Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating Perspectives Of Rural Nevadans On Climate Change Solutions, Tricia Dutcher

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Rural perspectives are important for the issue of climate change. Rural areas are high concentrations of active voters who deny the problem of anthropogenic climate change. Rural residents also face decisions about inviting large, utility scale renewable energy developments in their areas. This research examines rural Nevadan’s perspectives on climate change to offer insights about the relationship between climate change perceptions and communication strategies. The research offers policy implications that address context specific issues, solution-oriented dialogue, and interest matching to mitigate anthropogenic climate change.

Women After The Rwandan Genocide: Making The Most Of Survival, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since 2009, IBUKA’s peer-support program for genocide survivors in Rwanda has given observers a unique opportunity to work with women who experienced the violence of 1994. In 2010 James Madison University’s Center for International Stabilization and Recovery began providing technical assistance for this program. This article describes some of the particular characteristics of women survivors in the 19 years since the genocide.

"And We Had Fun, Fun, Fun . . ." Till We Went Over The Net Energy Cliff: Cultural Aspects Of The Twilight Of The Petroleum Age, Thomas Love

Faculty Presentations

Despite optimistic headlines, industrial humanity finds itself in a predicament of converging and increasingly intractable problems such as climate change, financial collapse, biodiversity loss, crashing fish stocks, poverty, and famine. The ability to manage this problem is hindered by increasingly unaffordable supplies of oil, the very lifeblood of our way of life. Easily extracted reserves of oil are being depleted, exports are drying up from the few remaining countries that continue to export, and net energy is declining. This presentation addresses how expectations that were developed during a period of energy abundance from 1920 to 2005 might fare when confronted …

Assessing The Impacts Of Federal Farm Bill Programs On Rural Communities, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Curt D. Grimm, Douglas Jackson-Smith

Sociology

This report summarizes the state of scientific knowledge on the impact of federal farm and food programs on rural communities in the United States. We focus on the impacts of five specific programs of what is commonly referred to as the “farm bill.” These five include farm commodity programs; farm risk management, insurance, and disaster programs; agricultural conservation programs; food and nutrition programs; and rural development programs. Although there is extensive research on the relative merits and effectiveness of specific rural development programs and policies on rural community outcomes, the impacts of the other four main farm bill programs on …

Building Upon Common-Pool Resource Theory To Explore Success In Transitioning Water Management Institutions, Christina M. Hoffman

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska, like many regions around the world, is faced with the challenge of adapting to a new era in water management. Increasing demands for water resources, mounting concerns over threatened and endangered species, and obligations to abide by interstate water allocation agreements have motivated Nebraska to revisit traditional water management approaches. However, although Nebraska’s water management institutions have undergone much change, little research exists on the influence these changes have had on the ability of water institutions to successfully manage water allocations. This research (1) qualitatively explores the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders in the overappropriated region of the Platte …

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 …

Deciding To Fight: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study On Decision-Making In Conflict Situations, Rebecca Kay Lefebvre

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Does culture matter in decision-making? Existing literature largely assumes that the cognitive processes that inform decision-making are universally applicable, while only very few studies indicate that cultural norms and values shape cognitive processes. Using a survey based quasi-experiment, I examine cross-country differences in cultural traits and decision-making processes among undergraduate students in the U.S. and Ghana. A comparison between the groups shows the constraining impact of culture at three levels: individual, societal, and situated. At an individual level, those who are more collectivist are more dependent in their decision-making. At a societal level, students from a collectivist society (Ghana) are …

News - Georgia State University - Gsu Library Receives $210,000 Neh Grant, Christian J. Steinmetz

Georgia Library Quarterly

Georgia State University Library recently received a $210,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for “Planning Atlanta: A New City in the Making, 1930s – 1990s”, submitted by librarian Joe Hurley (Principal Investigator) and history professor Kate Wilson (co-PI).

Capacity And Implementation For Judicial Reforms In Morocco: “Painting A Building That Is Collapsing”, Hally Bert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Currently in Morocco the country awaits the legitimate implementation of the 2011 assurances of rights and freedoms, an undertaking that would require a great amount of resources, state capacity, and political will. As Morocco changes and policies evolve the nation is balancing tradition with modernity. In terms of the judiciary, reform programs have been heavily funded by the west with the aim of modernizing and amending the entire legal system in Morocco. This means that influence and leadership in reforms has come in part from sources outside of Morocco. Looking at reforms over the last ten years and especially with …

