Digital Commons Network^™

Invoking History: A Queer Roadmap To Liberation, Irene Mata

NACCS Annual Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Chicanx/Latinx Community-Academic Praxis In The Neoliberal University, Mari Castañeda

NACCS Annual Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

2018 Naccs Scholar Award Speech, Rosaura Sanchez

NACCS Annual Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Ethnolinguistic Convergence And Divergence Within Dyadic Communication, Anna E. Pitman

Honors College Research

This study investigated just one dependent variable within communication: ethnicity. Ethnicity often influences language. The study examined interethnic communication behaviors through the lens of the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), as influenced by one of its offshoots, Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (ELIT). Communication within CAT is given one of three labels—convergence, divergence, and maintenance. The study included four students at Harding University: two African American females, one Hispanic American female, and one Caucasian American female. The primary participant, an African American woman, had a recorded 20 minute conversation with each of the other three participants. Discussion questions provided were formulated to create …

Indicators Of Civic Engagement Among Lower Secondary Students, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Eveline Gebhardt

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

Educational systems, school and teachers seek to prepare young people to understand the society they live in, to engage with its political and social issues and become actively involved as citizens in later adult life. There is a consensus that formal education influences the extent of adult civic engagement (Pancer, 2015). This is reflected in the fact that many countries include civic learning as a goal of school education either as a distinct subject or through several subjects (Ainley et al., 2013). More broadly, civic engagement of citizens is seen as a central characteristic of a democratic society and refers …

Domestic Violence And The Faith Community: A Training For Faith Leaders, Sandy Almonte

Community Engagement Student Work

Domestic violence is a social ill that affects many families in the state of Massachusetts. Domestic violence can be manifested in different ways by a member of a family, household, or an intimate partner against another member of the family, household, or against the intimate partner. Faith leaders are uniquely placed to reach out to victims and help direct victims to services and safety. Faith-based leaders can support victims with knowledge and compassion. However, they do not always feel prepared to respond or worse, an abuser may have already used faith as a weapon against the victim. As a result, …

Queer Turn: 2018 Proceedings Complete, Linda Heidenreich, Maria Gonzalez, Francisco Villegas

NACCS Annual Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Life Experiences Of Refugees: Integration And Mental Health As Intersecting Realities, Grace Berry

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this study was to look at the mental health of post resettled refugees and the integration process through past studies. Resettled refugees deal with a multitude of problems prior, during and after resettlement and this is a look at the mental health problems associated with this experience. I looked at past studies that focused on the process of successfully integrating refugees and then some studies on their personal experiences and mental health during the transition. Overall, English language skills and social interactions significantly aided to successful integration. In regards to reports of mental illness, PTSD rates were …

Student Engagement Curriculum For The Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, Michael Angelo Caban

Capstone Collection

This paper is a guide for a student engagement curriculum for the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus(PGMC). Included are the theoretical frameworks for youth empowerment and development, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and more (LGBTQ+) empowerment, and intercultural training design and facilitation that are at the center and the considerations an intercultural trainer and youth programmer and facilitator should constantly regard. The main purpose of this is to put forth a document that PGMC, as well as any group or organization, can use to empower LGBTQ+ young people, as well as their straight allies, and to develop leaders in their schools …

Preserving Identity Through Discourse In A Changing Ladakh, Emma Cyr

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Situated in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, Ladakh is a vast high altitude desert. It's looming mountains, rocky vistas, crystalline lakes, and unique indigenous culture makes Ladakh not only a favorite destination for adventurers, thrill seekers, and camera toters of all types, but also marks it as one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the world. However, Ladakh has only been open for tourism since 1974. Prior to then, the region was fairly isolated, open to travellers only a few months of the year, when the high, icy passes melted enough to let trade through. In the time …

On Equal Footing? A Study On How Adult Members Of The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Community (In The United States) Perceive That The Procurement, Use, Or Absence Of Assistive Technology Has Influenced Their Lives, Brad Andersen

