Digital Commons Network^™

Crises, Coloniality, And Energy Transformations In Puerto Rico, Laura Kuhl, Marla Perez-Lugo, Carlos Arriaga Serrano, Cecilio Ortiz Garcia, Ryan Ellis, Jennie C. Stephens

Sociology Faculty Publications

Increased attention to inclusive processes is essential to ensure injustices are not perpetuated during energy transitions. Crises, such as the collapse of the electric grid in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, present the promise of opening windows of opportunity for new ideas and voices to inform the future, but they also create opportunities for powerful interests to reinforce existing power dynamics. While coloniality has been recognized as a barrier to sustainable energy transformations, greater integration of the literature on climate coloniality and sustainability transitions is needed. This chapter analyzes visions of the future of the energy system among diverse constituents …

Exploring Lgbtq+ Competency In Healthcare, Jordan Whiteman

Honors College Theses

Marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ+ community are known to face healthcare disparities that negatively affect their process of navigating healthcare systems. This project explores the perceived lack of representation and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community within healthcare settings, exposing the deficits in knowledge for unique challenges and inequalities these patients may face. By viewing the literature, a myriad of complications faced by LGBTQ+ people in clinical settings can be identified. They possess a generalized feeling of mistrust towards the healthcare system. Healthcare staff overall describe low confidence with caring for this demographic. Heteronormativity’s presence in the field of healthcare …

Assessing Equity, Environmental Social Justice And Intersectionality In U.S. Federal Policies: A Comparative And Temporal Analysis Of The Department Of Transportation, Department Of Energy, And Environmental Protection Agency, Sneha Basu

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As the climate crisis intensifies, U.S. federal policies play a critical role in addressing the disproportionate environmental burdens borne by marginalized communities. This thesis assesses how equity, environmental social justice, and intersectionality have been integrated into the policy documents of three key federal agencies: Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Energy (DOE), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over a 20-year period (2004–2024). Using a quantitative content analysis of 46 policy documents, the study evaluates five core dimensions: depth of discussion, clarity of language, inclusiveness of marginalized groups, action-oriented language, and environmental justice considerations. The research reveals significant interagency disparities, with …

Leaden Circles, Eternal Springs, And Rusty Pumps: Time, Nature, And Industry In Mrs. Dalloway, Katherine Evans

Anthós

This article explores often-overlooked ecocritical aspects in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, analyzing Woolf’s literary intersection of time, nature, and industry as a precursor to contemporary Anthropocene discourse. Acknowledging prevailing interpretations of Mrs. Dalloway through social lenses of trauma, class, and gender, Evans reveals how Woolf’s exploration of human-environment relationships is not only present but integral to interpreting the text fully. Drawing from textual close readings, scholarship on Woolf, and environmental humanities frameworks, Evans demonstrates how Woolf utilizes the Big Ben and a beggar woman to symbolize human-nature relationships. Evans’ ecocritical reading of Mrs. Dalloway repositions the 1925 novel within contemporary …

Laudate Deum: A Framework For Environmental Stewardship And Social Justice In The Philippines And Southeast Asia, Antonio Levy S. Ingles Jr.

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

This study explores the intersection of environmental initiatives and social justice movements in the Philippines, a nation rich in biodiversity but acutely vulnerable to climate change and ecological degradation. Using Laudate Deum as a guiding framework, the research examines how the principles of Immediate Action, Collective Responsibility, and Social Justice can inform collaborative strategies to address these challenges. Through an analysis of case studies, this paper highlights the socio-economic impacts of environmental crises, such as deforestation and pollution, and evaluates initiatives like mangrove reforestation and community-based waste management for their ecological and social benefits. The findings reveal that integrating Laudate …

Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Madison L. Good

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio highlights my growth and development as a social work student which I am hopeful and committed to continuing as I transition into a new social work professional. The five elements of advanced integrated practice will be presented followed by the competency that relates to each element. Within each competency, I will explore the dimensions of practice that include how I expanded my knowledge, skills, and values while forming and demonstrating cognitive and affective processes throughout my time in the program.

