Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions Of Access To Education: Inclusion And Exclusion For Non-Karen Refugees In Mae La Camp, Matthew Gross

Capstone Collection

Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border is the largest of the seven “Karen” refugee camps in the area and is considered the center of education for refugees. Continued fighting inside Burma between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the ethnic armies as well as the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 have greatly altered the demographics in Mae La refugee camp. Perceptions of Access to Education: Inclusion and Exclusion for Non-Karen Refugees in Mae La Camp attempts to understand, through qualitative data, how non-Karen speaking refugees perceive their access to education. Is education in Mae …

The Insecurity Of “Secure Communities”: A Case Study Of An Advocacy Campaign To Protect Immigrant Rights In Santa Barbara, Ca, Tina Pia Peirano

Capstone Collection

This case study describes and analyzes the work of advocacy work of PUEBLO, a human and immigrant rights organization in Santa Barbara, California. The paper focuses on the ongoing campaigns of PUEBLO and its allies, including national and state-level organizations and coalitions, to influence one of the most recent federal immigration policies, titled Secure Communities. It also addresses PUEBLO’s advocacy to change local law enforcement policies or practices which have targeted Hispanic residents, including undocumented immigrants, for traffic citations and car impoundments. Based on knowledge acquired through my six month, full-time internship with PUEBLO and through various forms of primary …

The Water Project: A Short-Term Study Abroad Program Design For Alfred University, Caitlin Paul

Capstone Collection

The Water Project is a short term, faculty-led program, which will address the global water crisis by using the strengths of Alfred University (AU). The Water Project will include students from five different disciplines -Engineering, Art, Business, Language, and Anthropology- and have them work in collaboration with each other and the faculty of AU to create low-cost, ceramic water filters for a community in need of a clean water source in a rural area of Burkina Faso. The Water Project is not intended to be an imposing force on the community, but a welcomed collaborator that works to create a …

Female Testaments As Social Discourse: A Textual Analysis Under A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach, Maria Martinez-Mira

Modern Languages & Literatures Articles

The following article is an analysis of 33 female wills (from 16th-20th centuries) found in notarial protocols at the Murcia Regional Archives (Murcia, Spain). Using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework, with special emphasis of Pierre Bourdieu’s postulates, this article studies how women handle gender, cultural, and power relations, challenge social hierarchies and, at the same time, reproduce them in their attempt to look respectable/honorable, assert their power, redefine themselves and negotiate their public image.

The Migration Of People: A Model Application Exploring Washington State History, Jamie Nicole Hartman

All Graduate Projects

One of the things that makes Washington State a culturally competent and perceptive place to live is its deep history and appreciation of the migration of its' people. This project is designed to serve as a model and resource for upper elementary school teachers that are seeking to integrate the migration of people into their Washington State History curriculum. A sample inquiry-based curriculum for upper elementary school students "The Migration of People" is offered as a depiction of exceptional classroom practice. Student roles, activities, and assessment methods are portrayed, along with thier connection to core curriculum content and the Washington …

The Population Council's Approach: Promoting Healthy, Safe, And Productive Transitions To Adulthood, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood brief provides an overview of the Population Council’s focus on adolescents that began in the early 1990s. The focus has been accompanied by a commitment to move the field of adolescent research and programs from one often narrowly focused on sexuality, reproductive health, and behavior to the broader social and economic issues that underpin adolescent health and well-being. In 1998, with the publication of The Uncharted Passage—a benchmark review of the situation of adolescent girls in developing countries—the current program of work was launched. The Council’s approach has been characterized by …

Schooling And The Everyday Ruptures Transnational Children Encounter In The United States And Mexico, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Using examples of students in Mexico who used to attend US schools and examples from Georgia of students who used to and might again attend Mexican schools, this chapter considers how an unremarkable, quotidian activity—the act of attending school—can become means for transnationally mobile children to experience shock, disconnection, and a reiterated sense of dislocation if schools are incompletely responsive to learners' biographies.

