Digital Commons Network^™

South Africa In The Brics: Soft Power Balancing And Instrumentalization, Hany Besada, Evren Tok Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This paper investigates South Africa’s participation in the BRICS formation and the implications of its inclusion for the country, the continent, and global governance. It argues that by joining the BRICS grouping, South Africa is reinforcing neoliberalism in Africa, with markets being liberalized across the continent, trade and investment becoming the focus, and social and environmental protection remaining a distant concern. Meanwhile, other countries, particularly China and Russia, are instrumentalizing the forum to get what they want out of African countries without formalizing the grouping’s policies and effecting change to global institutions at the global level, as was initially promised. …

India And South Asian Security Issues: Problems Aplenty, Solutions Hazy, Prospects Unsettling, Raviprasad Narayanan

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• David Brewster. India as an Asia Pacific Power. Abingdon: Routledge, 2012. Marcus Franke. War and Nationalism in South Asia: The Indian State and the Nagas. New York: Routledge, 2011.
• D. Suba Chandran and P.R. Chari (Eds.). Armed Conflicts in South Asia 2011: The Promise and Threat of Transformation. New Delhi: Routledge, 2012.

Under Scrutiny: Youth In Contemporary Japan, Natalie Kohout

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen. Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan: Soka Gakkai Youth and Komeito. New York: Routledge, 2012.
• Roger Goodman, Yuki Imoto, and Tuukka Toivonen (Eds.). A Sociology of Japanese Youth and Religion: From Returnees to NEETs. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Madeleine Reeves (Ed). Movement, Power And Place In Central Asia And Beyond: Contested Trajectories. London: Routledge, 2012., Feruza Aripova

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

David Hansen, Radical Rhetoric-Moderate Behaviour: Perceptions Of Islam, Shari‘A, And The Radical Dimension In Urban Pakistan. Tapir Academic Press Trondheim, 2012., Muhammad Junaid Nadvi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Schubert, Gunter And Jens Damm Eds. Taiwanese Identity In The Twenty-First Century: Domestic, Regional And Global Perspectives, Abingdon: Routledge. 2011., Allen Chun Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Robert L. Oprisko. Honor: A Phenomenology. New York: Routledge, 2012., Christian L. Derusha

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Cross-Institutional And Interdisciplinary Dialogue On Curriculum For Global Engagement: Emerging Perspectives And Concerns, Fay Patel Ph.D., Mingsheng Li Ph.D., Matthew Piscioneri Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Inviting stakeholders to engage in dialogue on a curriculum for global engagement and organizational social responsibility in higher education (HE) is a challenge, especially when one crosses disciplinary and institutional boundaries. The established discourse and practice of internationalization in higher education over the past decades has manifested unresolved tensions and inconsistencies that have restricted the effective conceptualization of the global engagement curriculum. Upon observing inadequate professional development opportunities for dialogue regarding the global engagement curriculum at their respective universities, colleagues from Monash University and Deakin University in Australia and Massey University in New Zealand organized an open forum on the …

Rethinking China’S Model: Contending Perspectives On Chinese Economic Reform And State Governance, Zhiguo Ye

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Wang Mengkui ed. Thirty Years of China's Reform. London and New York: Routledge. 2012.
• Joseph Tse-Hei Lee, Lida V Nedilsky, Siu Keung Cheung (eds.) China's Rise to Power: Conceptions of State Governance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2012.

Reflections On China’S Global Outreach, Emilian Raychev Kavalski

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Zheng Bijian, China’s Road to Peaceful Rise: Observations on Its Causes, Basis, Connotations, and Prospects. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2011.
• Peter Kien-hong Yu, International Governance and Regimes: A Chinese Perspective. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2012.
• Hongyi Lai and Yiyi Lu (eds), China’s Soft Power and International Relations. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2012.

Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, The Politics Of Ethnicity In Pakistan: The Balouch, Sindhi And Mohajir Ethnic Movements. Oxon And New York: Routledge, 2012., Muhammad Junaid Nadvi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Dominik Kopinski, Andrzej Polus, & Iantaylor, (Eds.) China’S Rise In Africa. Perspectives On A Developing Connection. London & New York: Routledge, 2012., Yoon Jung Park

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Lau, Albert Ed. Southeast Asia And The Cold War. New York: Routledge. 2012., Martin Ottovay Jørgensen Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Takeshi Hamashita. China, East Asia, And The Global Economy: Regional And Historical Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2008., Dan Du

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Henrike Donner (Ed.). Being Middle Class In India: A Way Of Life. New York: Routledge, 2011, Frank F. Conlon Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Kellner-Heinkele, Barbara And Jacob M. Landau. Language Politics In Contemporary Central Asia: National And Ethnic Identity And The Soviet Legacy. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012., R. Charles Weller

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Toby Dodge And Nicholas Redman (Eds.).Afghanistan To 2015 And Beyond. London: Routledge, 2011., Saroj Kumar Rath Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Searching For Security: Prospects For Peace In Sino-Foreign Relations, Covell Meyskens

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Quansheng Zhao and Guoli Liu, eds. Managing the China challenge: global perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, 2009.
• Dennis J. Blasko. Chinese Army today: tradition and transformation for the 21st century. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Debdas Banerjee. Economic And Human Development In Contemporary India: Cronyism And Fragility. New York: Routledge, 2010., Maansi Parpiani

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

School Kitchen Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The school kitchen garden is an innovative curricular program based on school children planting a garden and then learning to cook with the foods they grow. The program teaches students many life skills, along with teaching them about nutrition, the environment, sustainability, and almost every school subject. Researchers have studied various aspects of school kitchen gardens, but few have focused on kitchen gardens’ influence on students’ nutritional habits, environmental knowledge, and sustainability practices in particular, like this study does. The popularity of the kitchen garden program in Australia is mostly due to the celebrity chef Stephanie Alexander, who started a …

Issue 05: Backgrounder On Immigration Policy Changes And Entry To Practice Routes For Internationally Educated Nurses (Iens) Entering Canada, Margaret Walton-Roberts, Keegan Williams, Jennifer Guo, Jenna Hennebry

International Migration Research Centre

Every year, about 17,500 internationally-educated nurses (IENs) immigrate to Canada from countries like the Philippines, India, and China. While many IENs would like to practice in Canada, new immigration policies and professional regulations at the federal and provincial level limits their ability to do so. In response, migrants are increasingly using two-step immigration routes to enter the profession (e.g., international student -> permanent economic immigrant) or pursuing alternative careers in health (e.g., Personal Support Worker). These outcomes have significant policy implications for labour force planning in nursing, ethical recruitment for international healthcare workers, the process of migrant workforce integration, and …

Baltimore And The Cherry Hill Urban Garden: Tearing Down And Building Up The Physical And Imaginative Spaces Of Post-Industrial Urban Food Systems, Rebecca L. Croog

Student Publications

The tide is changing in food research and food movements. Both academic thought and grassroots mobilization have demonstrated a shift beyond merely the problems of industrial food, and toward an emphasis on issues of justice and equity within food systems (Sloccum, 2006; Alkon & Agyeman, 2011; Sbicca, 2012; Agyeman & McEntee, 2013). In examining the contemporary case of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore City, which is “a network of producers working to increase the viability of urban farming and improve access to urban grown foods, united by practices and principles that are socially, economically, and environmentally just” (Farm Alliance website, …

Immigration Policy Changes And Entry To Practice Routes For Internationally Educated Nurses (Iens), Margaret Walton-Roberts, Jennifer Guo, Keegan Williams, Jenna Hennebry

International Migration Research Centre

This knowledge synthesis report examines how migrant transition programs (status conversion from temporary to permanent) inform nursing labour force planning. This has significant policy relevance because immigration transition policies add complexity to a) labour force planning in the health sector (Pittman et al., 2007), b) ethical recruitment protocols for international health care workers, c) processes of migrant workforce integration (Blythe et al., 2009; Little & Buchan, 2007), and d) the assessment of structural processes that shape and reproduce migration as a form of gendered state developmentalist policy for sending regions (Valiani, 2012). Nursing offers a lens into how gender and …

Participatory Action And Drought As A Symbolic Context: The Case Of Aldama Chihuahua, Mexico, Sara Soledad Garcia

