Digital Commons Network^™

Prisons, Policing, And Pollution: Toward An Abolitionist Framework Within Environmental Justice, Ki'amber Thompson

Pomona Senior Theses

Environmental Justice defines the environment as the spaces where we live, work, and play. The Environmental Justice (EJ) Movement has traditionally used this definition to organize against toxics in communities. However, within EJ work, prisons or policing have often not been centralized or discussed. This means that the approximately 2.2 million people in prison are excluded from the conversation and movement. Additionally, communities and activists are identifying police and prisons as toxics in their communities, but an analysis of policing and prisons is largely missing in EJ scholarship. This thesis explores the intersection between prisons, policing, and pollution. It outlines …

“An Awakening Of Critical Consciousness: Unfurlings Of (Re)Memory, Resistance And Resiliency”, Prisma L. Herrera

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis does not adhere to “traditional” academic criteria which I feel tends to be rigid, constrained ways of regurgitating knowledge. It is not easily digestible, nor is it something that offers concrete answers. Rather it is a critical understanding of many of my experiences in the last four years of education, with a specific focus on the most recent events that have unfolded in my personal and academic life. This thesis is a journey. It is by witnessing communities in New York City, Bolivia, Tlaxcala, Mexico City, Chiapas and Southern California that continue to struggle and hope in the …

Sustaining Autonomous Communities In The Modern United States (The United Communities Of America), Lucas Hester

Senior Theses

America has become industrialized and characterized by social anxiety and overconsumption. The inability to be sustainable has led the once plentiful and flourishing nation into an ongoing sustainability crisis. Even if there is a deep connection between them, this essay focuses on social sustainability rather than ecological. It argues for an intentional community-based framework to keep American life sustainable. Pollution, civil unrest, and intense social anxiety create unfulfilling life conditions for many American citizens. Using examples from modern American intentional communities, I will explain the need for self-directing, close-knit communities. Flourishing community members, as it will be considered from sociological …

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates.

Older People In A Community Gospel Choir: Musical Engagement And Social Connection, Dawn Joseph, Jane Southcott

The Qualitative Report

This research explores the role of community music in the lives of older Australians. This qualitative case study investigated the meanings and understandings ascribed by participants to their musical engagement in the South of the River Community Gospel Choir. This mixed a cappella SATB choir was formed in 2002 in Melbourne. The choir began with a repertoire of African-American Gospel music and South African Freedom Songs. With time their musical choices have transitioned to include more contemporary Australian composed works. The choir sings in diverse community settings such as high security prisons, palliative care, hospitals and the more common range …

The Spirit Of Friendship: Girlfriends In Contemporary African American Literature, Tangela La'chelle Serls

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Spirit of Friendship: Girlfriends in Contemporary African American Literature examines spiritual subjectivities that inspire girlfriends in three contemporary novels to journey towards actualization. It examines the girlfriend bond as a space where the Divine Spirit can flourish and assist girlfriends as they seek to become actualized. This project raises epistemological questions as it suggests that within the girlfriend dynamic, knowledge that is traditionally subjugated is formed and refined. Finally, girlfriend epistemology is considered in light of Black Girl Magic, a contemporary social and cultural movement among Black women.

Health Care Reform - The Catholic Health Perspective, William J. Cox

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Voluntourism: What Motivates College Students To Give Back When They Travel?, Samantha Lee

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

Volunteer tourism, also known as "voluntourism", has become a trendy way to market to culturally and environmentally conscious travelers who seek authentic experiences instead of traditional mass tourism where travelers have little interaction with the local culture. Voluntourism aspects are being added to existing travel itineraries and entire companies have been created around volunteering to specifically target college students. This thesis seeks to examine the individual motivations of college students who have previously participated in at least one voluntourism trip, including mission trips and alternative spring breaks. The data was obtained via a series of one-on-one, in-depth post-trip interviews with …

Having A Feel For What Works: Polymedia, Emotion, And Literacy Practices With Mobile Technologies, Bronwyn T. Williams

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Can The Qualities Of Intrinsically Motivated Individuals At Diverse “Life Stages” Be Harnessed To Create Social Change?, Donna Lynne Greene

Theses - ALL

For my thesis investigation, I researched the intrinsic motivational qualities of individuals at diverse “life stages”. I’m trying to develop a method or system of solving problems that tapped into these main things: First the idea of intrinsic motivation, Second the knowledge and understanding of diverse life stages, Third the methods of design thinking, Fourth the cooperative nature of community and collaboration.

I explored these things to develop an intergenerational system of collaboration and thought exchange toward the goal of helping to solve societal issues on many levels, (personal, local, regional, internationally). My design is a collaborative social innovation community.

