Digital Commons Network^™

The Gap Between Policy And The People: A Case Study Of The Buikwe Fishing Communities, Capri Gutiérrez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

To examine the implementation of Local Government development planning in periphery and hard to reach communities in Uganda, the fishing villages of the Buikwe District were used as a case study. The objective of the study was to explore how Local Government development planning is implemented in the fishing villages to identify gaps. Implementation was broken down into three areas: consultations, needs and services, and service delivery.

The study mimicked the bottom-up approach to decentralized development planning in Uganda, beginning with seven focus group discussions in five fishing villages of Buikwe. Eleven key informant interviews were then conducted with Local …

Cbos As A Tool For Sustainable Community Development: The Case In Kapchorwa, Annie Manges

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to assess the ability of Community Based Organizations, or CBOs, in the Kapchorwa District of Uganda to create long-term and sustainable community development that meets the needs of their community. To provide the necessary context for the study, I conducted a literature review of poverty in Uganda, theory in sustainable and community development, the connection of CBOs to sustainable community development, challenges and strengths for CBOs, and the general context of the structure of and the regulations for a CBO in Uganda.

The participants in the research were members of CBOs in the Kapchorwa …

An Assessment Of The Traditional Botanical Usage Of The Indigeneous People Of The Bugungu Sub-Region Of Western Uganda, Elena Kilber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The questions that this study aimed to answer were: how are indigenous plants used for medicine, and spiritual practices by the indigenous Bagungu communities? What effect has colonization and globalization had on the knowledge of plants held by indigenous Bagungu communities? And how is the knowledge the Bagungu people hold of traditional plant use preserved through the generations? The methods used to answer these questions were key informant interviews with five herbalists and seven clan custodians from the Bagungu community, and questionnaires administered to 31 Bagungu community members between the ages of 27 and 83. Data were analyzed using qualitative …

Soil Not Oil: An Assessment Of The Role Of Earth Jurisprudence In Restoring Biodiversity Conservation In The Indigenous Bagungu Community, In Uganda, Joslyn Primicias

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

An Earth-centered way of living is essential in Western Uganda, along with many more repressed regions affected by giant corporate evils. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of Earth Jurisprudence in the restoration of conservation in the Indigenous Bagungu community. More specifically, this study examines the customary laws and rituals used by the Bagungu, the strategies used to decolonize their culture, and their perspectives on foreign influence and globalization. Key-informant interviews were conducted with seven custodians and questionnaire-led interviews were administered to thirty-one clan members from the districts of Buliisa and Hoima. The study sample size …

Man V.S. Wild: An Analysis Of Language Used Regarding Human-Wildlife Conflict In The Kibale National Park Community, Western Region, Uganda, Sophie Perfetto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If humans are to live sustainably and in harmony with wildlife in the vicinity of Protected Areas, policy makers, and government authorities need to make informed decisions with consideration to the needs of local communities. For this to happen, policy makers must understand the perceptions of local communities and take local perspectives into account. As language is at the root of perception, language was studied in the context of its role in shaping local perceptions of human-wildlife conflict and consequential conflict mitigation strategies. Six communities around the Northern region of Kibale National Park, Uganda, were studied, with sites located in …

Perceiving The Intangible: Introspective & Meditational Practices In Moroccan Sufism, Anna Gray Morales

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sufism has earned an exponentially prominent role within Morocco’s political and social arenas through recent decades. The Moroccan monarchy’s endorsement of the religious variant and its prevalence in pop-cultural events, national journalism, and literature are a few indicators of its growing influence. However, the tradition is, by no means, a modern construction and has existed since the beginning of the larger Islamic tradition. What qualities, then, has granted Sufism its relevance as a cornerstone of Moroccan society today? Its chief focus on introspective and meditational practices, rather than physical religious discipline, may foster a more inclusive and liberal form of …

The Odyssean Dilemma: Homelessness As Home And The Search For Ithaka, Francesca Casarella

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project aims to explore the concept of “home” as expressed in the analogical Homeric figure of Odysseus in his journey to Ithaca. The research involves an inquiry into the meaning and reality of the concept of home in the context of both the Moroccan culture and the lives of displaced persons who find themselves located in Morocco. Engaging existing definitions of migration and a concept of homelessness expressed by Nietzsche, the theoretical research involved in this project provides a conceptual framework from which I examine the set of interviews obtained. The interviews conducted with both Moroccan nationals presently …

