Digital Commons Network^™

Living Networks: Reimagining Social Capital Beyond Institutions, Meghna Pamula

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the decline of social capital in the United States and explores how community connection can be rebuilt outside of traditional government institutions. Motivated by the question of whether social capital can be rebuilt within bureaucratic structures, the research evaluates the role of alternative, agile models such as local volunteer organizations, mutual aid networks, third spaces, and NGOs. Using a comparative case study approach and qualitative analysis, I examine initiatives across different cultures that foster social trust and connection beyond the limitations of formal systems. The findings illustrate that adaptive models of social capital that are not based …

Support Needs Of Agrarian Women To Build Household Livelihood Resilience: A Case Study Of The Mekong River Delta, Tran Thi Ngoc Tran

Dissertations

Problem

Rural livelihood faces significant challenges due to the increasing frequency and severity of climate change impacts. However, the development of women’s livelihood resilience remains constrained by gender-blind policies, limited sex-disaggregated data, and a lack of integration of gender-specific needs and priorities in resilience-building interventions. This study aims to address these critical gaps. This study aims at exploring the perceived support needs of rural agrarian women in building household livelihood resilience to climate change. Specifically, it seeks to (1) understand how household livelihood resilience is perceived by rural agrarian women, and (2) identify the support they require to effectively adapt …

Building Place-Based Experiential Learning Into The Honors Curriculum At Ohio University, Geoffrey L. Buckley, Nicole Finnicum, Michelle O'Malley, Jennifer Bowie, Yolonda Youngs

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Observing the demand for interdisciplinary experiential learning opportunities post-COVID, authors present a place-based curriculum in honors. Workshop-style special topics classes provide students with an immersive and flexible learning environment, energize faculty, and engage alumni and community partners. Coursework, fieldwork, internships, and study abroad opportunities all contribute to the development of an informed and engaged citizenry. Authors address challenges in funding, access, and equity, and they suggest ways these challenges might be met.

Artificial Intelligence And Illicit Drugs: A World Of Possibilities, Ralph A. Weisheit

Faculty Publications - Criminal Justice Sciences

Large scale drug production and distribution organizations (DTOs) are businesses. As such they face many of the same challenges faced by legal businesses, such as the creation of new drugs, supply chain issues, and identifying new markets. The legal business world is finding creative ways to meet those challenges utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). This discussion uses a horizon scan methodology to suggest how current and anticipated applications of AI in the legal business world might be adapted by large-scale illicit drug trafficking organizations. The focus in this discussion is on its potential application for the largest organizations that control the …

Islamic Themes In Us Hip-Hop Culture, Anders Ackfeldt

Music & Performance in Muslim Contexts

Explores how Islam is produced in American hip-hop culture by both Muslims and non-Muslims

Islam has been a part of hip-hop culture since it sprang from New York’s street culture in the 1970s. Today hip-hop has evolved into a global artform with a diversity of Muslim Islamic discourses expressed. Using tools from the field of social semiotics, this book examines how Islamic themes feature in US hip-hop culture, maintaining a particular awareness that both Muslims as well as non-Muslims participate in their production.

Anders Ackfeldt analyses a collection of lyrics, sounds and images to show how Islamic themes are featured …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Echoes Of Play: Traditional Outdoor Games Of Chitral`S Mountain Communities, Rubina Nawab, Fozia Parveen

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

No abstract provided.

Booklet Of Green Prompts, Fatima Iqbal, Ali Fayyaz

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

This short stories book is an outcome of the Climate Action Fellowship carried out by the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) and funded by the U.S. Mission in Pakistan.

The Munster Statement On The Principles Of Research Ethics And Research Integrity (English), Ingenium

Dissemination

INGENIUM is an alliance of ten institutions of higher education from ten European countries. This European University seeks to enable each member of the network to offer high-quality study and qualification programmes with digital components that are shared within the INGENIUM Alliance.