Toward An Integral Catholic Peacebuilding, Gerard Powers

The Journal of Social Encounters

Among the many under-examined aspects of Catholic approaches to peacebuilding are its ecclesiological and practical dimensions. This article suggests that an Integral Catholic Peacebuilding calls for deepening the Catholic community’s commitment to peacebuilding as a vocation, especially by reinvigorating the lay vocation; cultivating distinctively Catholic approaches to peacebuilding while engaging inclusively, especially through strategic approaches to ecumenical and inter-religious engagement; and promoting greater integration by examining the interconnections among disparate factors and issues, and giving priority to effective collaboration among vertical and horizontal levels, and different sectors of the Catholic community

Ua41 University College Connection, University College

UC Publications

Newsletter created by and about WKU University College.

• George, Dennis. Message from the Dean
• Jennifer Brinkley Travels to Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Sara McCaslin Provides Workshop
• School of Professional Studies BIS
• Diversity & Community Studies
• New DCS Assistant Professor - Dana Cuomo
• African American Studies
• Gender & Women's Studies
• Center for Citizenship & Social Justice
• School of University Studies - Embedded English Tutors
• LAC Tutors - Alice Rowe Learning Assistance Center
• WKU 2017 Part Time Faculty Award Recipient - Diana McQuady
• University Experience Research Awards
• Student Support Programs Summer Early Entry

Pedagogía De Base Local [Place-Based Education], Gregory A. Smith

Summer Institute June 2019

La pedagogía de base local se centra en el desarrollo y la instrucción curriculares que dirigen la atención de los estudiantes hacia la cultura, los fenómenos y las cuestiones locales como base de al menos parte del aprendizaje que adquirirían en la escuela. También se la conoce en inglés por el equivalente a «educación fundamentada en el lugar y en la comunidad», o como «aprendizaje consciente del lugar». Además de preparar a los estudiantes académicamente, los maestros que adoptan este método de enseñanza lo presentan de una forma íntimamente ligada tanto a la protección del medio ambiente como al desarrollo …

Taking Climate Action, Lydia Marcus

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Ua77/1 Wku Spirit, Wku Alumni Relations

WKU Administration Documents

WKU alumni magazine. Contents:

• Ransdell, Gary. Letter from the President
• 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Gary Ransdell
• Scholarship Celebration
• U.S. News & World Report Ranks WKU Online Programs Among Best in Nation
• Gary Ransdell to Become President & CEO of Semester at Sea
• Six WKU Students Awarded Gilman International Scholarships for Summer 2017
• WKU Tied for 2^nd in 2016-2017 List of Top Fulbright Producers
• Six WKU Faculty & Alumni Named 2017 Trailblazer Honorees
• University Distinguished Professor Gifts Proceeds from IRA to WKU
• Honors College at WKU Named for Dixie & Pete Mahurin
• Gabbi Doolin Memorial Scholarship
• Vic Richey …

The Transnational Guqin Revival In Flushing, New York, Tyler L. Burba

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the guqin 3,000-year-old history the instrument nearly faced extinction in the Twentieth Century. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which featured the guqin as a cultural symbol of Chinese identity, there has been a revival of the guqin and its traditional repertoire. This study looks at a small guqin community in New York City's Flushing neighborhood, centered around Master Shi-hua Judy Yeh, and how transnational students are taking advantage of transnational organizations, like the New York Guqin School, to ease the transition into life in New York.

Towards Soulful And Sustainable Service: The Role Of Ethics In Global Service-Learning Programs Within Faith-Based Tertiary Institutions, Corrie Johnson

Capstone Collection

This research evaluates the practices of specified faith-based institutions within the field of undergraduate global service learning through the lens of each of the major themes in the Fair Trade Learning framework. These themes include equal partnership, mutual learning, cooperative and positive social change, economic equity, transparency, and sustainability. Initial survey outcomes present an overall picture of where these particular universities are at in regards to balancing student and community outcomes. Interview outcomes provide a more in-depth perspective of how mutual benefit for student participants and host communities is being considered within the global service-learning programs these programs facilitate. Some …

People, Land, And Profit In The South Of Market: A Critical Analysis Of The Central Soma Plan, David Woo

Master's Theses

The South of Market neighborhood in San Francisco has undergone several transformations, especially since WWII, that have largely characterized the broader relationships among local city government, private interests, and the public in San Francisco. These transformations have included deindustrialization and the restructuring of the local economy after WWII, Urban Renewal, the intensification of office uses, and the first and second technology booms. City planning and the implementation of area plans (a type of city planning development tool) have also played a significant role in facilitating these changes. By historically situating the current moment in San Francisco, this research paper seeks …

Literacy And Labor: Archives, Networks, And Histories In Working-Class Communities, Jessica Michelle Pauszek

Dissertations - ALL

Literacy and Labor: Archives, Networks, and Histories in Working-Class Communities explores the significance of The Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers (FWWCP), a network of writing groups that existed between 1976-2007 and self-published thousands of texts focused on working-class life, immigrant experience, and educational development. The FWWCP emerged in London and eventually spread throughout the United Kingdom and, then, transnationally. Circulating close to one million chapbooks, this network represents years of social history, testimony, and cultural conditions described through the voices of working-class people. I begin by unpacking the historical and social conditions of the FWWCP’s tenure and explain …

