Digital Commons Network^™

An Addiction To Capitalism: A Rhetorical Criticism Of Mainstream Environmentalism, Jake Engel

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

Gender In Apocalyptic California: The Ecological Frontier, Marykate Eileen Messimer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is the consequence of ideologies that promote human reproduction and resource consumption by sacrificing human justice, nonhuman species, and the land. Both biology and queer ecologies resist this notion of human separation and supremacy by showing that no body is a singular, impermeable entity, that all beings are biologically and inexorably connected. My dissertation demonstrates that fiction writers use this knowledge to locate a utopian vision that can counteract the dystopian impotence of living within climate change. This argument is founded on novels written by women and set in California, a state that uniquely inhabits a utopian and …

Integrating Mindfulness Into Ethics Teaching, Practice And Research, Kati Tusinski Berg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Not All Your Neighbors Are Free: Community Building With Incarcerated Folks In San Luis Obispo, Gianna Bissa

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

The American criminal justice system is rooted in white supremacist ideology that is predicated on the murder, displacement, exploitation, and marginalization of people of color. Scholars and activists recognize the American prison system as a modern form of slavery. Only three miles away from Cal Poly’s campus, the California Men’s Colony State Prison (CMC) operates as one of thirty-four state prisons in California. Nearly 4,000 men, trans women, and nonbinary people are being held at the CMC. Not only can mass incarceration be identified as one of the most dreadful state projects that violates human freedom, but also non-incarcerated community …

Extra-Activism: Counter-Mapping And Data Justice, Dorothy Kidd

Media Studies

Neither big data, nor data justice are particularly new. Data collection, in the form of land surveys and mapping, was key to successive projects of European imperialist and then capitalist extraction of natural resources. Geo-spatial instruments have been used since the fifteenth century to highlight potential sites of mineral, oil, and gas extraction, and inscribe European economic, cultural and political control across indigenous territories. Although indigenous groups consistently challenged maintained their territorial sovereignty, and resisted corporate and state surveillance practices, they were largely unable to withstand the combined onslaught of surveyors, armed personnel, missionaries and government bureaucrats. This article examines …

“Greening” Worcester: Municipal Best Practices For Sustainability, Erin Mckeon, Charline Kirongozi, Jared Duval, Antannia Greene, Qianshu Sun, Zewei Yao

School of Professional Studies

In response to the urgent threat posed by climate change, more and more cities, including Worcester, are attempting to become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. Worcester is attempting to develop ways to become more sustainable; both to strengthen their communities and to protect the planet. The Green Worcester Working Group (GWWG) tasked the Clark Capstone Team with researching best practices for municipal sustainability. The GWWG has set the following priorities: climate change mitigation, resilience, open spaces, sustainable resource management, education and awareness. Taking these into account, the Clark Capstone Team researched the sustainability practices of cities in New England, across …

Resisting Industrial Food Systems On The Web: How Non-Profit Organizations Use Digital Technology For Sustainability Education, Aleksandr Segal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the link between how community-based organizations use digital tools with the fundamentally resistance-based philosophy that these organizations have at the core of their mission. It aims to uncover how non-profit organizations (NPOs) that work in community development through food and agriculture use digital tools, and how their digital communication strategies relate to issues of resistance to neoliberalism and industrialization in the food and agriculture sectors.

Using a foundation of existing literature on food and agriculture, climate change and waste management, critical theory, and technology in pedagogy, this thesis will contextualize how non-profits resist neoliberal regimes of de-traditionalization …

Spring 2019

Conversations

Play Ball! The College of Communication kicks off a new degree program in sports communication; Forging Futures: DePaul and Harper College partner to give community college students an easier path to a bachelor's degree; Can We Talk? Associate Professor Tim Cole teaches the art and science of interpersonal communication; Fred Astaire's Dancing Lessons: Professor Dustin Goltz bridges the LGBTQ generation gap with his solo performance piece; Bookshelf; In Pursuit of Impact: Investigative journalist Prabjot "PJ" Randhawa garners her first Emmy Award; Around the College; Accolades: A Life of Purpose and Passion: Communication double major trains at the Climate Reality Project.

The Cowl - V.83 - N.14 - Jan 24, 2019

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 83 No. 14 - January 24, 2019. 24 pages.