Society Of American Foresters (Saf) Academic Publications As They Relate To The Curriculum Standards For Saf Forestry Program Accreditation: A Content Analysis, Lisa M. Bentley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Goals that impact decision-making components within academic programs in the university system have the potential to define and change the direction of a field of study, and, with that, should be thoughtfully approached with a certainty of evidence that supports responsible paradigms in forestry education. Periodic revision of the standards for accreditation by SAF influences institutional expectations that result in shifts in forestry education and should be consistent with professional forestry standards. The methodology utilized in this research contextualizes data from a sociological perspective intentionally as a method to holistically integrate data as evidence to support the interpretation of Society …

Toxic Waste Dumps And Intersectionality, Kaitlyn Vasilko

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Beginning in 2023, I started conducting environmental sociology research in Northwest Indiana communities because I wanted to apply what I had been learning in my sociology and behavioral science courses to real community problems. I that found toxic waste dumps (waste dumps that contain waste that is hazardous and require mandates established environmental regulations to ensure public safety) are disproportionately located in Northwest Indiana communities of color and poor whites, and I uncovered severe negative health effects that result from toxic waste dumps, in addition to the inequality faced by the populations impacted. I then conducted interviews in the community …

Methods In Environmental Studies, Erika Dunagan, Maya Mendoza, Posey Graber, Alex Cullins, Emma Mcginnis, Ally Nepomuceno, Isabella Buchan

Featured Student Work

This publication is a collection of undergraduate research conducted in the Methods in Environmental Studies course at the University of San Francisco in Fall 2024. The student-led projects explore the intersections of place, policy, ecology, and cultural identity through applied environmental research methodologies. Topics include a decolonial examination of the Forest Park Mound Group and Indigenous resilience in St. Louis; a comparative study of Navajo cosmology and ecological justice; a social and environmental impact assessment of Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan; a psychogeographical analysis of Golden Gate Park and its impact on the psyche, emotions, behaviour, and health of urban …

The Impact Of Student Engagement Activities On Future Climate Change Adaptation: The Case Of Student Simulation Models, Bassel Mostafa Elkalaf

Future Journal of Social Science

This paper explores the critical role of student engagement in addressing the growing challenges of climate change, with a focus on the Model United Nations (MUN) as a case study. As climate-related security threats increase globally, educational platforms that prepare youth for effective leadership in climate politics are more essential than ever. MUN, a widely practiced student activity simulating global policy-making, provides a valuable opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of the interconnectedness between climate change, peace, and security. By participating in MUN simulations, students engage in debates, develop innovative solutions, and practice diplomatic skills, all while exploring the …

“Engaging With Paradigmatic Stances In Social Science Research”: A Book Review Of Bunmi Omodan’S Research Paradigms And Their Methodological Alignment In Social Sciences, Norma R. Romm Prof.

The Qualitative Report

IIn the book, Research Paradigms and Their Methodological Alignment in Social Sciences, Bunmi Omodan explores in depth the philosophical foundations of five paradigms (which he points out are not fixed or univocal in their content), namely positivism; interpretivism/constructivism; transformative paradigm; postcolonial Indigenous paradigm; and pragmatism. Examples of the kinds of research questions, research designs, and attendant data collection and analytic processes, as well as ethical positions, that align with paradigmatic positions are presented to us. At the same time, we are urged to “engage with critiques and debates surrounding each paradigm” (Omodan, 2024, p. xii). The book thus hopes …

Advances In Research On Anthropogenic Drivers Of Climate Change, Andrew Jorgenson, Hassan El Tinay, Jared Fitzgerald, Jennifer Givens, Taekyeong Goh, Xiaorui Huang, Orla Kelly, Annika Marie Rieger, Ryan P. Thombs

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter provides an overview of advances in social science research on the anthropogenic drivers of climate change. Anthropogenic drivers refer to the social systems and human actions causing GHG emissions, and societal factors shaping and conditioning those actions. The authors summarize the contemporary drivers research literature on (1) economic growth, (2) income and wealth inequality, (3) environmental load displacement and ecologically unequal exchange, (4) militarization, and (5) corporations. In addition to summarizing recent work, the authors identify future directions for each of these areas of research, as well as ways in which they can be better integrated.

“You Could Have Did Us Better Than This”: Reparative Housing Policies And The Struggle To Right Harms To Black Communities, Amie Thurber, Lisa K. Bates, Susan Halverson, Keisha Muia

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature related to reparative planning, with an emphasis on housing policy. After exploring the state of theorizing related to reparative planning, this paper describes its three central dimensions: public recognition, material redistribution, and social/spatial transformation. The authors use these dimensions to evaluate a housing policy designed to repair harms to Black residents in Portland, Oregon. This in-depth analysis draws on survey, interview, and focus group data to explore the degree to which residents’ experiences of the policy reflect these three dimensions. The paper concludes with implications for other municipalities considering reparative housing policies, namely …

