Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Emergency Citizen Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic: Emergent Groups Addressing Food Insecurity In Portland, Oregon, Aliza Ruth Tuttle

Dissertations and Theses

Emergency response agencies commonly focus on how hard infrastructure will interact with extreme climatic and geologic events: bridges during an earthquake and buildings following a tornado, for example. Peoples' actual experience of these extreme events vary, however, based on socially constructed consequences of natural hazard events and their interaction with a depleted or robust social safety net.

Previous research shows people living with depleted social safety nets and who experience a natural hazard event are likely to help where they see disaster. Individuals consistently form groups, called emergent groups, to organize their efforts. This research explored emergent groups that formed …

Researching Appointment Robbery: Voices From The Street, Arthur Gregory Vasquez

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation is composed of three papers that will examine three topics related to the main research project of examining whether or not CPTED strategies have an effect on the decision to participate in appointment robbery. The first paper examines the difficulties in gaining access with the hard-to-reach population of active offenders. The second paper will provide examples of ethical dilemmas that the qualitative researcher faced while in the field. The third paper will explore whether or not criminals were deterred from deciding to engage in criminal activity due to an implementation of a CPTED strategy. These three papers together …

An Inquiry Into The Number Of Traffic Tickets Issued And Implications For African Americans Motorists, Casey J. Davis

Dissertations (2016-Present)

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of race and gender disparities in police traffic stops as they relate to the number of tickets issued, number of consent searches, and number of arrests of traffic violators in the southern region of Texas, Harris County. The research will further shed light on how implicit bias affects police discretion and provide implications for police officers. This research will bring attention to the sanction disparity and examine the relationship between race and gender in motorist outcomes at the conclusion of traffic stops. The data for this research was conducted from …

Police Militarization And Overuse Of Force: An Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Paramilitary Units And Society, Ronald R. Burnett

Dissertations (2016-Present)

The role of the police is to maintain social order and safety through the enforcement of law. They investigate, prevent, and detect criminal activity. However, the problem with police protection today is overuse of force which often comes through the term militarism regarding agency tenets and dogma. Also, social media has focused on police overuse of force, exacerbating race riots and retaliatory police killings. Because of this, police reform has become a significant concern, not only in the United States but also abroad. The methodological approach for this dissertation is a quantitative analysis, data used is secondary, statistical procedure is …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion: Three Essays In The Educational Context, James D. Paul

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many universities and K-12 public school systems express a significant, formal commitment to the ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Relative to the emphasis on DEI in America’s educational institutions, however, there has been little research describing DEI trends and evaluating the efficacy of DEI bureaucracies. This three-chapter dissertation examines DEI trends that have been the subject of much discussion—but rarely studied empirically.

For example, chapter one analyzes how universities promote DEI when hiring new faculty. I audit a subset of academic job postings and present the first evidence on how many require DEI statements, as well as the …

Review Of Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reductionism, Charles Whitmer Wright

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Catholic Peacebuilding In Times Of Crisis: Hope For A Wounded World: A Summary With Link To Recordings Of Presentations, Gerard Powers

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

A Beacon Of Hope In A Troubled Context: Sketches Of The Life Of Mons. Paride Taban, Shepherd And Bridge-Builder, Alberto Eisman Torres

The Journal of Social Encounters

Monsignor Paride Taban, Bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Torit in Southern Sudan, is a multifaceted figure. Apart from his role as pastor and religious leader, he is an outstanding peace builder and the co-founder of the New Sudan Council of Churches, one of the most significant civil society institutions during the second civil war (1983 – 2005). This institution spearheaded numerous ecumenical initiatives including development work, humanitarian relief, training of grass-roots leaders and last but not least peace mediation. He is a relentless fighter for peaceful coexistence and tolerance in an environment marked by violence, oppression and impunity and …

Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma: Advocate Of Peace And Development, Loreta Navarro-Castro

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay describes the advocacy of Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, currently the co-president of Pax Christi Philippines and archbishop emeritus of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, Philippines, towards peace and development not only in Mindanao but also throughout the country. He is a strong proponent of interreligious dialogue and the importance of addressing the roots of the armed conflict so there can be an enduring peace in the Philippines and beyond.