Constructed Memories: A Study Of How The Arts And The National Museum Operate Within Power Structures And State Interests In Postcolonial Morocco, Evan Antonakes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Moroccan national museum as an institution has a long and complicated history. A product of colonialism, the state has historically used the museum, and the art housed within it, to construct narratives of progress and images of modernization. Doing so is largely at the expense of contemporary artists who have long been neglected by the state and failed by the museum. This paper will communicate how museums, art, and the state intersect in postcolonial Morocco. The paper will examine the inner workings of the Mohammed VI National Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, attempting to contextualize the …

Alienation Of Labor Or Alienation Of Self: Perceptions Of Hospitality Labor And Economic Development In Morocco, Julian Madera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This work explores the relationship between a nation’s economic shift to hospitality labor and a lower standard of living among the working class in said country. Specifically, the Moroccan economy’s gradual increased reliance on service labor, particularly within the tourism industry. Standard of living in this work will be centered around wellbeing understood through vocational fulfillment and perceptions of hospitality labor among service workers. In order to evaluate the standard of living among the working class, this work will utilize a comparative assessment of key interviews from three key sectors of the hospitality labor force: autonomist, alienated, and hospitality adjacent …

The Modern-Day Sand War: A New Dimension Of The Morocco-Algeria Conflict Explored Through Youth, Alec Stimac

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the 1963 Sand War, there has been a constant progression of tension between the countries of Morocco and Algeria. From physical space–the Western Sahara and border denotation–to diplomatic relations, Morocco and Algeria may never be the same after their colonization in the early 19th century. Due to the rise in extremist rhetoric, political accusations, economic instability, and social violence, the Moroccan-Algerian relationship can only get worse from here. Do these signs point to a modern-day Sand War approaching? This paper seeks to examine the existence of a modern-day Sand War and its consequences, specifically through the lens of youth …

Comparación Entre Las Percepciones Médicas Y Psicológicas De La Diabetes Tipo 2 Y La Tuberculosis En El Ecuador, Héctor Ortiz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: What are the differences and similarities between the perceptions of the medical and psychological management of both type 2 diabetes and tuberculosis? Objectives: The principal objective of this study is to understand the perceptions behind DM2 and TB as well as how these perceptions affect the care of these diseases. Secondary objectives are to define the epidemiological transition, describe the medical and psychological management and care of DM2 and TB, analyze how the people perceive the management and psychological care of DM2 and TB, and analyze the comparison of the perceptions of both diseases. Background: The epidemiological transition …

La Educación Alternativa Y Comunitaria Y El Rol De La Minka En La Comunidad De Chukidel Ayllu Llakta – Lagunas En Saraguro: Un Enfoque Intercultural Y Multilingüe, Kristin Lynn Vogel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta monografía discute dos casos de educación alternativa y comunitaria, respectivamente, entre el espacio educativo Yachay Kawsay y la escuela comunitaria Inti Raymi en el pueblo de Saraguro en la provincia de Loja, Ecuador, utilizando la información de la observación y las entrevistas. Específicamente, yo examino la práctica indígena de la minka, lo que es y cómo desempeña un papel en el funcionamiento de la educación en la comunidad de Chukidel Ayllu Llakta – Lagunas, del apoyo por los padres a la alimentación de los estudiantes hasta la recaudación de los fondos para propuestas educativas. Además, yo examino la metodología …

Building A Feminist Commons In The Time Of Covid-19, Miriam Ticktin

Publications and Research

The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been structured around the idea that human connection and sociality are bad—they are dangerous. This essay suggests that, perhaps paradoxically, rather than isolating to stay healthy, people are forging new egalitarian forms of connection. I argue that COVID-19 has enhanced experiments in what I will call a “burgeoning feminist commons.” These foreground new, horizontal forms of sociality, and they build the grounds of resistance, refusing to separate the time of political organization from that of reproduction. I discuss three such experiments: masked mobs, friendly fridges, and pandemic pods. Each form of connection …