Philosophers On The Fringe: Albert Schweitzer, Liberty Hyde Bailey, Aldo Leopold, And The Wrongful Polarization Of Environmentalist History 2017, Minnie A.M. Lauzon

Master's Theses

This thesis includes three articles (chapters) intending to encourage clarification of an area of environmental history that has not received adequate attention since the publication of Roderick Nash’s Wilderness and the American Mind. Since its publication in 1967, little research has been dedicated to understanding the scholarly or philosophical influence Albert Schweitzer and Liberty Hyde Bailey had on Aldo Leopold. Since my undertaking of this topic, I have established two primary goals. First, I want to provide clarification to environmentalists, academics, and the populace at large that environmentalism does not have to be bound by rules and convention, but can …

Aspirations Into Action : Navigating Structures For Community Engagement At The University Of Louisville., Megan Faver Hartline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the affordances of university structures based on how they value and support community engagement, focusing on common issues for community-engaged scholars. In this case study of the University of Louisville as an institution developing stronger structures for community engagement, I show that current efforts represent important starting points for how institutions support engagement, but I argue that they, and scholarly discussion about them, need to be deepened to meet the needs of engaged scholars. Toward that end, utilizing an institutional critique methodology informed by scholarship in institutional ethnography, I combine analysis of university policies and documents with …

Participation In Amateur Orchestra And Subjective Well-Being In Korea: A Perspective From Community Music Therapy, Hyun-Jung Kang

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods research was to investigate which individual and external factors related to participation in an amateur orchestra influence members’ subjective well-being (SWB) and how those factors contribute to members’ SWB from a community music therapy (CoMT) perspective in South Korea. The study employed a sequential explanatory mixed-method design. Quantitative data were gathered from 126 members of nine amateur orchestras through a survey questionnaire including demographics and musical background, Perceived Values of the Amateur Orchestra Members (PVAOM), the Basic Psychological Needs Scales (BPNS), the Individualism and Collectivism Scale (INS-COL), and the Satisfaction with the Life Scale (SWLS). …

Connecting The Dots : Role Of Storytelling In Character Development And Leadership Practice Of One Rock Mentors, Associates And Mentees, Joanna E. Williamson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Before God And These Witnesses: An Evangelistic Guide To Weddings, David Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Every year, according to the Center for Disease Control, an average of 2.3 million couples wed in the United States, while nearly 900,000 divorces occur. One fourth of couples marry outside of a church. Though most ceremonies take place in a church building, the church’s presence is small. An opportunity exists to reach receptive engaged couples and provide needed counseling services to those marrying outside of the church. Premarital counseling reduces the risk of divorce approximately 30 percent. To impact marriages and see growth, the church must take a proactive and evangelistic role in providing premarital counseling and weddings services …

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 59, April 20, 2017, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Eco-Anxiety At University: Student Experiences And Academic Perspectives On Cultivating Healthy Emotional Responses To The Climate Crisis, Anna Kelly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research looks at the overall question of how planetary health impacts mental health and psychological welling. The central focus is eco-anxiety—mental distress caused by climate change and environmental degradation—and how it manifests in university students. In order to gather data for this research I collected 114 student survey responses, interviewed seven young adults (ages 20-25), and interviewed seven experts in the fields of psychology and environmental studies.

They survey results show high levels of general stress and anxiety, high levels of stress and anxiety related to climate change and the state of the world, and a very high level …

Breaking The Silence: The Story Of The Ixil Maya Of Union Victoria During The Guatemalan Civil War, Megan Marcucci (Class Of 2017)

History Undergraduate Publications

In the spring of 2016 and in the spring of 2017, I went to southern Guatemala on a mission trip under the auspices of Sacred Heart University. Never having studied Guatemala or its history, I had no idea what type of turmoil plagued this beautiful country. After traveling high up in the mountains of Guatemala and hearing the story of one indigenous Ixil Maya village, I knew that their story needed to be told.

Utopia And The Favelas Of Rio De Janeiro, Curtis L. Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

Utopias from ancient times to the present have come and gone. They remain as a part of literary, philosophical and historical texts and communal practices. Yet this subject has never ceased to inspire contemporary minds as well. My aim in this paper is to consider the communities known as favelas that have formed on the edges of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as a contemporary form of utopian community. The paper begins with a brief analysis of the concept of utopia. Then follows a discussion of the Favela as an urban utopia as seen from the perspective of …

The Second Benedict Option, Michael Hemesath

Administration Publications

No abstract provided.

Challenging Narratives Of Decline Of The Anti-Rape Movement, Carrie N. Baker, Maria R. Bevaqua

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

A trend in scholarship characterizes the anti-rape movement as starting out with radical goals and achieving success in reforming rape law, but then declining because of cooptation by the state. This article challenges this narrative of decline in light of the history of the anti-rape movement and current anti-rape activism across the country. By focusing their critique on criminal justice and therapeutic approaches to sexual violence, and failing to account for the diversity of the anti-rape movement, advocates for narratives of decline ignore parts of the movement that challenge the state itself and those that seek broader cultural and community-based …