An Angry Shepherd: Sudanese Bishop Macram Max Gassis, John Ashworth

The Journal of Social Encounters

Bishop Macram Max Gassis is a near-legendary figure in Sudan since he first spoke out against human rights abuses in his country before a committee of the US Congress in 1988. Targeted by the Islamist military dictatorship which ruled Sudan for thirty years, for protesting enslavement, religious oppression, forced starvation and mass murder in Sudan, he lives in exile, bringing help and hope to his persecuted people.

This essay is condensed from the 2021 book by the same author with the same title.

The Church And Ethnopolitical Conflict In Kenya: 1982-2013, David Tarus

The Journal of Social Encounters

The chapter examines the role of the church in addressing the problem of ethnopolitical conflict in Kenya from 1982 to 2013. Though ethnocentrism within the Kenyan Christian community goes beyond the years cited to the colonial period and the immediate years following independence, the intensity of the problem after 1982 calls for special attention. The single event that marks political change in Kenya is the 1982 attempted coup. Although this was not successful, the coup heightened opposition against Moi’s rule and thus, 1982 marks the beginning of the recent history of Kenya, a history in which three phases may be …

Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, And The Quest For Justice And Reconciliation, Hak Joon Lee

The Journal of Social Encounters

This paper studies Marin Luther King, Jr.’s and Desmond Tutu’s strivings for justice and reconciliation as the leaders of movements against white racist systems in the US and South Africa. Despite their differences in terms of nationality, age, religious denomination, and geography, the paper demonstrates how King’s and Tutu’s quests were grounded in the distinctive communal ethics informed by their Christian faith and their shared spiritual heritage as African peoples, which emphasize community, the ubiquity of religion, the moral order of the universe, and hopefulness. Contrasting their communal approach to a secular rational ethical approach to justice and peace, the …

Opening Plenary Address At The Catholic Peacebuilding In Times Of Crisis: Hope For A Wounded World Conference, H. E. Cardinal Charles Bo

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Introduction - Volume 6, Issue 2, Ronald Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Summary Report Of Discussions At The Forum “Nepali Diaspora Organizations In North America: Achievements, Opportunities, And Challenges”, Coppell, Texas, Usa July 2022, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The forum “Nepali Diaspora Organizations in North America: Achievements, Opportunities and Challenges” was held at the annual convention of the Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA) in Coppell, TX, USA on July 2, 2022. Nepalese Society of Texas (NST) hosted the convention and forum. As studies related to diaspora have become important topics in the fields of development, community culture, sociology and anthropology, ANA decided to include this topic in the forums organized at the national convention.

The global Nepali diaspora population in 2022 is estimated at 800,000. Although no authoritative statistics is available, the Nepali diaspora in North …

Mass Violence, Environmental Harm, And The Limits Of Transitional Justice, Rachel Killean, Lauren Dempster

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The relationship between the environment and mass violence is complex and multi-faceted. The effects of environmental degradation can destabilize societies and cause conflict. Attacks on the environment can harm targeted groups, and both mass violence and subsequent transitions can have harmful environmental legacies. Given this backdrop, it is notable that the field of transitional justice has paid relatively little attention to the intersections between mass violence and environmental degradation. This article interrogates this inattention and explores the limitations and possibilities of transitional justice as a means of addressing the environmental harms associated with mass violence. The article makes four key …

Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens, Marisa O. Ensor

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article examines the links between gender, mass violence, climate change, and displacement in South Sudan. I argue for risk-informed gender-sensitive strategies that incorporate local capacities and sources of resilience. When civil war engulfed South Sudan again in 2013, egregious human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, were perpetrated with near complete impunity. As the national army was divided along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, soldiers from each faction turned against each other in a deadly pattern of revenge and counter-revenge attacks that soon spread across the national territory. Inter-communal conflicts also intensified, often centering on competition over land for pasture, …

Everyday State And Democracy In Africa : Ethnographic Encounters, Wale Adebanwi

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Bottom-up case studies, drawn from the perspective of ordinary Africans’ experiences with state bureaucracies, structures, and services, reveal how citizens and states define each other.