The Constructing Of “Chinese-Ness”: The Culinary Identity Of Chinese Restaurants In Gettysburg, Pa., Lureann A. Semple

Student Publications

General Tso’s Chicken. Egg Rolls. Fried Rice. Fortune Cookies. Since the creation of Chop Suey in 1849, Chinese restaurants have not only displayed one of the most fascinating ethnic cuisines in the US but also become a commonly recognizable cultural symbol for Chinese-ness in the American “melting pot." Then what kind of “Chinese-ness” is presented and how is it constructed by these restaurants? Does its Otherness prevent it from fitting into mainstream American society or does its Americanization make this identity less ‘authentic’? By taking the Chinese restaurants in Gettysburg, PA, as a case study, this research studies the construction …

Varieties Of Resonance: The Subjective Interpretations And Utilizations Of Media Output In France, Bo Yun Park, Adrien Abecassis, Manon Revel

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The resonance of media output plays an important role in the age of misinformation and fake news. While scholars have extensively studied resonance, they have mostly focused on whether and why particular messages align with the predispositions of their intended audience rather than systematically analyzing how they are interpreted by the wider population. Based on computational text analyses of the news media coverage from 118 outlets in France and weekly surveys of what people retained from the news during the same period, this paper investigates the ways in which the frames used by the media trigger different types of resonance …

Contributions Of Catholic Social Thought To Doughnut Economics To Achieve A Vision Of Flourishing Of Creation, Stephanie Ann Y. Puen

Theology Department Faculty Publications

Recent developments in Catholic Social (CST) has highlighted the concept of integral ecology, which dovetails with the concept of Doughnut Economics (DE), used by different local government units and organizations to develop their post-COVID-19 economies and societies that are more just, sustainable, and equitable. This intersection of ideas between CST and DE is a fruitful point for dialogue between economics and theology in order to help attain the vision of flourishing of life and prosperity that both disciplines are seeking to achieve, particularly in line with the sustainable development goals on decent work and economic growth and sustainable cities and …

The Art Of Breaking Up: Ending Romantic Relationships, Emma Salzwedel

Honors Thesis

This thesis reviews research on the most difficult aspect of dating: the breakup. The process of ending a romantic relationship follows a particular pattern which begins when problems begin to arise in the partnership and ends when both individuals have accepted the breakup and received closure. Using various peer-reviewed studies, the literature review deliberates the common predictors of a breakup, common methods of breaking up (and how each is perceived by the other person), common reactions to the breakup based on gender, and finally, the aftermath of the breakup. It is determined that personal and individual relationship factors ultimately decide …

Editor's Introduction, Michael D.; Pante

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Where They Sing Solo: Accounting For Cross-Cultural Variation In Collective Music-Making In Theories Of Music Evolution, Aniruddh D. Patel, Christopher Von Rueden

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Collective, synchronous music-making is far from ubiquitous across traditional, small-scale societies. We describe societies that lack collective music and offer hypotheses to help explain this cultural variation. Without identifying the factors that explain variation in collective music-making across these societies, theories of music evolution based on social bonding (Savage et al.) or coalition signaling (Mehr et al.) remain incomplete.

Representing Africa In The ‘Coming To America’ Films, Samuel K. Bonsu, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Through an interpretive analysis of the two Eddie Murphy films "Coming to America" (CTA) and "Coming 2 America", spaced nearly 30 years apart, this review essay underscores the persistence of Orientalist Othering of Africa. The negative images of Africa that are so engrained in people have been facilitated in significant part by a strategic, but perhaps unconscious, effort to socialize audiences into an identity construction process that casts Africans as inferior. Despite attempts at favorable depictions of Africa, these processes continue to play out.

When We See Us: Coming 2 America And The Intricacies Of Black Representation And Diasporic Conversation, Terri Bowles

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This is a review essay of the film Coming 2 America (2021) by Craig Brewer, a follow-up to the 1988 comedy classic Coming to America , which stars Eddie Murphy as a newly crowned African king confronted with shifting family dynamics and evolving challenges to his royal authority. The review examines the cultural space occupying the 30 years that separate the first film and its sequel, and interrogates the structures of popular film and comedy that situate representational discourses of gender and diasporic Black representation.