In Higher Education Institutions there is a growing emphasis on promoting good research practices in all aspects of research1,2, including everything from fundamental research to applied research to commercialisation. Research ethics (RE) and research integrity (RI) underpin research activity and excellence and are considered a critical component of the basis for researchers to trust each other as well …

"You Can't Buck Against The Railroad" And The Anarchist Radicals Who Ceased To Be: The Honest, Bleak Portrayal Of Social Darwinism In Frank Norris's The Octopus, Michelle Nicole Miani

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, when railroads were consolidating their control, their executives soon learned their power of controlling rates, and by extension, the entire economy. Dissecting the capitalist machine of the railroad corporations in California, Frank Norris’s 1901 novel The Octopus presents a fictionalized account of the very real circumstances of one fight against the monopoly, the Mussel Slough Tragedy of 1880 in the San Joaquin Valley. This thesis explores Norris’s presentation of the forces that drive humans to lack empathy for those around them as well as the forces that drive others to fight back …

The Paradox Of Survival: Gendered Food Insecurity, Labor Inequalities, And Coping Strategies During The 2023/4 Drought In Eastern Ethiopia, Meron E. Lemma

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

In drought-prone regions of Eastern Ethiopia, recurring droughts profoundly reshape everyday life in ways that deepen existing gendered inequalities. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Fedis district, including semi-structured interviews with women, project implementers, and government officials, as well as group discussions with community members, this study explores how women experience, navigate, and resist the gendered impacts of drought. By attending to the sociopolitical dynamics of drought and the development interventions that accompany it, I analyze how these forces restructure labor, land, food systems, and authority in ways that reproduce and exacerbate existing inequalities. Women’s coping strategies, ranging from begging and …

What Is Success? How Peer Support Workers In Ontario See Addiction & Recovery, Ngaire Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The drug crisis in Canada has high mortality rates, especially in remote and rural communities, but there are significant barriers to accessing healthcare to which peer support may represent a partial solution, (Eddie et al., 2019; Englander et al., 2020; The Government of Canada, 2023; Kourgiantakis et al., 2023; Lavalley et al., 2020; Lennox et al., 202; Russell et al., 2021). Research how peer support workers define success in their work with adults experiencing addiction in Ontario, Canada is lacking, but important to understanding the crisis and implementing peer programs. Grounded in Marxist theory, the following exploratory research investigated the …

Production & Perception Of /S/ And Pitch Of Transgender Speakers, Connor J. Ryan

Honors Theses and Capstones

Linguistic research on how transgender speakers use speech traits commonly associated with gender, such as f0 and /s/, is still limited in scope. Past research has focused primarily on singular gender groups within the transgender community, particularly transmasculine speakers, leaving gaps in how speech differs among transgender speakers. Additionally, there has been little research on how transgender identity influences perception of gender in speech. Here, I use data from reading passages by fifteen university-age transgender speakers in New England to analyze variation in /s/ and f0 among transmasculine, transfeminine, nonbinary, and multigender speakers. I then performed a perception study using …

“Single Girl, Married Girl:” Female Perspectives On Marriage, Maidenhood, And Motherhood In English-Language Folk Music, Avery Schanbacher

Libraries Award for Undergraduate Scholarship

In 1928, the Carter Family released “Single Girl, Married Girl.” The recording featured only Sara and Maybelle Carter, and in three short stanzas, highlighted the vastly differing lives of the single girl, who dressed fine and went where she pleased, and the married girl, with a baby on her knee, who rocked the cradle and cried. Sara and Maybelle Carter weren’t the only people who knew this song – before they recorded it for Ralph Peer at the famous Bristol sessions, it was alive as a part of musical traditions not just in their home in Scott County, Virginia, but …