Brain Drain Out Of Hungary And Its Inhibitors, Eliza Plous

Capstone Collection

In many Central and Eastern European countries, a poor economic climate at home forces young people to make their careers in the West. Hungary is no exception. After spending time both studying and working in Hungary, the author chose to investigate the phenomenon known as “brain drain”: the large-scale emigration of young, educated individuals from Hungary as they seek higher salaries and more promising career prospects in neighboring Western European countries. This paper offers a comprehensive report on the economics of the brain drain problem, and on the opinions of young Hungarians who are currently seeking employment abroad; it also …

International Service-Learning Program In Guatemala On Mayan Education, Language Maintenance & Social Activism: A Program For The City College Of New York, Cuny, Kenneth Yanes

Capstone Collection

ABSTRACT: The CLC program design, International Service-Learning Program in Guatemala on Mayan Education, Language Maintenance & Social Activism: A Program for The City College of New York, CUNY, proposes a six-week program with a chief focus on service, research and experiential learning. The program aims to introduce all participants to the current issues in Mayan culture and society through lectures and service-learning activities at Casa Xelajú and affiliated NGOs in the Quetzaltenango area. As an international service-learning program, its participants will be incorporated to assist host organizations that have a similar interest to the curriculum of the course. Participants are …

Paradise Lost, Found Or Created? Expectations Between Teachers And Vulnerable Children: Case Study On Peace House Secondary School, Northern Tanzania, Kelli Bee

Capstone Collection

The orphans and vulnerable children of northern Tanzania are offered a unique opportunity of education if selected to attend Peace House Secondary School. The school selects the most needy of this ostracized demographic and offers high quality education by focusing on student-centered techniques.

This study investigates the expectations between students and teachers using ethnographic methods carried out in 2010 and 2011, including student-wide survey, classroom observations and interviews with both teachers and students. Student perspective was intentionally of particular focus in data collection.

The study found that expectations which were shared by all participants revolve around passing exams. Students are …

Tomáš Masaryk And Jane Addams On Humanitarianism And Cultural Reciprocity, Marilyn Fischer

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Chapter addresses similarities between Addams's and Masaryk's positions on cultural difference and national states. The similarities were based not only on their shared general humanitarian point of view, but on a personal interaction as well. Masaryk visited the U.S. several times and even delivered series of lectures on Slavs and their history at Hull House in Chicago. Masaryk spoke with Addams and was in contact with her through his daughter Alice, who spent time in Chicago and whom Addams mentored. In these circumstances the similarities in their ideas of trans-nationalism, the plasticity of national identity, and cultural reciprocity are not …

Capturing The Unseen Experience Of Asian International Students In The United States, Martel Pipkins

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

International students bring unique elements to the campuses everywhere. Through their efforts we are able to experience their culture through events such as Japan Night, Nepal Night, Vietnamese New Year, and Africa Night among others. However, there are experiences of international students that are less likely captured. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviewing, the unseen experience of international students from Asia was brought to light. The specific focus here is on challenges they may face during their time of study. The three core challenges presented are 1) living situations, 2) developing relationships, and 3) language. These core challenges seem to have a …

Evaluation Of Verbal Behavior In Older Adults, Amy Gross

Dissertations

Older adults make up a large and increasing portion of the population (U.S. apply those assessments to the evaluation of verbal behavior in older adults with and without dementia. The research addressed two questions. First, in what way do verbal behavior problems differ between older adults with and without dementia? Second, does language deteriorate in a pattern compatible with Skinner's analysis of functionally independent verbal operants? Thirty-one participants were categorized into Control (n=15) and Dementia (n=16) Groups based on their score on the Dementia Rating Scale-2. Verbal behavior assessments were administered to participants on two occasions, separated by one week. …

Building A Learning Community Within The Constraints Of Open Enrollment, Megan Pugh

MA TESOL Collection

            This paper introduces the ways in which the challenges of open enrollment ESL programs affect both students and teachers and the importance of group cohesion in adult learning.  The effects caused by open enrollment can be abated by building a strong community of learners through involving new students to build a sense of belonging to the class, meeting the needs of individuals within the group, having a supportive learning environment, and using selected best teaching practices to build community.  With the solutions proposed in this paper, teachers can meet student needs and the negative effects of open enrollment will be …

Female Genital Mutilation Practices In Kenya: The Role Of Alternative Rites Of Passage. A Case Study Of Kisii And Kuria Districts, Habil Oloo, Monica Wanjiru, Katy Newell-Jones

Reproductive Health

This research was undertaken by the Population Council to better understand female genital mutilation (FGM) as currently practiced by the Kuria and Kisii communities in Kenya. The study investigated current attitudes and practices in relation to FGM, awareness and attitudes toward the alternative rite of passage (ARP), and factors which encourage individuals to make decisions to abandon FGM. The findings show that FGM is still a celebrated public event among the Kuria, whereas in Kisii, it is a private family affair. The study suggests that the success of ARP as an approach to abandoning FGM is strongly dependent on the …

Anthoethnography: Emerging Research Into The Culture Of Flora, Aesthetic Experience Of Plants, And The Wildflower Tourism Of The Future, John C. Ryan