10 Years Of Dialogue: Highlights From 2014–2022 [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal Of Popular Culture And Pedagogy, Volume 10, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)], Anna S. Cohenmiller, Karina A. Vado, Barbara Perez, Tyler Sheldon

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

10 Years of Dialogue: Highlights from 2014–2022 [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Volume 10, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)]

Editorial

Challenging Conventions: Provoking Thought with Engaged Teaching and Learning in Popular Culture, Anna S. CohenMiller, Karina A. Vado, Barbara Perez, and Tyler Robert Sheldon

Articles

2014 (Online only)

O Homer, Where Art Thou? Teaching the Iliad and the Odyssey through Popular Culture, Mallory Young

The Odyssey and Its Odyssey in Contemporary Texts: Re-visions in Star Trek, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and and The Penelopiad, Mary Economou Bailey Green

2015

Learning about People, Places and …

Engaged Popular Culture And Pedagogy: Awareness, Understanding And Social Justice [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal Of Popular Culture And Pedagogy, Volume 7, Issue 2 (Summer 2020)], Anna S. Cohenmiller, Kirk Peterson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Engaged Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Awareness, Understanding and Social Justice [Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Volume 7, Issue 2 (Summer 2020)]

Editorial

Can popular culture speak to issues of equity in educational spaces? Anna S. CohenMiller and Kirk Peterson

Guest Editorial

Cruel Summer, Travis D. Boyce

Articles

Triple Threat or Triple Opportunity: When a Pop Culture Course Goes Online at a Community College, Lance Eaton and Alex Rockey

Cultivating Anti-Racist Feminist Pedagogy Queerly, Laurie Fuller

Afrosurrealism, Aristotle, and Racial Presence in Netflix’s Luke Cage, Angela DeAnn Mack

Sexual Harassment Effects on Bodies of Work: Engaging …

Hell You Talmbout: Mixtapes As Method For Online Environmental Justice Pedagogy, Elspeth Iralu, Caitlin Grann

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This paper takes on the mixtape as a pedagogical method for approaching urgent and critical topics within the undergraduate online classroom. Drawing on two case studies from different sections of an introductory course on environmental and social justice taught in an American studies department, we demonstrate how mixtape-inspired assignments offer a method for theorizing and enacting the connections between popular culture and critical scholarship around injustice in the humanities and social sciences while also altering the space of the classroom to promote deeper student engagement, comprehension, and reflection. We argue that introducing popular culture as both content and method within …

Editorial: Can Popular Culture Speak To Issues Of Equity In Educational Spaces?, Anna S. Cohenmiller, Kirk Peterson

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Editorial for Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, Volume 7, Issue 2 (Summer 2020), Engaged Popular Culture and Pedagogy: Awareness, Understanding and Social Justice.

A Qualitative Exploration Of Spiritual Practices Of Simplicity Among Emerging Adults, Falon Opsahl Barton

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This article explores how emerging adults (18 to 29‐year‐olds) integrate pro‐environmental behaviors and spiritual practices of simplicity. First, this article synthesizes the research on emerging adulthood, including what it is, how they experience and express their spirituality, and their emotional and practical behaviors in response to the climate crisis. Then, this article explores how a small sample of Western Protestant emerging adults practice pro‐environmental simplicity in their daily lives. As a result of integrating spiritual practices that focus on simplicity and pro‐environmental behaviors into their spiritual expressions, emerging adults experience profound spiritual formation and a meaningful way of participating in …

Impacts Of Climate Change In The United States, Nathan T. Thompson

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Climate change, a shift in long-term climate patterns primarily driven by anthropogenic factors, poses a super wicked problem impacting every sector and region globally, including the United States. This paper explores the scientific basis of climate change, its contributing factors, and the myriad consequences on terrestrial and aquatic systems, as well as mental health. Notably, the emission of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and agricultural activities is the primary cause, exacerbated by ideological division and psychological distance. The U.S. has seen some progress with a 7% decrease in emissions over the past 30 years and a growing shift toward renewable …

Review Of Radical Utu: Critical Ideas And Ideals Of Wangari Muta Maathai, Wanjiru G. Mbure

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Communities Disproportionately Affected By Carbon Monoxide Exposure After Winter Storm Uri, Elyse N Portillo, Casandra Quiñones, Zachary C Foughty, Ryan Ramphul, Asha T Morrow, Kathryn Fisher, Stephen A Harding, Elizabeth A Camp, Shubhada Hooli, Eric A Russell

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Extreme cold in February 2021 precipitated prolonged power failure in Texas. In Houston, many patients presented for carbon monoxide exposure from neighborhoods with lower per capita income, higher rates of limited English proficiency, and greater median Social Vulnerability Indices than Greater Houston. Weather-related disasters disproportionately affect socially vulnerable communities.