เส้นทางสู่วาระท้ายของชีวิตผู้ต้องขังที่ป่วยในเรือนจำ, วิกานดา แหชัย

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษาวิจัยเรื่อง “เส้นทางสู่วาระท้ายของผู้ต้องขังที่ป่วยในเรือนจำ” เป็นการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพที่มุ่งสะท้อนประสบการณ์ของผู้ต้องขังป่วยระยะท้ายผ่านการสร้างเรื่องเล่า (Narrative) เพื่อทำความเข้าใจสภาวะและความหมายของการดำรงอยู่ในช่วงวาระสุดท้ายภายใต้ข้อจำกัดของเรือนจำ ผู้วิจัยดำเนินการศึกษาข้อมูลจากเอกสาร (Documentary Study) ทั้งหนังสือ บทความทางวิชาการ รายงานการวิจัย และวิทยานิพนธ์ที่เกี่ยวข้อง ทั้งในและต่างประเทศ โดยเน้นประเด็นด้านแนวคิดและทฤษฎีการดูแลผู้ป่วยระยะสุดท้าย การดูแลแบบประคับประคอง (Palliative Care) สิทธิขั้นพื้นฐานของผู้ต้องขังตามหลักสิทธิมนุษยชน มาตรฐานสากลด้านสิทธิเสรีภาพของผู้ต้องขัง ตลอดจนกรอบสิทธิมนุษยชนระหว่างประเทศเป็นฐานในการวิเคราะห์ นอกจากนี้ งานวิจัยยังพิจารณาปัจจัยเชิงระบบที่มีผลต่อการดูแลผู้ต้องขังป่วยระยะท้าย เช่น ความแออัดของเรือนจำ โครงสร้างพื้นฐานด้านสาธารณสุข ความพร้อมของบุคลากรทางการแพทย์ และข้อจำกัดด้านทรัพยากร ตลอดจนศึกษาแนวปฏิบัติในต่างประเทศซึ่งมีการพัฒนาระบบการดูแลผู้ต้องขังป่วยระยะท้ายอย่างเป็นรูปธรรมมากกว่า ได้แก่ ประเทศสหราชอาณาจักร ฝรั่งเศส และสหรัฐอเมริกา ซึ่งมีรูปแบบบริการด้านการดูแลประคับประคองในเรือนจำตั้งแต่การจัดตั้งหน่วยดูแลเฉพาะทาง การพัฒนาอาสาสมัครผู้ต้องขัง ไปจนถึงกลไกการปล่อยตัวด้วยเหตุผลด้านมนุษยธรรม การเก็บข้อมูลภาคสนามใช้การสัมภาษณ์เชิงลึก (In-depth Interview) จากผู้ให้ข้อมูลสำคัญ (Key Informants) ได้แก่ แพทย์ พยาบาลวิชาชีพ นักทัณฑวิทยาที่มีประสบการณ์ดูแลผู้ต้องขังป่วยระยะท้าย และผู้ต้องขังจำนวน 2 นายที่กำลังเผชิญภาวะป่วยระยะสุดท้าย ข้อมูลที่ได้ถูกนำมาวิเคราะห์เพื่อสร้างภาพรวมของประสบการณ์ในวาระสุดท้ายของผู้ต้องขังในด้านร่างกาย จิตใจ จิตสังคม และจิตวิญญาณ รวมถึงอุปสรรคที่พบในการเข้าถึงบริการสุขภาพภายในเรือนจำ ผลการศึกษาคาดว่าจะสะท้อนให้เห็นถึงความท้าทายสำคัญของการดูแลผู้ต้องขังป่วยระยะท้ายภายใต้ข้อจำกัดด้านทรัพยากร โครงสร้างพื้นที่ และระบบบริการสาธารณสุขในเรือนจำ อาทิ การดูแลรักษาที่ไม่ต่อเนื่อง การขาดบริการเฉพาะทางด้านประคับประคอง และความจำกัดในการตอบสนองความต้องการทางจิตใจและจิตวิญญาณของผู้ต้องขัง นอกจากนี้ การศึกษายังมุ่งเสนอแนวทางพัฒนาระบบการดูแลผู้ต้องขังป่วยระยะท้ายในเรือนจำไทยให้มีลักษณะครอบคลุมและสอดคล้องกับมาตรฐานสากล โดยเน้นความสำคัญของการดูแลแบบองค์รวม การเคารพศักดิ์ศรีความเป็นมนุษย์ และการสนับสนุนให้ผู้ต้องขังมีคุณภาพชีวิตที่ดีที่สุดในช่วงวาระสุดท้ายของชีวิต

Storytelling In Traditional Ips And Consumer Engagement : A Case Study Of Blackmyth:Wukong, Yuqing Liu

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigates how storytelling elements within a traditional cultural intellectual property (IP) drive consumer engagement in the global context. Using Black Myth: Wukong—a modern adaptation of Journey to the West—as the central case, the research examines how plot, character, and verisimilitude influence the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions of player engagement.A hybrid thematic analysis of 431 comments from Bilibili and YouTube reveals that narrative components activate engagement through distinct mechanisms: plot induces a cognitive–affective–behavioral loop, characters trigger emotional–behavioral transformation, and verisimilitude creates a cognition–behavior bridge. Crucially, cultural background moderates these processes. Chinese players engage through cultural proximity, collective memory, …

The Black Panther Party: From Militancy To Social Activism, De'andre Brown Jr.

