Digital Commons Network^™

"I'Ll Stay Where You Want Me To Stay": How Latter-Day Saints Navigate Conflicting Social Values While Remaining Committed To Their Faith, Venice Jardine

Theses and Dissertations

While recent efforts in religious studies have focused on why many Americans seem to be leaving religion entirely, much less is understood about why many others choose to remain committed to their faith--especially when they hold many of the same social values, doubts, or divergent opinions that others cite for leaving. Within a Latter-day Saint context especially, very little research has been done to explore the experiences of those navigating the complexities of competing ethical affordances while remaining committed to their faith. Through ethnographic research in both Salt Lake County and New York City, I document the patterns and processes …

How Covid-19 Changed Us: Compassion, Leadership, And Policy, The Lincy Institute

Lincy Institute Events

Nevada was one of the hardest hit states during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past three years, researchers at The Lincy Institute and other institutions collected interviews from 80 Nevada leaders across sectors including elected officials, leaders in education, community organizations, government agencies, and the business community. Four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our communities continue to build a resilient and healthy Nevada. This forum discusses how the crisis prompted us to rethink how we lead and how we can prepare for future challenges. Following a presentation of the project and its deliverables, leaders across sectors discuss …

Education And Community: Education Helping Immigrants Find Community And Belonging., Belle Lemieux Chan, Josephine Smith, Lauren Gracey

Egypt Migrations Partnership and Comparative Immigrant Experiences

Education serves as a structured pathway for immigrants to establish a sense of community and belonging in their new country. Through the consistency and frequency of interactions within educational environments, immigrants have the opportunity to form meaningful friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds. These connections not only enhance their quality of life but also facilitate a smoother transition into their adopted homeland. By engaging in academic pursuits alongside fellow students, immigrants find camaraderie and support, fostering a sense of belonging that transcends cultural barriers. In essence, the educational community becomes a sanctuary where immigrants can thrive socially and academically, forging …

Meeple Mondays!, Kyle Robert Trigg

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Meeple Mondays are a prospective bi-weekly event dedicated to playing tabletop games of all weights and genres. I hosted this night with the intention of providing a space in which newcomers can experience and learn how to play board games. In providing this for the community as a whole, I have helped open up a new way for younger individuals to try their hand at something new but expensive. This entire project manifested as a single night event with collected feedback to make it recurring.

Savannah’S Customs: Automotive Passion, Savannah M. Doran

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This capstone project is a service-learning podcast to provide information, research, and inspiration to those in the automotive community. Specifically, focused on changing stereotypes of women in automotive. There are not many spaces for women in the automotive industry to gain inspiration or be involved in a community. The podcast helps create a community where individuals can help inspire one another to follow their passion. It impacts the general public (listeners) and myself by providing an innovative approach to automotive passions.

Community Family Game Night, Adrianna Green

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

In the community of Tetonia, where social opportunities outside of church events or bars are limited, organizing a community game night emerged as a solution to enhance engagement, particularly for young children. Through a service-learning project, the project began with discussions with the Tetonia First Ward young women's group and the Mayor of Tetonia, gathering valuable feedback, including insights from about the need for increased involvement for senior citizens. Recognizing the potential for intergenerational connection, the event aimed to bring youth and older community members together.

#Getinked: An Anthropological Exploration Of Tattooing And Social Media, Delanee Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to address two inquiries regarding contemporary tattooing. The first goal is to explore how social media has changed the practice of tattooing while the second goal is to examine how tattoos are used to express or explore the differing facets of a person’s identity. Identity theory, social identity theory, semiotics, and the concepts of stigma and deviancy form the theoretical framework which allows one to understand the ways in which tattoos can provide insights into the various aspects of someone’s identity as well as how social media can influence members of the tattoo community. An online survey, …

Building Community For Those Living With Hiv: Co-Empowerment And Participatory Action Research, Patricia M. Miller Dr., Brent Oliver Dr., Ken Lapointe, Kim A. Samson, Vincenzo Sabella Mr.

