John Paulson, Quentin Maynard, Thu T. Ha

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Youth violence is a societal concern in the United States due to its negative consequences on individuals and communities. The current study aimed to examine the potential mitigating factors of violence prevention programs and religiosity in reducing youth violence among African American, White, Hispanic, and Asian American adolescents in the United States. It also tested the moderation effects of sex on religiosity and violence prevention programs with youth violence. Results of the main effects revealed that adolescents who attended violence prevention programs were generally less likely to engage in violence than those who did not; and that adolescents who were …

Living And Dying With Rats (Essay), Trent Mcfury

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

It is unlikely that a dystopian work would begin with, “Rats have not been seen for centuries, even in Venice.” [...]

Although many species disturb our peace, destroy our crops, and/or are outright dangerous, the eco-existential scaling of a rat (and mice), broonie or pixie-like, makes it a convenient analogical and projective emblem of invasion and subsequent extermination. That which abundantly reproduces, keenly clusters, transforms our bodies, challenges our wits, follows and then remains, travels and then stays, is also a psyche-mirror.

The Way Of The Woods: Interview With Greg Weiss, Greg Weiss

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Mr. Weiss shares invaluable experience and wisdom of bushcraft and his sense of place in the northern Wisconsin woodlands. His local experiences are also informed by years of travels to the Amazonian forest and many other locations. Mr. Weiss heads and co-runs an outdoor adventure business in the Northwoods and organizes and leads primitive skills workshops off Lake Superior (Cornucopia, WI). He has been an extremely valuable member of the Northland College community for more than twenty years.

Castles, Lands, And Locks: Exploring The Social Capital Of Heritage Sites, Loren Carter

Research Symposium

This Honors thesis aims to analyze the social roles of heritage sites as modes of cultural communication and connection. Through combined ethnographic and archaeological research methods, I argue that while the museumification and industrialization of heritage does provide useful information for populations with little knowledge of cultural processes, the communities most closely related to the heritage sites lose both tangible and intangible cultural connections when their backyards turn to tourist destinations. Studies of heritage have long argued that heritage processes take place not just through tangible heritage artifacts but also through everyday intangible heritage activities (Smith 2006). Throughout this work …

Designing Field Courses To Teach Few Concepts Effectively, Eunice L. Blavascunas

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

How do students learn complex systems FEW concepts in field courses? An overview of field-course practices in the Yakima Valley of Washington State.

A Benjaminian Rumination Of Grasses And Tomatoes In Contemporary Anatolian Film, Ceren Izci

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis interprets the intersection of history, ecology, and politics through two contemporary Anatolian films: Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses and Murat Fıratoğlu’s One of These Days When Hemme Dies. We focus on the films’ portrayal of social relations and relationships to other living beings through interpreting the temporal layers and historical tensions present in the plots of the films. We introduce the paper by pondering over the question of whether these films are political. Drawing on Walter Benjamin’s concepts of “first nature” and “second nature”, the first chapter introduces the philosophical framework for understanding the connection between …

Critical Approaches To Climate-Induced Migration Research And Solutions, Rosalyn Negrón, David Hernández, Hossein Ayazi, Pablo Shiladitaya Bose, Nyingilanyeofori Brown, Elora Chowdhury, Janelle Knox-Hayes, Rajini Srikanth, Banu Subramaniam, Farhana Sultana, Patrick Sylvain, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Charles Venator-Santiago

Sustainable Solutions Lab

In this commentary we explore the confluence of factors shaping climate-induced migration and the need for comprehensive solutions grounded in historical and systemic understandings. We argue that climate change, colonial legacies, and geopolitical policies significantly influence migration patterns, particularly for historically marginalised communities. We call for scholars to develop holistic frameworks that consider environmental, political, historical, and economic factors while advocating for the legal recognition and protection of migrants and people displaced by climate impacts. Drawing on examples of internal migration and displacement in the United States and refugee camps globally, we highlight the complexities of resettlement. We propose integrated …

Precipitation, Perceptions, And Participation: An Analysis Of Individual Perceptions Of Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority's Cloud Seeding Pilot Program And Suggestions For Public Outreach And Communications, Rachel A. Rowlee

Pitzer Senior Theses

Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification intended to increase the amount of precipitation by introducing a seeding agent. The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) has implemented a four-year cloud seeding pilot program utilizing silver iodide as a seeding agent during rain storm events. Over the last year, SAWPA received various feedback, much of which exists in the social media realm. This research consists of open-ended interviews with water resource managers, SAWPA employees, and individuals expressing disapproval of the program on social media and Instagram comment analyses. Interview and comment analyses are put into conversation with the theory …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Anthropogenic Prairies Of The Southern Salish Sea: Ethnographic And Archaeological Landscapes, South Puget Sound, Washington., Jamey D. Taylor Ms.

All Graduate Projects

This project report has been completed to fulfill requirements of the Master of Applied Science of Cultural and Environmental Resource Management (MAS-CERM) at Central Washington University. The project models the cultural landscapes of the southern Salish Sea. These landscapes include anthropogenic prairies, travel routes (trails and roads), salmon runs, and archaeological sites. This study maps the historic boundaries of prairies and recent data sets for key plant species. The locations of prairies and indicator species are overlaid with ethnohistoric settlements, archaeological site locations, and trail systems. The spatial correlations of these data are used to interpret the prominence of anthropogenic …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.