Capstone Collection

Technology has changed each of our lives, that is certain. Findings from previous studies about assistive technology plus personal interviews and a survey were used for this interpretive phenomenological study. Interviews were conducted with people associated with the researcher’s work. Existing literature regarding assistive technology produced themes revolving around systemic policies & practices, various types of assistive technology, the users of assistive technology themselves (situation, age, circumstances, etc.), and the impact of assistive technology. The last theme is the focus of this qualitative study: how adult members of the Deaf and hard of hearing community’s lives have been affected by …

Gatekeeping Decriminalization Of Prostitution: The Ubiquitous Influence Of The New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, Janice G. Raymond

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article explores the activities of The New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC) in promoting decriminalization of prostitution and its role in gatekeeping this legislation. The NZPC has loomed large in the government’s evaluations of the decriminalization legislation known as the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA). It has collected information, partnered on the research team appointed by the Ministry of Justice to conduct the research, and ultimately secured seats as evaluators on the Prostitution Law Review Committee (PLRC) charged with assessing the research and making recommendations. Much of its outsized influence on the research and conclusions of this report is demonstrated in …

Not So Bizarre Foods: Exploring The Historical And Cultural Traditions Behind The Foods Of France, Germany, And Italy, Kari Pederson Behrends

Capstone Collection

Not So Bizarre Foods is a summer-term program designed for upper-level Culinary Arts students from Johnson and Wales University, Providence. Unlike other programs serving students in the Culinary Arts, this unique model includes multiple locations and an internship. The proposed program features three month-long modules based in Lyon, France; Munich, Germany; and Naples, Italy allow for comparison across locations. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Kolb, Vygotsky, and Mezirow, the experiential, transformative curricular design combines an academic seminar, a practical seminar, and an internship placement, emphasizing the interplay between history, culture, and culinary tradition, a concept inspired by the popular …

Does Belarusian-Ukrainian Civilization Belong To The Western Or The Latin Civilization?, Piotra Murzionak

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Assessment For Mild Cognitive Impairment: Striving For Best Practice, Julie Leigh Dalmasso

Dissertations

This dissertation is a series of three studies aimed at determining the best assessment practices for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that can employed by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The first study was non-experimental and descriptive examining whether three commonly used assessment instruments yielded similar categorical results. The data were analyzed to determine whether the Eight-Item Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Cognitive-Linguistic Quick Test (CLQT) identified the same participants from a neurotypical sample as having cognitive deficits. Very little agreement was found amongst the three tools.

Study two was modified to include two …

Land Rights Of African Indigenous Groups: International Instruments And Main Issues, Anastasia Strouboulis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For indigenous peoples, land is more than an economic commodity, it has guided their way of life for generations. This notion is particularly prevalent in Africa, where many diverse indigenous communities exist, from desert regions to vast forests. However, without the recognition of international laws and standards that seek to preserve and uphold their land rights, the indigenous peoples of Africa continue to face socio-environmental and political issues. This research paper seeks to understand what actors, documents, and mechanisms exist to protect and promote the land rights of indigenous peoples in Africa and assess their effectiveness. This research question was …

The Aftermath Of War: Improving Psychosocial Measures To Address Trauma In Child Refugees In The Schengen Zone, Nivedha Meyyappan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With the large number of refugee children currently displaced due to war and conflict, there is a necessity to look into alleviating any resulting trauma so that these children don’t face further social or health effects later in life. The study focuses on how to improve psychosocial care for child refugees in the Schengen zone suffering from war trauma. Through a combination of research done using existing literature and interviews with experts, there were three main findings on improving psychosocial support for this population. These include improving consolidation of psychosocial programs and focusing on education, having greater cultural awareness when …

“We Are The Gap: Understanding The Inclusion Of Immigrants In Moroccan Left-Wing Politics”, Sam Brown

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project seeks to understand to what extent immigrants are included in left-wing politics in Morocco. In 2011, King Mohammed VI named Morocco an executive constitutional monarchy. One can argue that this means Morocco is moving in the direction of democracy, but is democracy what left-wing political parties are truly advocating for? And if they are, does the left include marginalized people it advocates for? Particularly, how are immigrants fighting for their own rights in Morocco, and to what extent are Moroccan left-wing political parties centering and uplifting the voices of immigrants, if at all?