Adding Injustice To Injury - Health Perceptions, Plurality, And Power In The Ongoing Bhopal Disaster, Ruth Markwardt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Standards of health, human rights, and development are typically defined and dictated by policymakers instead of the populations directly affected by so-called development efforts. This paper seeks to contextualize global development efforts by highlighting specific local realities among the community of Bhopal Disaster survivors in Madhya Pradesh, India. As the site of the world’s largest industrial disaster, a disaster which is not over but ongoing, Bhopal represents an important population to highlight as the disaster continues. The Political Ecology of Health model was used to highlight political and environmental influences on community health. Within Political Ecology, this study takes a …

The Institutional And Social Integration Of Child Asylum-Seekers In The Schools And Society Of The Canton Of Vaud, Switzerland, Sonja C. Brinker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As an increasing number of asylum-seekers cross the border into Switzerland in search of protection, Switzerland faces the challenge of accommodating and integrating asylum populations into society while protecting all basic human rights. This study looks at the reception of child asylum-seekers in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland in terms of their integration in the education system and society. A series of interviews and a literature review were used to identify what services are available to child asylumseekers both at school and within the canton that may facilitate integration. The findings of this study indicate that child asylum-seekers are receiving …

“Resistencia Es Permanencia”: Concepciones De Resistencia, Territorio Y Recuperaciones De Tierra En Dos Comunidades Mapuche, August Williams-Eynon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent decades the world has seen a backlash of resistance, especially among First Nations and indigenous populations, to what some characterize as new forms of colonization: the development of globalization, and the spread of neoliberal economic institutions and their guiding principles (Vanden 2007). This work locates the social movements of the Mapuche (an indigenous nation conquered by the Chilean army in 1883), and especially their pursuance of land recovery and territorial sovereignty, among the many such mobilizations occurring in Latin America, including the Zapatista movement in Mexico, the organizing of indigenous groups in Bolivia and the CONAIE (Confederación de …

Jordan’S Energy Security: Impact Of Dependency On Unstable Foreign Sources On Social Stability And Policy Alternatives, Allan Martinez Venegas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jordan is one the world's most dependent countries in foreign sources for energy production in the world. 96% percent of its energy comes from imports from neighboring countries, while exploitation of domestic resources is practically insignificant. Of the primary imports, crude oil and products are by far the most important resource, with natural gas in second place. This dependency is very problematic for both the Jordanian regime and the society it governs in two main ways. Firstly, the source-countries of these resources are highly unstable, especially in the current context of the “Arab spring.” Their outflow of energy sources is …

Understanding The Role Of Social Capital And School Structure On Latino Academic Success, Jeremiah Gonzalez

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

This paper investigates the role of social capital and school structure on the academic success of Latino students. A review of the literature on previous explanations of Latino failure, research on academically successful Latinos, and the role of social capital and school structure on Latino academic success are investigated. The research shows that the way students are tracked in school plays an important role in gaining access to school agents and other academically successful peers. These relationships give access to social capital and increase college access. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Terrains Of Terror And Modern Apparatuses Of Destruction: Organ Transplantation, Markets, And The Commoditized Kidney, Ayan Kassim

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Recent innovations in biomedicine and medical technologies within the last 40 years have altered understandings of the body and its parts; burgeoning global markets in organs is symptomatic of this. Although procurement policies by most nations solicit organs through donation only, lengthy wait lists have prompted the fiscally privileged sick to pursue other means of survival. In light of the current global realities of kidney trafficking in particular, this paper considers the following questions: How and why has the kidney become a commodity? In what historical moment did a kidney market emerge? What and who are the key actors in …

Public Policy: Community Safety Through Breed Bans?, Deirdre S. Franklin

Animals and Public Policy Collection

The research performed provided several insights and outcomes that were anticipated in the research question. By analyzing the effects of breed specific legislation (BSL) and the statistics relative to dog bites, dog shelters and rescue groups, it became clear that the BSL does not work. This case study provides extensive proof to support this conclusion.

Urban Forest Justice And The Rights To Wild Foods, Medicines, And Materials In The City, Melissa R. Poe, Rebecca J. Mclain, Marla R. Emery, Patrick T. Hurley

Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

Urban forests are multifunctional socio-ecological landscapes, yet some of their social benefits remain poorly understood. This paper draws on ethnographic evidence from Seattle, Washington to demonstrate that urban forests contain nontimber forest products that contribute a variety of wild foods, medicines, and materials for the well-being of urban residents. We show that gathering wild plants and fungi in urban forests is a persistent subsistence and livelihood practice that provides sociocultural and material benefits to city residents, and creates opportunities for connecting with nature and enhancing social ties. We suggest that an orientation toward human-nature interactions in cities that conceptualizes the …

Proxy Citizenship And Transnational Advocacy: Colombian Activists From Putumayo To Washington, Dc, Winifred Tate

Faculty Scholarship

Proxy citizenship is the mechanism through which certain rights of citizenship—the ability to make claims for redress to a state—are conferred on activists through relationships with NGOs. Focusing on advocacy from within the policy process, U.S. and Colombian NGOs channeled political legitimacy and rights of access to Colombians, whose claims emerge from the experience of governance as articulated through testimony. This process, and its roots within the shared history of the Putumayo region of Colombia and Washington, DC, reveals emerging practices of citizenship claims and transnational political participation.