The Qualitative Report

The Calgary HIV Social Society (CHSS) self-determined and organized several social-recreational monthly events to reduce and understand the effects of social isolation and stigma that people living with HIV face every day. It has been found that COVID-19 had impacted the lives of people living with HIV by creating significant isolation for those already stigmatized because of living with HIV. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and focus group at the end of the events, the research showed how COVID 19, and the related concurring isolation has impacted the lives of people living with HIV. The research included three …

Exploring The Realities Of Queer/Trans, Black, Indigenous, And/Or People Of Color Students At Humboldt State University, Kat Hồng Nguyễn

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In this thesis, I use participant interviews with 12 queer student activists at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) and participant observation from 2019-2021 to provide a qualitative analysis of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) student knowledge. While student activism is not a primary site of analysis in this paper, all of the participants of this study identify as student activists which has implications on their overall experience. Participants in this study note the institutional efforts to disrupt institutional memory between student leaders and activists. This study was specifically designed to combat this issue by …

I Am Not A Hero: Heroic Action Divorces The Hero From The Political Community, Ari Kohen, Brian Riches, Andre Sólo

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Most people who perform a heroic act will, afterward, deny that their actions were heroic and claim that anyone would have done the same, even though that is demonstrably false (and, often, others were present who failed to act heroically at all). The literature on the psychology of heroism has never investigated why this is. This theoretical paper proposes an answer and seeks to provoke exploration of a previously unexplored topic. We note that people who undertake heroic action face a unique conflict: they embody their community’s highest values, while simultaneously breaking norms to stand apart from that community. We …

Housing Equity In Golden Gate Village, Nicole White

Social Justice | Senior Theses

For generations, the African American community has faced many forms of housing discrimination that have created major inequalities in their everyday lived experiences (Lockwood, 2020). This study explores the long-lasting effects of discriminatory housing policies in creating disparate housing conditions within the public housing community in Marin City called Golden Gate Village, as well as the role of the Marin Housing Authority in practices of displacement and neglect. The methodology for the study included seven different interviews with Golden Gate Village residents to obtain knowledge about the community as well as grasp an understanding of the lived experiences of the …

“It Takes A Village!”: Social Capital Building In A Remote Hawai‘I Community, Manca Sustarsic, Sothy Eng, Nancy Ooki, Heather Greenwood

Journal of Youth Development

In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the multi-level educational intervention among youth in a low-income, remote community in Hawai‘i, United States. The program aided with middle schoolers’ transition into adulthood through youth-adult partnerships, teen mentoring, and community sustainability. Drawing upon social capital framework, we explored participants’ experiences and how the intervention promoted positive developmental outcomes among the youth. We recruited youth from a rural Title I Middle School in Hawai‘i. Nine youth (n_boys=6, n_girls=3; M_age=13; 44.9% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 44.4% Black or African American, 33.3% White, 22.2. % Asian; participants …

The Spiritual Impact Of Disability On Parents And Caregivers, Grant Azbell

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This study was designed to examine the impact of disability on the faith and faith communities of parents and caregivers of persons experiencing disability. This study proceeded by asking nine parents or caregivers of persons experiencing disability a series of seven questions to evaluate the impact of disability on their faith and on their relationship to their faith community. The interviews were conducted on Zoom and the recordings were transcribed and coded to observe discernable patterns and themes amongst the participants. What emerged from the data is important for ministers, church leaders, and anyone wanting to know more about the …

Empowered Women In A Rural Community: A Case Study In Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, Patricia López-Estrada, Lady Fernández-Mora, Estefanía Pérez-Hidalgo

The Qualitative Report

Community empowerment plays a key role in the working of society. Providing support and training opportunities to communities and promoting socioeconomic growth can be of fundamental importance to the progress of any region but is particularly important in rural areas. Women in rural communities frequently have been confined to playing roles in the home, despite recent literature suggesting that empowering them can boost the development of their communities. Drawing on inductive qualitative research, this case study describes the perceptions of five rural women from Sarapiquí in the Northern Region of Costa Rica after undergoing training in tourism entrepreneurship in the …