Church And State In Rwanda: Catholic Missiology And The 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi, Marcus Timothy Haworth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, over one million Tutsis were killed by the government of Rwanda and Hutu extremists. In this study, I address two questions: (1) did the Church, as an institution, offer a convincing counter-narrative to the dominant ideology of racialized ethnic identities of twentieth century European colonialism in the present-day nation-state of Rwanda? If it did not, why not? And, (2) what role, if any, did the Church, as an institution, play, in promoting a “social imagination” that valued religious identity, or truths, over the dominant European colonial ideology, and later the nationalistic narrative of …

Ontology Of Personhood In Ayurveda From The Perspective Of Patients And Physicians In Palampur, Himachal Pradesh: An Independent Study, Denise Defelice

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Scholars in western biomedicine describe the body as a physical entity distinct from mind and soul. However, the human body in Indian systems of medicine integrates the multiple natures of personhood and is both deeply physical and spiritual. This study demonstrates the unique view of personhood, being, health, and illness in Ayurveda through literature research and interviews with practitioners and patients. This study extends past a search for the ontology of personhood in Ayurveda and discusses the implications of this ontology on the way one views oneself and the world around him or her. Through this integrative approach, this study …

The Women Of Dho Tarap: Gender Roles, Challenges, And Change In Dolpo, Nepal, Luke Testa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

By collecting and examining first first-hand accounts of women and men from Dho Tarap, this report illustrates the many challenges that women report facing throughout their lives in Dolpo, offers a conceptual framework for understanding the significance of gender, and highlights women’s thoughts on change. The difficulties that women face appear to be due to cultural concepts that suggest that women are less capable than men, social norms that provide various learning and growth opportunities to men but not to women, and customs that result in women experiencing discriminate treatment in the home and community. Through an analysis of the …

“Religion Is Religion; My Life Is My Life”: Religious Influences On Family Planning Decisions In Kapchorwa District, Uganda, Sarah Mathys

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report seeks to understand the influence that religion has on family planning decisions in Kapchorwa District, in eastern Uganda. Increased uptake of family planning has significant impliations for sustainability and development in Uganda as a whole. As a district with a high unmet need for faily planning, Kapchorwa serves as an important case study. Because over 99% of Uganda’s population reports a religious affiliation, and because literature on family planning claims conservative spirituality as a major cause of low uptake, religion is a natural lens through which to study family planning perceptions and utilization.

Through focus groups and key …

From The Margins To The Center: Queer And Trans Teachers Of Color In K-12 Public School, Esteban Cabrera-Duran , '18

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Interviews with nine self-identified queer and trans teachers of color (QTToC) address how teachers both work within and resist the reproductive function of schools. Findings suggest that QTToC enter the profession with a set of values and conunitments. The pedagogies of these teachers can have a trans formative effect on the academic outcomes of students and prepare them to be critical of ideologies and systems of oppression. To fulfill this role and conunitment, teachers must have the support of the school context and culture. This thesis adds to the growing body of literature on QTToC and presents a more optimistic …

"Love On The Brain":? Exploring The Influence Of Lyrics On Sexting And Risky Sexual Behavior, Savannah Leigh Kroff

Theses and Dissertations

While some research has been done on the influence of music lyrics on sexual behaviors in general, none has explored the lyrical influence on sexting. The goal of the current study is to explore the longitudinal influence of sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics on adolescent sexting behaviors. Participants were 125 14-year-old adolescents who were recruited from high schools in Texas. Participants completed questionnaires on music preferences, sexual behaviors and impulsivity and were given BlackBerry devices through which frequency of sexual text message utterances was obtained. Music preferences were then quantitatively analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) software. Logistic …