The (Im)Possibility Of Anti-Systemic Politics: Uprisings, Exilic Spaces, And Alain Badiou, Jason C. Mueller

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The world-system is in crisis, and a flurry of uprisings challenge the mantra that 'there is no alternative' to capitalism. However, some questions remain. What will replace the global capitalist mode of production, and how will those aspiring to transform the system do so? These questions are of relevance to three separate but related domains of research: (1) the study of anti-systemic movements by world-systems analysts; (2) the study of exilic spaces by scholars using an anarchist perspective; and (3) the work of French Philosopher Alain Badiou. This article stages a discussion between these three areas, locating areas in each …

Imparting The Skills Employers Seek: Community-Engaged Learning As Career Preparation, Elizabeth Otto, Elizabeth Dunens

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

This paper explores the potential for postsecondary community-based educational experiences to impart the skills employers most desire from new college graduates. We gathered one U.S. university’s community-engaged learning (CEL) stakeholders to collect detailed descriptions of the behaviors students practice during CEL. Students, faculty, and community partner participants had at least one semester of service-learning or nonprofit internship experience coordinated by the university’s Center for Community Work and Learning. Qualitative responses generated from 46 participants were coded and then compared to the top skills business executives and hiring managers reported in 2018 as priorities for new college graduates. Data analysis yielded …

Unfurling Your Community-Engaged Work Into Multiple Scholarly Products, Diane M. Doberneck, Christine Carmichael

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Navigating academic publishing challenges community-engaged scholars and practitioners, many of whom have mastered disciplinary writing but are unsure of how to write about community engagement experiences. The Unfurling Tool helps authors co-envision products with community partners, identify scholarly products for both academic and public audiences, and consider how to disseminate multiple products from a single community-engaged project. By unfurling a project, authors may communicate the rich complexity of their community engagement experiences to multiple audiences.

Pursuing Reciprocity In Engaged Scholarship Partnerships Using Community Sustainability Certification Programs, Elyzabeth W. Engle, Michele W. Halsell

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of sustainability certification programs at the local, state, and national level to highlight the use of policies, programs, and infrastructure to achieve sustainable development outcomes within communities. In this paper, we use examples from Penn State’s Sustainable Communities Collaborative to demonstrate how institutions with community-engaged scholarship programs can use these certification programs to enhance program operation and reciprocity by identifying projects, engaging new disciplines, and improving relevance.

A Flood Of Consequences In Louisville, Kentucky: Using Hgis To Track Refugees Impacted By The 1937 Ohio River Flood, Trevor Harry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Ohio River flood of 1937 was the most devastating flood in the recorded history of the Ohio River Valley and is commonly referred to as the “Great Flood of 1937”. In January 1937, after nearly two months of continuous precipitation, over 60% of the city of Louisville, Kentucky, was flooded and at least 23,000 residents were displaced. The purpose of this research was to document, map, and compare the pre-flood residential locations, evacuation destinations, and post-flood residential locations of African American and White Louisville refugees from the 1937 Ohio River flood. Socioeconomic information from the manuscript versions of the …

Bear Lake Project Overview, Charlotte Williams, Alexander Theophilus

Publications

Bear Lake is a popular recreation and tourist destination split between the borders of northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. Bear Lake's beaches, watersports, and other outdoor recreation opportunities have attracted tourists for decades. Communities around Bear Lake include Garden City and Laketown, Utah, as well as Paris, Montpelier, Fish Haven, St. Charles, and Bennington, Idaho. Additionally, Bear Lake lies in close proximity to larger metropolitan areas along the Wasatch Front of Utah, such as Salt Lake City and Logan.

From Surface To Subtext: Portrayals Of Success In Superfund Remediation., Haley Metcalf-Wade

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Superfund sites represent some of the most contaminated and environmentally sensitive areas in the United States. How these sites are portrayed can significantly influence public perception of environmental risks, the effectiveness of remediation efforts, and the overall state of environmental health. Regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are entrusted with safeguarding public health and the environment. How they communicate about their actions, successes, and challenges directly impacts public trust and perceptions of their accountability. This dissertation examines the manifest and latent metrics used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine success in Superfund remediation by focusing on …

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.