Teacher Education

This paper presents a field-based project and a theoretical framework for work with an Action Research paradigm. The complexities of process are illustrated and synthesized in two theoretical models. The design of the study required constant change in the focus of projects as a result of the action produced from genuine involvement. As a result a working template of the execution of the action research projects involving multiple educational institutions was generated by bi-national collaborations. Participants were ecological researchers and schoolteachers, actively engaged in schools and in the education of the community at-large on the effects of drought in their …

My Observations Of Danish Innovation In Doing Science, Learning New Things, And Living An Interesting Life, Eugene S. Takle

The Bridge

I have had the very good fortune to interact with a number of Danish scientists and scholars over my career, and much of the scientific success I have enjoyed is directly related to these interactions. My career has taken me to Denmark several times for a variety of personal as well as professional reasons. Although my contacts have been, in some cases, somewhat episodic and mostly professionally driven, it has been my experience that once strong connections with Danish people are made they persist and do not diminish in spite of the lack of continuous tending.

The Great Sustainability Challenge, Isidor Wallimann

Sociology - All Scholarship

"The balance between society and nature is askew. The age of industrialization and the subsequent era of consumerism are large culprits for pollution and the degradation of the environment. Human activity on Earth has undeniably affected the planet and has contributed colossal levels of carbon emissions that are pushing global temperatures to keep rising. Significant ecological risks to human survival may result from not taking more pressing action. Governments have a role to play in moving more rapidly and effectively towards more sustainable practices – “how to be more sustainable?” is a question that must be integrated in all decision-making …

Women Working On A Fair Flower Farm In Ecuador: An Ethnographic Study, Corrie Grosse

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Despite a history of worker exploitation and environmental degradation, today, the cut-flower industry is striving for ethical production practices. Ecuador is leading the way in this regard, and one farm, Fairtrade-certified Nevado Roses, appears to be a shining example. In 2012, I set out to conduct ethnographic research centering workers' perspectives about labor conditions and life as Fairtrade rose cultivators at Nevado Roses. I wanted to understand how women, who comprise the majority of flower workers, fare on a farm with socially and environmentally sustainable policies. The research confirmed the benefits of ethical production practices, but also revealed that Fairtrade …

“Because We Have Really Unique Art”: Decolonizing Research With Indigenous Youth Using The Arts, Sarah Flicker, Jessica Yee Danforth, Ciann L. Wilson, Vanessa Oliver, June Larkin, Jean-Paul Restoule, Claudia Mitchell, Erin Konsmo, Randy Jackson, Tracey Prentice

Psychology Faculty Publications

Indigenous communities in Canada share a common history of colonial oppression. As a result, many Indigenous populations are disproportionately burdened with poor health outcomes, including HIV. Conventional public health approaches have not yet been successful in reversing this trend. For this study, a team of community- and university-based researchers came together to imagine new possibilities for health promotion with Indigenous youth. A strengths-based approach was taken that relied on using the energies and talents of Indigenous youth as a leadership resource. Art-making workshops were held in six different Indigenous communities across Canada in which youth could explore the links between …

Environmental Sustainability, Cultural Awareness, And Personal Growth: A Short-Term Study Abroad Program Design For The University Of Colorado, Boulder, Jana K. Howlett

Capstone Collection

The University of Colorado (CU), as with many academic institutions in the United States, has seen a consistent increase in the number of students opting for short-term study abroad programs. A growing concern in the field of international education is whether it is possible for students to mature in cultural competence from such a short time spent abroad. In an initiative to deliberately increase students’ intercultural growth during short-term excursions, Global Seminar: Environmental Sustainability and Cross-Culture Contact in Costa Rica (GSCR) proposes a program that implements two new aspects to CU’s study abroad options: a course-linked program and an …

Sociobiophysicality And The Necessity Of Critical Theory: Moving Beyond Prevailing Conceptions Of Environmental Sociology In The Usa, Alex Stoner

Journal Articles

Today, to perceive the link between society and environment does not require that we engage in an effort of great abstraction. What remains paradoxical is that the intensity and scale of societally induced environmental degradation, which rose to historically unprecedented levels during the latter half of the 20th century, is synchronous with an equally impressive increase in public concern for and attention to the biophysical world. This article examines values-based and traditional Marxist-oriented approaches to environmental sociology in the USA in order to assess whether or not – and if so, how exactly – these approaches help us make sense …