International Muslim Students Within A Globalized Educational Context, Noha Ghali

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

While previous research has revealed and documented the difficulties that international students and international Muslim students face when studying abroad, it fails to critically study and discuss the students’ perception of reasons behind these difficulties. The main aim of this study is to focus on international Muslim students and explore their social and academic experiences and challenges in a globalized educational context. Another aim is to investigate international Muslim students’ perceived reasons behind the challenges they meet, and how they negotiate such challenges. The study reviews the literature on international Muslim students in western higher education to highlight the gap …

Breaking The Crass Ceiling? Exploring Narratives, Performances, And Audience Reception Of Women's Stand-Up Comedy, Sarah Katherine Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the long history of stand-up comedy as a distinct form of popular entertainment, there has been little sociological attention given to its cultural significance. Comedians have arguably become legitimate and visible voices in many public conversations about social issues and social justice. This dissertation explores the cultural work of women’s comedy in popular culture. Specifically, I examine narrative representation and audience reception of women’s stand-up comedy through multi-method qualitative inquiry.

First, I analyze stand-up performances by popular U.S. comedians Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Margaret Cho. Through narrative analysis, I focus on the ironic performativity of Schumer and the …

Undimmed By Human Tears: American Cities, Philanthropy, And The Civic Ideal (1992), Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Commissioned by the Council on Foundations in 1992 at a time when urban concerns had fallen off the national agenda, this article contains summary recommendations of an investigation into the response of grantmakers and urban policy experts after the deadly violence that occurred in Los Angeles that spring. An April 29 state-court acquittal of police officers accused of using excessive force against Rodney King had sparked two days of burning and looting throughout South Central Los Angeles, an area hard-hit by job loss and plant closings that over the previous twenty years had become demographically and economically transformed. Once an …

Teacher Interculturality In An English As A Second Language Elementary Pull-Out Program: Teacher As Broker In The School’S Community Of Practice, Carmen Durham

The Qualitative Report

This case study investigated how one teacher, Lidia (a pseudonym), used her own cross-cultural experiences to socially and academically assist elementary school students who were crossing cultural boundaries of their own. This study used ethnographic interviews and classroom observations to explore Lidia’s experiences and struggles as she crossed cultural boundaries and built intercultural competence and how those experiences related to her teaching methods. Lidia used stories, multicultural images, and the students’ home languages so that her students could become confident in their multicultural and multilingual identities instead of solely assimilating. Teaching interculturally for Lidia meant empowering students to balance their …

Reconsidering The Immutability Of "Race": An Examination Of The Disconnect Between "Race" In Title Vii Jurisprudence And Social Science Literature, Natalie Tupta

Graduate Student Research Symposium

This paper discusses reconceptualizing racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in light of modern social science theories on racial identity. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and the judiciary calls these bases for discrimination “protected classes.” To bring a successful legal claim under Title VII, a person must demonstrate that she actually belongs to a protected class. In the case of a claim of racial discrimination, this means the plaintiff must belong to a racial group based on immutable characteristics, which are traits that cannot simply …

Breaking The “Fourth Wall” In Qualitative Research: Participant-Led Digital Data Construction, Nettie Boivin, Anna Cohenmiller

The Qualitative Report

This article reconstructs the typical researcher-participant focus - where the participants are doing for us - instead we followed the participants’ lead in the construction of research. Using a qualitative literacy event case study as an example, we describe how participants unexpectedly co-constructed knowledge through a participant-led digital data collection. In this theoretical article, we provide an explanation of the original study, which used observations, semi-structured interviews, and home visits as a collective qualitative case study on parental participation in social literacy practices. The original investigation led to the important shift that occurred in participant-researcher roles. In this article, using …