Nomadland: The New Frontiers Of The American Dream At The Periphery Of The Market, Aleksandrina Atanasova, Giana Eckhardt

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This Dialogue contribution is based around the film Nomadland, which won five Oscars, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress. Nomadland, a captivating ode to resisting market logics of accumulation, delivers a gripping image of what life looks like in the absence of possessions. Navigating between the extremes of lack and social displacement, and community and newfound ability to live life with little, the nomads find ways to live in the face of despair and disenchantment. Nomadland is a critique of the death of the American dream while at the same time a story of solidarity amongst the dispossessed.

Race, Representation, Misrepresentation, Caricatured Consumption Tropes; And Serious Matters Of Inequity And Precarity, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

What Is Philosophy In Prison? George Eliot And The Search For Moral Insight, Alison Liebling

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

I argue in this article that people in prison make excellent philosophers, for reasons related to what they are deprived of. I also suggest that great novels constitute, or at the very least, introduce us to, philosophy. Some of the deepest questions about human life can be addressed by fusing philosophical thinking with empirical research in prisons. Prisoners talk with depth and insight about what it is to feel human, what matters most in human experience, and the importance of the ‘vibrations of fellow feeling’.

Rethinking Social Reintegration And Prison: A Critical Analysis Of An Educational Proposal For An Alternative Model In Brazil, Sergio Grossi

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

The call for social reintegration of prisoners, in many cases, does not work or has been abandoned, leaving the question of inclusivity regarding the imprisoned an open challenge in contemporary societies. My study provides a critical analysis of a model defined as an educational system of social reintegration, which aspires to be an alternative to imprisonment in Brazil and worldwide by proposing a reduction in the recidivism rate at a lower cost. I discuss the possibilities of social reintegration and the educational conceptions and practices that can emerge from it, though a document analysis and ethnography of two model units. …

The Meaning Of Rebo Buntung For Pringgabaya Villager, East Lombok During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dharmika Ida Bagus, Gede Yoga Kharisma Pradana Dr.

The Qualitative Report

Rebo Buntung is a Sasak cultural tradition performed on the island of Lombok in Indonesia, primarily aimed at preventing disasters. Although the government warned people in Lombok to engage in social distancing and to reduce activities outside to reduce the risk of infection associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebo Buntung was carried out by Sasak people amid the pandemic. This purpose of this paper is to describe results from qualitative research, framed within religious theory and structural-functional theory, that explore the meaning of Rebo Bunting in the village of Pringgabaya, East Lombok and its role during the COVID-19 Pandemic. For …

Conducting Virtual Qualitative Interviews With International Key Informants: Insights From A Research Project, Nytasia Hicks, Roberto J. Millar, Laura M. Girling, Phyllis A. Cummins, Takashi Yamashita

The Qualitative Report

There is an increasing need for cross-cultural qualitative studies in an era of globalization. A focus group of five researchers, who were involved in a large international research project, identified effective strategies and challenges associated with five key domains of qualitative research with key informants: identification, recruitment, preparation, conducting the interview, and follow-up. Content analysis revealed nuanced tactics related to effective strategies and challenges associated with each domain. Examples of effective strategies include interview preparation to understand the specific expertise of the interviewee and allowing the informant to offer additional information beyond the questions asked. Challenges included technical difficulties with …

Poetic Voice In The Research: A Social Sciences Exploration In Verse, Jason D. Dehart

The Qualitative Report

This article doubles down on the notion of poetry as a vehicle for expression in qualitative research. Following from the work of Cahnmann (2003), Stenhouse (2014), and Lahman et al. (2010), and drawing from additional inspiration including Clandinin and Connelly (2000) and Kuhn (2012), the author constructs the argument for poetic voice in research in the form of a series of poetic interplay with research concepts. The article makes the case that rich sources of data may be found in alternative representations of findings, and research questions and the people who are invited to research projects should influence researchers' choices …

David Graeber And Militant Epistemologies: A Tribute, Adrian Favell, Myka Tucker-Abramson, Mark Davis, Andrew Wallace

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Adoptees And Adoptive Parents As “Other”, Josephine A. Ruggiero, Roger D. Clark

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.