Containing The Jeremiad: Understanding Paradigms Of Anxiety In Global Climate Change Experience, Brian Glaser

English Faculty Articles and Research

This essay uses Bion’s concept of “containing” to read the psychological dynamics of jeremiads about global climate change, arguing that their structure reveals a strategy of communication that may be useful for more broadly raising awareness about this challenging state of the planet. More specifically, I argue that contemporary global climate change jeremiads have a structure that first elicits alarm and then moves to discuss solutions, and that this structure may be beneficial to those who are awakening to the reality of global climate change by rendering anxiety bearable and therefore open to purposive and creative response.

Sustainability In The Sanctuary: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Christian Churches And The Environment, Katelyn Campbell

Honors Theses

Paper bulletins, weekly customized song sheets, disposable coffee cups—all parts of a regular communal church gathering on Sunday mornings. Where do these products go after the service is over and the pews are empty? Combining the topics of environmental sustainability and organized religion, this thesis explores how local churches view the intersection of environmental sustainability and faith practices in Oxford, Mississippi. Preliminary research has shown that while many global denominations publicly issue statements supporting environmental practices and encouraging sustainable behavior, often these statements are not effective in directly influencing a local church’s behavior as it relates to implementing environmentally sustainable …

A Child Shall Lead Them: Exploring Discourses Of Efficacy And Climate Change As They Appear In Children's Animated Film, Jason Derry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent climate change discourse has tended to presume scientific knowledge and rational argumentation as the principle factor in convincing peoples and publics toward climate action. However, scholarship across numerous fields reveals myriad other contributing factors in how people think about and respond to this environmental crisis, which leans predominately toward silence and apathy. Alongside this, children are often centered as inheriting a calamity, yet find themselves largely disempowered. From out of this rhetorical milieu I interject by way of a multidisciplinary grounding to examine the predominate framings of efficacy in the context of children, climate change, and environmental discourse. To …

Spartan Daily, November 29, 2018, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2018

Volume 151, Issue 41

Ecological Crisis, Or “Intersex Panic,” As Answer Of The Real?, Stephanie Hsu

The Goose

Drawing upon Cal’s eventual metamorphosis into “The [white] Man” in Middlesex, and an examination of the Real of ecological crisis, Hsu explores the intersection of environmental racism, climate change denial, and intersex discrimination in order to advocate for a renewed awareness of ecological interdependency and the need for self-determination of people of colour in ecological and environmental justice discourses.

From Rusty Genetics To Octopussy’S Garden, Stacy Alaimo

The Goose

Alaimo critiques the “rusty” understanding of genetics, gender, and sex in Middlesex, advocating instead for queer ecological futurism.

Translating Global Nature: Territoriality, Environmental Discourses, And Ecocultural Identities, José R. Castro-Sotomayor

Communication ETDs

In this study, I explore environmental discourses circulating among Indigenous transboundary organizations working on environmental initiatives at the border between Ecuador and Colombia. I focus on three global environmental discourses –sustainability, development, and climate change– as they are at the core of the global environmental governance vernacular. La Gran Familia Awá Binacional (GFAB), one of the few transboundary Indigenous organizations working along the binational border, utilizes these global concepts to frame their environmental initiatives and projects. I use a critical and interpretive qualitative approach to investigate, deconstruct, and rearticulate global environmental discourses circulating among and translated by two of the …

Streeby, Shelley. Imagining The Future Of Climate Change: World-Making Through Science Fiction And Activism. Oakland, California: University Of California Press. 2018., Tarique Niazi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Murphy, Michelle. The Economization Of Life. Durham, Nc: Duke University Press. 2017., Tarique Niazi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

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 …

Assessing Psychophysiological Effects Of Malodorous Pollutants In Residents Of Leandrinho, Bahia, Brazil: A Pilot Study Using A Whatsapp-Based Questionnaire, Shanell Folger, Courtney Woods, Rita Franco Rego, Carlos Henrique Amaral, Washington Ramos, Amanda Northcross

GW Research Days 2016 - 2020

Background: Leandrinho is located in the region that is home to the largest industrial chemical complex in the southern hemisphere that covers approximately 49 km². Leandrinho residents have reported experiencing adverse health effects that co-occur during periods of malodor emitted by the petrochemical industry. However, there is currently no tool for the residents to systematically record incidents of malodor. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of using a questionnaire designed through Whatsapp, a text-messaging application commonly used among residents.