Research outputs 2011

How does anthoethnography contribute to the development of understandings of aesthetic experiences of wild plants and wildflower tourism? As exemplified by the quintessentially aesthetic industry of wildflower tourism, the culture of flora represents diverse engagements between people and plants. Such complex engagements offer further avenues for research. The critical methodology of anthoethnography has been one such approach to circumscribing the values, practices and rhetoric of wildflower tourism. Interviews have revealed perceptual phenomena such as the orchid and everlasting effects as two counterpoised examples of the differences between visual aesthetic values occurring in the region. For appreciators such as Tinker, botanical …

Reading Charles Black Writing: "The Lawfulness Of The Segregation Decisions" Revisited, Kendall Thomas

Faculty Scholarship

The year 2010 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Charles L. Black, Jr.'s "The Lawfulness of the Segregation Decisions." Professor Black's magisterial essay on the Supreme Court's 1954-1955 decisions in Brown v. Board of Education and its companion cases is, by any account, a foundational text in the scholarly literature on race and law in the United States. Black's short but searing defense of Brown introduced ideas and arguments about race, about law, and about the law of race that transformed the field. I can think of no better way to celebrate this inaugural issue of the Columbia …

Italian Militants And Migrants And The Language Of Solidarity In The Early- Twentieth-Century Western Coalfields, Stephen Brier, Ferdinando Fasce

Publications and Research

This article uses the life and experiences of an Italian immigrant and labor militant, Carlo Demolli, to examine a range of issues, including: the intersection of ethnic and national identity and labor militancy and solidarity in the organizing efforts of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) among the ethnically diverse workforce of coal miners in the American West at the turn of the 20th century; the role of a "language of solidarity" as expressed in an Italian language version of the UMW Journal, Il Lavoratore Italiano, in sustaining a militant Italian immigrant workforce in the coal mines; and the …

European Kinship: Eastern European Women Go To Market, Anca Parvulescu

Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Minority Identity As German Identity In Conscious Rap And Gangsta Rap: Pushing The Margins, Redefining The Center, Kathrin M. Bower

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

After rap entered the German music scene in the 1980s, it developed into a variety of styles that reflect Germany's increasingly multiethnic social fabric. Politically conscious rap assumed greater relevance after unification, focusing on issues of discrimination, integration, and xenophobia. Gangsta rap, with its emphasis on street conflict and violence, brought the ghetto to Germany and sparked debates about the condition of German cities and the erosion of civic consciousness. Alternately celebrated and reviled by the media, both styles utilize rap's synthesis of authenticity and performance to redefine the relationship between minority identity and German identity and debunk Leitkultur.

Sociology Of Islam & Muslim Societies, Newsletter No. 6, Tugrul Keskin

Sociology of Islam & Muslim Societies Newsletter

Table of Contents:

• Neo-Orientalism and Co-Optation in American Academia by Tugrul Keskin and Reed Taylor
• Islam and Identity among Uyghurs by Mettursun Beydulla
• Islamism Between the Political Dialectic and the Societal Reality by Abdennour Toumi
• Islam in Politics, not Islamic Politics by Shane Joshua Barter
• Taming The Tigers: Gender Relations and The Cultural Geneaology of Neocolonialism in Afghanistan by Nathaniel A. Davis
• Women, Islam, and Gender Inequality in post-conflict Aceh, Indonesia by Reed Taylor
• A Dissenting Voice on Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law by Yoginder Sikand
• A Book Review: The Afghanistan Challenge: Hard Realities and Strategic Choices by Fatemeh Shayan
• A Book …

Ethnic Identities Among Second-Generation Haitian Young Adults In Tampa Bay, Florida: An Analysis Of The Reported Influence Of Ethnic Organizational Involvement On Disaster Response After The Earthquake Of 2010, Herrica Telus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing upon 20 in-depth interviews with second generation Haitian young adults, I examined the ethnic identities and the involvement in ethnic organizations of the respondents. This study pays particular attention to how involvement in ethnic organizations influenced how the second generation Haitians believed the earthquake affected their identities and how they ultimately responded to the earthquake. Several of the findings revealed differences in how and why the respondents chose to ethnically identify such as Haitian, Haitian-American, black Haitian. The respondents' choice to join an ethnic organization was driven by different desires but the perceived influence of the organization on their …

Single-Parent Families In Bangkok, Thailand: Factors Affecting Children Living In Single-Parent Families, Waruesporn Jiumpanyarach

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

There has been a transformation in family structure in Thailand due to the changes in economic and social structures over time. Though not recorded in census data the rise in single-parent families can be expected due to a rise in divorce rates, that have been recorded, over the past decades. However, the literature on single-parent families is limited and little is known about the experiences of single-mothers and children of singlemother families in Thailand. This study examines the factors that have major impacts on the well-being of children of single-parent families in Bangkok, Thailand.