History and Political Science | Senior Theses

This research project examines the ways in which the Black Panther Party (BPP) was negatively portrayed by the media and targeted by the government from the moment of the organization's inception in 1966. The BPP’s shift in rhetoric style from militancy to social activism is emphasized by examining the organization’s “survival” programs, such as the Free Breakfast Programs, Free Health Clinics, and Education Programs, and their impact on black communities around the country. Past scholarly opinions about the BPP were driven by a fear from white America toward the organization’s aggressive style of protest and social activism. The government looked …

Space For The Departed: Burial, Land Scarcity, And Bone-Ash Apartments In China, Xinyi Wu

Pitzer Senior Theses

The rise of bone ash apartments in China reflects a layered response to urban land scarcity, shifting funeral policies, and real estate speculation. As the state mandates cremation and restricts private cemetery development, traditional burial customs are increasingly reshaped by spatial limitations, economic pressures, and political regulation.

For some families, bone ash apartments function as modern ancestral halls—domestic spaces for remembrance and ritual continuity. For others, they represent a pragmatic investment strategy, offering long-term storage of ashes within assets that retain market value.

This thesis examines how urban planning, state funeral policy, real estate dynamics, and the disintegration of neighborhood …

Farming As Life: Reframing Smallholder Farming As A Site Of Self-Sufficiency And Cultural Heritage In Botswana, Natasha Yen

Pitzer Senior Theses

Dominant neoliberal frameworks often frame smallholder farming through a deficiency lens, reducing it to metrics of productivity, efficiency, and profitability. These perspectives overlook the deeper material, cultural, and social significance that farming holds in the lives of smallholder farmers. In Botswana—where approximately 70% of the rural population engages in smallholder farming—farming remains a vital part of everyday life, yet few studies adopt a culturalist or holistic lens to examine its meaning. To center smallholder farmers’ lived experiences and perspectives, this study is based on semi-structured interviews with ten smallholder farmers in southeast Botswana. Grounded in a culturalist framework and critical …

Exploring The Role Of Bingocize® Workshops In Enhancing Health And Well-Being In Older Adults, Kaitlyn Gray

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As the population of older adults grows, the need for better health and well-being also grows, making it necessary to implement effective strategies for healthy aging to improve the length and quality of life of older adults (CDC, 2024). This study evaluates the effectiveness of a Bingocize^® Workshop in improving the physical health of older adults. Bingocize^®, a unique program combining bingo with exercise, is designed to increase physical activity. Eleven (11) participants aged 68.55 ± 6.235 attended a ten-week workshop, two times per week focusing on physical exercises tailored to their abilities. The primary objective was …

Exploring Belongingness, Loneliness, And Distinctiveness On A College Of Agriculture Campus, Sophia Jaramillo-Vasconez

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

The purpose of this study was to explore how sense of belonging, loneliness, and distinctiveness affect students in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (M-G CAFE). By examining the intersection of student demographics and their experiences, this research aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics that shape students’ agricultural experiences at the postsecondary level. This study investigates the relationship between student characteristics and their reported levels of belonging and loneliness, and how these factors influence perceptions of their representation and distinctiveness within the M-G CAFE program. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was employed, beginning with …

Supports For Mental Well-Being Valued By Healthcare Workers: Qualitative Analysis Of Data From A Canadian Cohort Of Healthcare Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shannon Marie Ruzycki, Anil Adisesh, Quentin Durand-Moreau, France Labrèche, Tanis Zadunayski, Erica Stroud, Nicola Cherry

Études primaires

A prospective cohort of 4964 HCWs from four Canadian provinces was established early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were invited to comment about workplace mental health supports at three time points. We performed a thematic content analysis of responses from 1738 participants using the Social Support Behaviour Code framework to categorize barriers to support as informational, tangible, emotional, social, or expressing esteem. Themes were synthesized into suggestions for healthcare organizations to prepare for future crises. Formal and informal peer support, workplace mental health supports, and one-on-one counseling were most often mentioned as valued. Analysis suggested that workplace social networks as …

Investigating Dimensions Of Social Vulnerability To Wildfire: A Case Study Of Western Montana, Ella Brodowski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Communities across the US are facing increased wildfire risks due in part to historic fire suppression efforts, a warming climate, and an influx of people residing in wildland urban interface (WUI) landscapes. Because of these increasing risks, there have been growing concerns about the social factors that can increase individual and community vulnerability to wildfires. This research adds to the discussion of social vulnerability by examining how people living in a geographic area with heightened wildfire risk think about the ways in which people can be more or less vulnerable to wildfires. Using semi-structured interviews, round table discussions, and field …