Nonprofit Website Design For Mission And Stakeholder Impact, Amy Elizabeth Mcintyre

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Idaho Giving Garden was founded in 2020, and official recognition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is set to be granted in January 2024. Idaho Giving Garden’s mission is to combat food insecurity in its community by growing and distributing fresh and nutritious produce to the Meridian Food Bank, fostering a healthier and more equitable food system for all. For my service-learning capstone project, I developed a website for Idaho Giving Garden to raise awareness of its mission and goals and engage volunteers, funders, and donors to support its cause. With greater community engagement through the website, Idaho Giving Garden hopes …

Autoimmune Allies Blog Project, Rebecca A. Kelley

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My project was based around starting a blog summarizing and sharing my own experiences with autoimmune diseases. I was diagnosed with my first autoimmune disease when I was eight and it drastically impacted the way I grew up and have subsequently lived my life. I wanted to create a platform that both shared these experiences as well as shared information and resources to other people who might be struggling through something similar. I also paired it with another capstone project that involved organizing a local meetup support group for individuals.

Clothing My Community, Megan Anderson-Way

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My Capstone project is doing a clothing drive and swap for my community. I was inspired when I was back to school shopping for clothes for my daughter and realizing how expensive it is. I asked myself how do families afford it with multiple children afford clothing in this economy.

One Crisis Or Two Problems? Disentangling Rural Access To Justice And The Rural Attorney Shortage, Daria F. Page, Brian R. Farrell

Washington Law Review

We have all seen the headlines: No Lawyer for Miles or Legal Deserts Threaten Justice for All in Rural America. There is a substantial body of literature, across disciplines and for diverse audiences, that looks at access to justice in rural communities and geographies. However, in both the popular and scholarly imaginations, the access to justice crisis has been largely conflated with the shortage of local attorneys in rural areas: When bar associations, lawyers, and legal academics define the problem as not enough lawyers, more lawyers become the obvious solution. Consequently, programs aimed at building pipelines from law schools …

Community Assisted Fundraiser For Camp Rainbow Gold, Ethan Johnson

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My service learning project was a garage sale using items donated by my local community. I gave 100% of the funds generated to Camp Rainbow Gold, a local charity that focuses their efforts on supporting children who have been directly impacted by childhood cancer, and their families. Camp Rainbow Gold is currently fundraising for their Hidden Paradise Project, which will be Idaho’s first medical camp aimed at providing a space for children and their families affected by childhood cancer to heal. I held the event on November 12^th and solicited donations from my local community through online sources such …

Improving Childhood Literacy, Amy Williams

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This paper discusses my approach and solution to the problem of declining literacy rates among children in recent years. While there are many contributing factors, COVID lockdown and the reliance on technology have played a part. The approach to this problem was to start within my own community by building a Little Free Library. This library gave children the opportunity to have increased access to reading materials that interest them, free of charge. The children were also incentivized to read by the initiation of a summer reading program that included prizes for completion of a reading log. By generating interest …

Trans Futures In The Present Moment, Willow Grace Eckmayer

University Honors Theses

The current climate for trans folks in the U.S. remains increasingly hostile and many researchers have called attention to the "joy deficit" within the existing trans literature (Shuster & Westbrook, 2022). This study investigates what trans individuals are currently doing to survive, thrive, and resist in a belligerent socio-political climate. To answer this, five community conversations with 25 participants were held using a semi-structured conversation guide. Within the analysis, the central theme that emerged was that trans individuals are using their communities to create radical futures. Our communities are supporting us through mutual aid and radical acts of care, which …

Describe The City You Live In, Jingfei Hu

Masters Theses

I dive into the fields: frequency (sound), wavelengths (light), shapes (conversation): they build connections. What is action without reflection? Now I’m a city drifter. Through art making and dialogue I try to drop the anchor into the futuristic turbulent ocean (of society, speed, and the status quo ). Did I drop it? Not sure. I grew up in the most fast- paced city in China, Shenzhen. I feel pressured there. Do I feel that pressure here? of a precarious, unpredictable future? These questions push me out of the turbulent ocean to grab the present.