Method: Leandrinho residents were randomly recruited to complete a daily questionnaire using either paper (n=24) or Whatsapp (n=24) over …

Listening To Earth Stories: An Interview With Swarnalatha Rangarajan, Sufina K, Bhuvaneswari R

The Goose

In this interview with Dr. Swarnalatha Rangarajan, a well known Indian ecocritic and a pioneer of Indian ecocriticism, discusses ecocriticism, her novel The Final Instructions, and a wide range of Indian environmental writing.

Affective Ecologies: Empathy, Emotion, And Environmental Narrative By Alexa Weik Von Mossner, David Tagnani

The Goose

Review of Alexa Weik von Mossner's Affective Ecologies: Empathy, Emotion, and Environmental Narrative.

Cleaner, Greener, Healthier: A Prescription For Stronger Canadian Environmental Laws And Policies By David R. Boyd, Alex D. Ketchum

The Goose

Review of David R. Boyd's Cleaner, Greener, Healthier: A Prescription for Stronger Canadian Environmental Laws and Policies.

Lines Of Flight: An Atomic Memoir By Julie Salverson, Ashley E. Reis

The Goose

Review of Julie Salverson’s Lines of Flight: An Atomic Memoir.

Environmental Humanities: Voices From The Anthropocene By Serpil Oppermann And Serenella Iovino, Pamela Banting

The Goose

Review of Environmental Humanities: Voices from the Anthropocene by Serpil Oppermann and Serenella Iovino, eds.

The Flint Food Store Survey: Combining Spatial Analysis With A Modified Nutrition Environment Measures Survey In Stores (Nems-S) To Measure The Community And Consumer Nutrition Environments, Erika R. Shaver, Richard C. Sadler, Alex B. Hill, Kendall Bell, Myah Ray, Jennifer Choy-Shin, Joy Lerner, Teresa Soldner, Andrew D. Jones

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Objective
The goal of the present study was to use a methodology that accurately and reliably describes the availability, price and quality of healthy foods at both the store and community levels using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S), to propose a spatial methodology for integrating these store and community data into measures for defining objective food access.

Setting
Two hundred and sixty-five retail food stores in and within 2 miles (3·2 km) of Flint, Michigan, USA, were mapped using ArcGIS mapping software.

Design
A survey based on the validated NEMS-S was conducted at each retail food store. …

Global Climate Change I-Ii, Kendall Barrett Sooter, Dione Rossiter, Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

Many different scientific observations and measurements indicate that Earth is experiencing global-scale changes in climate, i.e., in the long-term distributions of temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and extreme weather events. Scientific consensus considers most these changes to be caused or accelerated by human activities. The economic, ecological, social, and cultural challenges caused by global climate change will affect everyone on the planet, and are very likely to have disproportionate impacts on developing nations. In this course, we will study global climate change from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating natural and social science approaches to understanding processes and effects. We will study the …

Watered Down: The Challenges Of Managing Water Resources In Montana, Beau E. Baker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Like much of the American West, Montana sits in the cross hairs of climate change. State drought resiliency projects and cooperative watershed management are on the rise in the face of decreased snowpack, early runoff, precipitation variability and lower seasonal stream flows. Population growth, land use practices, recreation and tourism all contribute to pressures on state water supplies.

Montana is faced with the arrival of invasive species that threaten the ecological health of its lakes, rivers and streams. State budget constraints and depressed agency capacity are hurting our ability to fend off these threats. There’s a lack of public education …

Environmental Organizations’ Litigation Communication In The Polarized U.S. Political Landscape, Rachel Anderle

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study analyzes environmental litigation communication in an increasingly polarized political context. Specifically, this project analyzes environmental organizations’ communication strategies and messages related to their litigation efforts in order to better understand how environmental nonprofits frame environmental litigation within the current U. S. political landscape. Multiple data sources (e.g., website content, tweets, and interviews) triangulate the study by providing varying strategic perspectives on organizations’ environmental litigation communication efforts. Results show that nonprofit organizations like the National Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club use a variety of frames that portray litigation as a righteous action used to hold those in power …

Eco-Tourism And Sustainable Community Development In Cuba: Bringing Community Back Into Development, Jack Thornburg Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This paper focuses on community development and its relationship to eco-tourism as a means of creating a sustainable future for local Cuban communities. If communities control local resources to create economic opportunities for local goals, there is a greater chance that community development will be more effective and sustainable. Local empowerment can play a key role in community development through ecological and cultural tourism. The focus of this paper is Cuba’s potential to develop into a major ecological and cultural tourism center within international tourism. Recent policy announcements regarding the intention to diversify Cuba’s economy and move people into private …