This volume examines contemporary citizens’ everyday encounters with the state and democratic processes in Africa. The contributions reveal the intricate and complex ways in which quotidian activities and experiences—from getting an identification card (genuine or fake) to sourcing black-market commodities to dealing with unreliable waste collection—both (re)produce and (re)constitute the state and democracy. This approach from below lends gravity to the mundane and recognizes the value of conceiving state governance not in terms of its …

Gis Training In Transportation And Environmental Justice For Promoting Student Success In Steam Education, Joowon Im, Alan Klein, Amruta Sakalker

TREC Final Reports

Transportation land uses have a significant impact on vulnerable ecologies, especially in a rapidly urbanizing region like Dallas-Fort Worth. To study this relationship, the research team will develop a pilot ArcGIS lab course to expose high school students to critical regional tools and technology. This course will demonstrate the connections between transportation planning and design and environmental justice. The College of Architecture Planning and Public Affairs at UT Arlington will partner with CityLab high school in the Dallas Independent School District to develop a four-week lab course curriculum in ArcGIS and other emerging regional mapping technologies.

High school students will …

Digital-Based And Sustainable Tourism Village Development Planning Inpapa Garang Village, Labuan Bajo, Rahmi Setyawati

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

Indonesia as a maritime axis, of course, will not be separated from maritime culture and technology. The maritime axis is a development paradigm needed by maritime-based regions such as Labuan Bajo. Maritime culture should be the original culture of Indonesia, because Indonesia is an archipelagic country. However, the development of tourist villages located on the coast requires a special planning program that is in accordance with the characteristics of the community, geography, and socio-culture so that tourism development is sustainable. This study aims to create a digital-based and sustainable independent tourism village development program. The concept used is sustainable tourism, …

Integrating Humanitarian Mine Action And Humanitarian Forensic Action, Lauren Cobham, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Mike Harris, Caroline Barker, César Sanabrina Medina, Javier Naranjo-Santana, Gareth Collett

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Humanitarian mine action (HMA) and humanitarian forensic action (HFA) have had a global impact in recent decades. However, these two areas could work more closely together in view of some of the contexts in which they operate. Often when HMA operators clear explosive ordnance (EO) after conflict, they find human remains, especially in urban areas. When human remains are encountered, operators have responsibilities to ensure that they are dealt with appropriately. When both HMA and HFA actors are present, there is a need for an increased awareness and understanding of each other’s role. Human remains should be returned to families …

Missed Opportunities: A Chance To Develop Synergy Between Humanitarian Mine Action And Humanitarian Forensic Action, Patrick Nowak

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article aims to identify the opportunities for synergy that exist globally between humanitarian mine action (HMA) and humanitarian forensic action (HFA) through the lens of their specific objectives. Moreover, it recommends how best to leverage existing touchpoints and establish networks between the two disciplines; explores the access and placement that can enhance both mine action and forensic objectives; shows how subject-matter experts currently remain underutilized in explosive mitigation missions and human remains recovery operations; and indicates how to remedy that through combined efforts.

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Issue 25.3 (2023), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

• Ukraine
• Human Forensics
• Reintegration of Former Combatants
• Afghanistan and Tajikistan
• Mental Health of Survivors and HMA Personnel
• Iraq
• Notes on T&EP 09.30, 09.31, and IMAS 09.30
• Environmental Soil Sampling and Analysis
• TIR Imaging

Endnotes, Issue 25.3, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

No abstract provided.

Bringing People Back Into Public Health Data: Community Feedback On A Set Of Visualization Tools - Summary Report, Alejandro Cerón, Mia Glover, Quisi Rodriguez-Oregel, Dani Thompson, Tom Adams, Naomi Asakura, Kaela Belknap, Anna Block, Nicole Boehler, Hannah Boeve, Sarah Bomers, Sasha Borovok, Grace Bryan, Kate Buffington, Majesty Cain, Beth Carideo, Haley Chesno, Grace Connell, Jake Corbett, Camille Cruz, Chloe Dawkins, Anna Denniston, Lydia Dickens, Sophie Duplock, Samuel Dwinell, Avery Ess, Sam Ferman, Ellis Geis, Ethan Graupmann, Xander Hedrick, Angel Hernandez-Miramontes, Grant Huyghe, Sara Ibrahiem, Anna Jamieson, Ian Kang, Allie Kris, Erin Lawrence, Maddie Leake, Ryan Leary, Taylor Loh, Charlotte Monroe, Alexander Nguyen-Lopez, Henry O’Daffer, Cat Parish, Jaylee Recountre, Grace Rizzo, Noah Roseth, Grace Rothstein, Katie Sage, Marie Saltzmann, Stephen Shlain, Riley Shores, Mackenna Simson, Mark Teneza, Jack Weinmeister, Justin Weinzweig, Alison Wenman, Patch Whelan, Lea Zimmerman