There are three stages of time: …

Ci Guardiamo Il Culo: A Phenomenology Of Relevance In Ancient Italian Cultural Heritage, Sophia Hudzik

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Relevance to the public has become critical for Italian cultural heritage institutions, as domestic visitation to archaeological parks and museums remains low while expectations to engage communities rise. This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of the experience of ancient cultural heritage through the lens of individuals located nearby the Villa of the Antonines Archaeological excavation, in Genzano di Roma, Italy. The findings conclude with a set of recommendations for ancient cultural heritage institutions to become more relevant to the existing needs and lived experiences of the community.

Ambigú Trashumante Barra De Café Ambulante Ambigú Trashumante Barra De Café Ambulante, Augusto Martin Rivero

Master's Projects and Capstones

Ambigú Trashumante Barra de Café Ambulante is an applied research project which took shape over the course of a calendar year from May 2022-2023. A six-person team evolved including the personified project itself, united as one communal entity in collaboration. The project entailed creation of a bicicargo, or cargo bike–useful art becoming a mobile coffee bar and literal vehicle embodying justice through coffee offered freely in México, as facilitated through decolonized ethnography and Mesoamerican Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR). The project’s theoretical framework centers on Bruguera’s (2012) arte útil conceptualization. Five core patterns emerged, including the right to thrive in …

The Influence Of Community Trauma And The Behaviors Of Gang Members, Leshelle Franklin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Although there is an abundance of research done on gang members, gang activity, and gang activity in low-income neighborhoods, there is not much research that focuses on the community trauma in low-income neighborhoods; and any relations it may have on or to gang members. Research pertaining to gang members usually focuses on how gang activity affects the lives of non-gang members living in the community. This research study aims to explore community trauma and the behaviors of gang members, from a gang member’s perspective. This research study gives insight into the minds of 10 male African American gang members, as …

Dungeons & Dragons: Fractals Of The Human Self, Katie Anderson

Honors Theses

Dungeons & Dragons at its core is roleplay based storytelling, which implies the idea that the game is a work of fiction. While the world of Iad and the Free States of Tarvan does not exist on planet earth, the experiences and emotions felt by the players and their characters within the world are very much real. Players use extensions of themselves, their characters, to interact with the world around them, forging relationships and new lines of fate and destiny. Characters are fractals of their out of game personas, attached to one’s base personality and expanding outwards. The development of …

The Silent Illness, Morgan R. Wood-Buchanan

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My capstone project is all based on mental health, specifically depression. I created a blog based on my own personal story, in hopes I could reach people in our community who may be personally struggling with mental health or know someone who is struggling. The purpose of my project was to be a voice for those who feel as if they have lost theirs. Mental health is a taboo subject even though therapy has come a long way in becoming normalized. The blog is a safe place for those who feel the courage to share their story or struggles with …

Review: Events Special Interest Group Track At The Atlas Annual Conference 2022, Enya Moore Dr.

Articles

The 2022 Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) Annual Conference took place on the Munster Technological University campus in Cork, Ireland, 6^th – 9^th September 2022. The theme of the conference ‘What matters now to the global tourist?’ raised pertinent questions about the challenges facing the tourism and leisure industries and education since the onset of the global pandemic. This review focuses on a series of papers from the Events Special Interest Group which covered themes such as solidarity, community, festivals, placemaking and digitisation.

The research activities conducted for this publication were funded by the …

Every Screen Is A Window And A Mirror: How Social Media Strengthens Ties Within The Lgbtq+ Community, Jourdan Sadir Pérez

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

“A Beautiful Thing, To Not Be The Everything:” Raising A Child Within And Around Negotiations Of Capitalism, Community, And Care, Trinity A.H. Delano

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.