Recasting The Agency Of Unaccompanied Youth, Lauren Heidbrink

Faculty Publications

This is Chapter 6 of Emerging Perspectives on Children in Migratory Circumstances: Selected Proceedings of the Working Group on Childhood and Migration June 2008 Conference, published by Drexel University Department of Culture & Communication. Click for full-text.

Excerpt from the book abstract:

Most of the pieces provide in depth points of view from child migrant perspectives—data that is often difficult to obtain and portray sensitively. Child-centered data is exceptionally valuable in helping us to grasp the micro-forces by which childhood is changing through migration and how children experience or activate agency under trying conditions...Lauren Heidbrink [discusses] Spanish speakers in …

Book Review: Virtual War And Magical Death: Technologies And Imaginaries For Terror And Killing, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This is a book review.

Book Review: Routledge Handbook Of Transnational Organized Crime, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This is a book review.

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 17: Civil Self-Defense Groups Have Emerged In 11 Mexican States, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Assessing Ghana's Contemporary Tourism Development Experience, Kwaku Adutwum Boakye, Ferdinand Otibo, Foster Frempong

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The re-emerging acceptance of tourism as a pathway to development has culminated in widespread adoption of the trade by many poor countries. Ghana is one such country and, over the past three decades, has sought to use tourism as means of diversifying its econ-omy. The substantial amounts invested in tourism by the government make it imperative to continually evaluate tourism performance and outcomes as a tool for socio-economic development. Yet, to date, very few studies have placed Ghana’s tourism experience un-der the spotlight. This paper focuses on how the trade has evolved into a major economic activity. It assesses the …

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #20: Rpg-29 Anti-Armor Munitions, David A. Kuhn, Anikh Wadhawan, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Note—Up until recently, weapons that provide for armor and bunker defeat capability at the levels that the RPG-29 is capable of, have not been seen in the hands of the Mexican cartels. The fact that they have successfully obtained them—and the origin and mechanism by which they were obtained should be of extreme concern to everyone.

Film Review: Narco Cultura – A Tale Of Three Cities, John P. Sullivan, Khirin A. Bunker, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This is a film review.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 15: Ied Recovered From Trunk Of Car By Police Station In Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, David A. Kuhn, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Finding Still Waters And Green Pastures: Understanding And Reducing Stress In Urban Church Planting, David R. Dunaetz

Selected Faculty Publications

The work of urban church planters is often hindered by high levels of stress. Stress may be viewed as a process that involves stressors and an individual’s perceptions of both the level of threat and his or her ability to deal with the threat. The long term and the short term consequences of stress can be attenuated through appropriate coping strategies such as problem solving, prayer, and seeking social support. Recent empirical evidence indicates that exposure to nature is also very effective, a strategy that might be especially beneficial to urban church planters and their ministries. Several practical applications are …

Land Restitution, Traditional Leadership And Belonging: Defining Barokologadi Identity, Robin L. Turner

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

How do government policies and practices affect struggles over collective identity and struggles over land? Examining the interconnections among collective identity struggles, land struggles and state policies and practices in post-apartheid South Africa, this paper argues that the government's contradictory policies and ambivalent practices have aggravated collective struggles over the boundaries of belonging. Specifically, the differing definitions of community set forth in traditional leadership, land tenure and land restitution policies exacerbate existing divisions among ‘communities’ concurrently subject to these policies and create practical policy dilemmas for decision-makers. This paper illustrates the interplay between public policies and collective identity struggles through …

The Tools And Technologies Of Transdisciplinary Climate Change Research And Community Empowerment In Barbuda, Sophia Perdikaris, Katherine Hejtmanek, Rebecca Boger, Jennifer Adams, Amy E. Potter, John Mussington

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Focusing on the smaller sister-island of Barbuda, part of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a group of collaborating anthropologists, archaeologists, biologists, education specialists, geographers, and environmental scientists are studying long-term human ecodynamics, the relationship amongst people, place, and the environment from the beginning of the peopling of a place through modern day. Our transdisciplinary approach brings together various field methods, tools and technologies from each field and crosses the boundaries of conventional science. This approach furthers our knowledge of climate change and facilitates practical and sustainable solutions for vulnerable populations.

A Soldier's Home, Andrew O. Mclaughlin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.