Land Rematriation: Utilizing The National Register Of Historic Places And Developing Tribal Homeland Territories For The Restoration Of Historic Landscapes And Sovereignty, Robert E. Hazen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Land rematriation and cultural revitalization are crucial to addressing the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism on Indigenous communities, particularly for the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The National Register of Historic Places and federal recognition processes have traditionally marginalized Indigenous practices and land claims, yet, as I argue in this thesis, they hold potential for reappropriation in support of sovereignty and heritage. This thesis argues that integrating Indigenous methodologies, geospatial research, and archival analyses can forge a path toward effective land rematriation efforts. My findings reveal culturally significant sites connected to the historic village of Getegitigaaning, helping …

Death And Inheritance: How Meanings Of Money Are Drawn From Everyday Life, Kendall Coney

Sociology Honors Projects

Probate is a legal process to distribute a deceased person’s assets involving a personal representative who administers the estate on behalf of the deceased. It is uniquely situated in the intersection of a procedurally exhaustive process and the deeply emotional experience of losing a loved one, where legal procedures are imposed on relational contexts. I draw on in-depth interviews with personal representatives from four counties in Minnesota to expose the dissimilar way personal representatives understand the meaning of inheritance money, which in turn influenced how they understood and navigated the probate process. The lack of a clear pattern found in …

Integrating Indigenous Values And Community Strengths To Achieve Indigenous Food Sovereignty And Community Well-Being In The Ka’A’Gee Tu First Nation, Northwest Territories, Jennifer K. Temmer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northern Indigenous communities face disproportionate impacts from interconnected challenges related to climate change, food security, health, and cultural preservation, that threaten traditional food systems and practices. While there is a growing recognition of the importance of community-driven solutions, existing frameworks fail to integrate Indigenous values and local priorities effectively. This research addresses this gap by exploring how the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) is responding to these crises through climate change adaptation efforts focused on food system sustainability as a pathway to self-sufficiency and community well-being. To contribute to these efforts, this dissertation uses Participatory Action Research to facilitate community-driven …

Experienscape And The Interior Environment: A Case Study At A Bar With Entertainment, Paige J. Hendrickson

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand what aspects of the interior environment at a bar with bowling affect customers’ willingness to return and word-of-mouth sharing. The dimensions of the experiencescape model were used to guide the research, focusing on sensory, functional, social, and hospitality culture. A mixed qualitative methods approach was used, combining observations, focus group interviews, and moment maps to investigate customer comfort, satisfaction, excitement, memorability, and the difference in one’s perception of their experience based on ethnicity. It was found that the unique atmosphere, price, staff, and diversity were the main reasons customers returned or shared …

Cultural Identity In Mental Health Services And Helpseeking Behaviours Among African International Students, Mark Ofosu Asirifi

Theses and Dissertations

Acculturation stress impacts international students’ psychological well-being and academic success, yet research on African students remains limited. For African international students, this stress is intensified by cultural stigma surrounding mental health services, deterring help-seeking due to fears of judgment and ostracization. This identity negotiation complicates their willingness to access support, reinforcing cultural barriers to mental health care. This study explores how cultural identity shapes the mental health perceptions and help-seeking behaviors of African international students in the United States. Grounded in the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) and the Health Belief Model (HBM), the research examines how acculturative stress, stigma, …

Campesino World-Building: Stories Of Migration, Memory, And Care In The Tension Of The Colonial Frame, Chelsea Ríos Gómez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Campesinos, often reduced to the label of “farmworkers”, are too often seen only through the lens of their labor within profit-driven systems. This thesis disrupts that limited narrative by illuminating the rich, expansive nature of vivencias campesinas, ways of being that transcend capitalist measures of value. These vivencias are lived, embodied experiences rooted in campesino lifeways, encompassing cultural, spiritual, and relational practices that nurture and sustain life.

My research is guided by four central questions: (1) In what ways have campesinos in pixley resisted exploitative labor systems, and how can this resistance be understood as a form of care labor? …

Moral Foundations For Peacebuilding Dialogue: A Comparative Analysis Of Orthodoxy And Islam, Aleksandr Grizhev, Ivan Blazhevski, Ruzhica Cacanoska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Throughout history, religion has been invoked in both peaceful and violent contexts, often manipulated to serve political agendas. However, beneath the surface of conflict, the foundational moral teachings of religions can provide powerful tools for reconciliation. This paper explores the shared moral principles in Orthodox Christianity and Islam, focusing on benevolence, equity, and moderation, to highlight their potential for fostering dialogue and resolving conflicts. By comparing the ethical teachings of the Bible and the Quran, the analysis reveals that both religions emphasize compassion, equity, and self-restraint as core values. Despite the historical use of these faiths to justify division and …