Anthropology: Undergraduate Student Scholarship

This course-based study is a product of the University of Denver’s Spring 2022 The Social Determination of Health (ANTH 2424) class. The study aimed to understand how well a set of public health visualization tools tells the data stories about people in Colorado, and about important public health problems. For this, a team of almost sixty undergraduate students taking the class, coordinated by three graduate teaching assistants, and directed by the course instructor interviewed a total of fifty-six people from Colorado, qualitatively analyzed those interviews, and wrote reports that draw conclusions and recommendations.

Connecting For Equitable Climate Adaptation: Mapping Stakeholder Relationships In Metro Boston, Rosalyn Negrón, Antonio Raciti, Rebecca Herst, Patricio Belloy, Katsyris Rivera-Kientz, Gabriela Boscio Santos, Ashley Smith

Sustainable Solutions Lab

Climate change is already disproportionately impacting historically marginalized populations. Without intentional interventions, adaptation efforts will amplify existing social and economic inequities. At the same time, society will mobilize massive resources to address increasing climate-related threats. This means that climate change also presents opportunities to address persistent and systemic inequities. However, equitable adaptation efforts are impeded by multiple factors. For example, many frontline communities do not have the capacity to work on adaptation efforts if it means diverting attention from addressing existing inequities. Even as policymakers, practitioners, and planners increasingly prioritize climate adaptation, frontline communities are not brought into the process …

Between The Commons And The Cosmos: The Sacred Politics Of The Bri In Southeast Asia And Beyond, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores how political ecology can advance existing understandings of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its effects, and how the BRI can contribute to recent shifts in the study of political ecology. It argues that the idea of infrastructural overlap can sensitize discourse to the ways in which the materializations of the BRI, as a series of infrastructural megaprojects, intersect with other infrastructural formations, such as the environment and religion. By focusing on the effects of the BRI on resource- dependent communities located between the ‘commons’ and the ‘cosmos’ we can appreciate the sense of existential crisis …

Recruitment, Retention, And Future Direction For A Heart Health Education And Risk Reduction Intervention Led By Community Health Workers In An African American Majority City, Julie Gleason-Comstock, Cindy Bolden Calhoun, Ghadir Mozeb, Cardell Louis, Alex B. Hill, Barbara J. Locke, Victor Harrell, Sadia Yasmin, Liying Zhang, John M. Flack, Nancy T. Artinian, Jinping Xu

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Heart disease is a leading cause of death for African Americans. A community-academic partnership cross-trained community health workers to engage African American adults in a 6-month heart health education and risk reduction intervention. We conducted a one-group feasibility study using a one group (pre-posttest) design. A total of 100 adults were recruited from 27 zip codes in an African American majority city through community-based organizations (46%), churches (36%), and home visits (12%). Ninety-six percent were African American; 55% were female, 39% were male, and 6% were transgender. Their mean age was 44.6 years (SD=15.9). Ninety-two percent had health insurance. Seventy-six …

The Violence Induced By Climate Change: An Evolving Controversy, Josephine Kurdziel

Senior Theses

Climate-induced violence has become more prominent and scrutinized in research, media, and discussion in the last decade with the emergence of new patterns of violence. Conflicts have been scrutinized particularly in key regions and countries such as West Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, which are the focus of the three case studies in this paper. The research is centered on several types of violence such as civil war and terrorism, and then further expanded to how climate change may or may not influence their patterns. Correspondingly, there is also an analysis on the importance of state stability and …

Common Law With Uncommon Regulations: The Influence Of Legal Tradition On Campaign Finance Regimes, Sky Berry-Weiss

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Americans spent $11.4 billion in their last federal election cycle but collectively, the United Kingdom and Canada only spent a little over $550 million in their last general elections. These three states have similarities in democratic governance, economic legacy, and common law legal system grouping but how did they become so separated in campaign finance regulations? Prior research in the field of international comparative campaign finance law is limited and primarily focuses on using political theories to describe the movement of laws toward deregulation or regulation. This research seeks to find what influences the creation, preservation, and deregulation of campaign …