A qualitative methodology was employed to …

In Search Of Satanists Examining The Accounts Of Deviant Religious Practitioners, Chris P. Mcdaniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the glut of literature focusing on numerous aspects of mainline American religious life, there is a surprising dearth of information regarding deviant religious practitioners. Importantly, there remains a lack of focus on the specificities of religious and spiritual deviance, and the accounts of those who engage in such practices. This exploratory study closely examines the members of one such religion; specifically, the Church of Satan. Despite the stigma associated with Satanism, individuals continue to willfully engage in such practices. Research uses face-toface, semi-structured interviews to better discern the rationale behind Satanic worship as understood by modern-day believers. Particular attention …

A National Study Of Parental Involvement: Its Trends, Status And Effects On School Success, Alandra Washington

Dissertations

Parental involvement has been emphasized as a mechanism for improving our public schools. In this study the author inquired into (a) the trend and status of parental involvement and (b) whether parental involvement is associated with schools meeting accountability measures. Secondary analyses were conducted on multiple waves of nationally representative data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) School and Staffing Surveys (SASS). Descriptive statistics, discriminant function analysis, logistic regression, among others, were used for the study.

The analyses on the trend and status of parental involvement indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in parental involvement …

Era[C]Ing Diversity: A Critical Rhetorical Approach To Race And The New Citizen, Theresa Donovan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Era[c]ing Diversity is guided by a broad question of inquiry regarding the formation and reformation of subjectivity through the filling out of "blank" forms such as the application for naturalization. This dissertation examines how the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service uses and distributes race, and how subjects participate in the social reproduction of the dominant ideology to create a society where individuals think: I am White; He/she is Black, or Asian, or Native American etc. Era[c]ing Diversity examines how the N-400 constructs the new citizen and the ways that permanent legal residents of Mexican origin disrupt or reify this construct. …

Is Silence Golden? Experiences Of Silence, Stigma And Cultural Violence Among Lgb People In El Paso, Tx., Elias Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Stigma not only affects how one is treated within a society; it is also one of the factors influencing social identity and sexual behavior. LGB individuals, as part of a stigmatized group, form their sexual identities in a culture and society that is hostile to or ignorant of them. This project synthesizes 14 ethnographic interviews with LGB individuals in El Paso, TX. The interviews focus on the formative years of the individual's life on the U.S.-Mexico Border, namely their school years and early formation through family socialization. They also focus on LGBT individuals' perceptions of their community and the city …

Incompatible: The Construction Of The Homosexual Subject In American Mainline Protestantism, John Joseph Anderson

Dissertations

Many American mainline Protestant denominations discriminate against gays and lesbians or have discriminated against them in recent history by denying ordination to "self-avowed practicing homosexuals." This dissertation analyzes such ordination policies and their enforcement in ecclesial courts in three denominations, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Moving from a theoretical framework that integrates Michel Foucault's theories of discourse and subjectivity with Christian body theology, this dissertation argues that the language of the "self-avowed practicing homosexual" discursively produces a homosexual subject that does violence to gays and lesbians in these churches.

The …

The Integration Of African Muslim Minority: A Critique Of French Philosophy And Policy, Amber Nichole Dillender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The numerous images of violence perpetrated by radicalized followers of Islam, has highlighted the complexities surrounding assimilation and integration of Muslims in Western society. Since the guest worker recruitment from French African colonies initiated after World War II, France has been witness to the unanticipated development of permanent communities of African laborers, many of whom are Muslim. Despite consistent promotion of French monoculture and specifically the use of the assimilation model for integration, segregation of African Muslims has occurred. Through the construction of a single country case study, I explore integration issues surrounding the French Muslim minority communities. I seek …

Actualizing Empowerment: Developing A Framework For Partnering With Families In System Level Service Planning And Delivery, Kathleen Ferreira

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The engagement of families of children and adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) as full partners in individual treatment, organizational, and system level decision making has become an important focus for systems of care (SOCs) serving youth with emotional and behavioral challenges. SOCs typically include cross-agency partnerships with mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and education for the purpose of providing services and supports for youth with SED who have multi-agency needs. Implementation of a federal mandate requiring family driven care (FDC) within systems of care funded through the Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) has revealed that most system of …