Digital Commons Network^™

Benthic Algae And Diatom Communities In Seagrass Meadows Under Three Different Human Impact Regimes In Bocas Del Toro, Panamá, Averyl Cheng

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Bocas del Toro, Panamá, widespread tourism has been the main source of revenue and has become an increasing threat to seagrass meadows and the organisms they support. This study aimed to investigate and describe algae and diatom communities under three different regimes of anthropogenic disturbance: high, medium and low human impact. The biodiversity was analyzed by measuring the algae and diatom assemblages with Shannon-Weiner’s Biodiversity Index, Evenness Index and Sorensen’s coefficient. The data obtained from these three diversity indices were compared to the areas along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient of high, medium and low impact. A total of 12 …

Evaluation Des Impacts Sociaux Et Ecologiques De La Gestion Communautaire De La Forêt D’Analabe, Nicole Israel-Meyer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Le transfert de gestion des forêts de l’Etat vers les communautés locales est l’une des approches que le gouvernement malgache a implémentées pour à la fois conserver la biodiversité locale et continuer le développement rural. Cette étude cherche à comprendre les impacts sociaux et écologiques de la gestion communautaire de la forêt d’Analabe par le VOI Fanarenana. La forêt d’Analabe se trouve dans le secteur d’Antanandava du district Majunga II dans le nord-ouest du pays. En utilisant une méthodologie mixte, l’étude a exposé que dans les trois ans d’opération du VOI Fanarenana, la forêt est plus saine et la majorité …

A Study Of The Integration Of Artificial Insemination Into The Dairy Sector Of The Alaotra Mangoro Region Of Madagascar, Tara Hammonds

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The region of Alaotra Mangoro in central Madagascar is one of the country’s focal points for the development of the dairy industry. The Coopération Décentralisée, a partnership between Alaotra Mangoro and the French department Ille et Vilaine, has since 2007 been offering and subsidizing artificial insemination (AI) services for increased dairy production and the amelioration of local breeds. The program benefits about 150 local dairy farmers, who have noted a significantly higher level of production than those farmers who have chosen to continue using natural service to inseminate their cattle. Artificial insemination use in the region has increased since the …

For A Public-Private Partnership To Achieve Migrant Health Equality In Morocco: A Cross-Analysis Of Integration Policies And Migrant Peer Educator Programs, Victoria Anders

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the Moroccan Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs (MRE) released its National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum in December 2014, MRE has put forth various policies and action plans to improve migrant integration in Morocco, including the need for their integration into the national healthcare system. Before that, most of the needs of the growing migrant population in Morocco were provided for by civil society and non-governmental organizations, who worked with severely underserved and isolated migrants often fearful and distrusting of the government and authorities. To overcome this resentment, these organizations had to develop community …

Watch Chöd Self: An Examination Of Chöd, Its Practitioners, And Its Music, Weston Conner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The practice of Chöd is a form of Vajrayāna meditation that involves cutting one’s attachment to one’s self and compassionately offering one’s body as a feast for various deities and spirits. This study examines the practice of Chöd in the context of Boudha, Kathmandu, where there is a large community of Chödpas, Chöd practioners. This work aims to document the history of the practice, the experiences of some current Chöd practitioners, and the role that music plays in Chöd. This knowledge was acquired through observing Chödpas, speaking with them directly, and sitting in on various learning opportunities to gain firsthand …

Discourses Of "Cruelty-Free" Consumerism: Peta, The Vegan Society And Examples Of Contemporary Activism, Andrea Springirth

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper draws upon the principles of critical discourse analysis in order to examine the production of capitalist and consumerist discourses within contemporary nonhuman animal rights activism. The analysis presents evidence to suggest that the discourses being produced via the websites of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and The Vegan Society are consistently being constructed through market-centric ideologies that treat activists mainly as middle-class consumers. This paper argues that the consistent presence of neoliberal discourse signals an instructive entanglement with broader sociopolitical issues. Specifically, there are concerns as to how this discourse relates to what is thought …

The Effects Of Job Characteristics On Home Care Workers’ Well-Being And Job Performance: Understanding The Psychosocial Effects Of Relational Care, Emily C. Franzosa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Home care workers are the lowest-paid and most precarious segment of the health care industry. Although these workers provide critical, non-medical support that allows elderly and disabled individuals to remain in their homes, the workforce is highly unstable, due to low wages, a lack of supportive benefits like health coverage, paid leave and retirement support, poor working conditions and a physically and emotionally demanding workload. But a lack of consensus around the nature and value of home care has made “quality”, in terms of both jobs and care provision, difficult to define, measure or improve. While home care is a …

Intellectual Property Rights For New Seed Technologies: Balancing Farmers’ And Breeders’ Rights, Preethi Krishnan, Andrew Raridon, Leigh Raymond, Mangala Subramaniam

Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) Policy Briefs

Many cite improved seed technologies as vital to addressing the challenge of food insecurity, especially when faced with combined stresses of global climate change, population growth, and natural resource depletion (Anthony and Ferroni 2012; Lipton 2007). As improved seeds find their way into the developing world, policymakers are struggling to find the appropriate institutional mechanisms to regulate their creation and use. Arguments over intellectual property rights (IPR) are central to this debate. Some activists in the Global South are distrustful of any IPR regime that creates private ownership over seeds, whereas international financial institutions such as the World Trade Organization …

Review Of The Gender And Social Impacts Of Improved Seed Technology In Developing Countries: Policy Implications, Preethi Krishnan, Andrew Raridon, Leigh Raymond, Mangala Subramaniam

Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) Policy Briefs

Experts have acknowledged the limits to growth that the processes of climate change, population expansion, and resource depletion will place on agricultural producers in the 21^st century (FAO 2012). In response, scientists are employing biotechnology to create new improved seed varieties. However, developing improved seed technology (IST) involves complex and controversial issues that span across disciplines in the biological and social sciences (see Box 1). In this policy brief, we emphasize the need to better examine the gender and social impacts of advancements in seed technology. Based on a detailed review of the literature, we determine that despite recent …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 12, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Keltner, Bryson. Major Redz, Students Protest During Game
• Perry, Natalie. Parking & Transportation Services Make Additions Due to Construction
• Kast, Monica. Search Firm Used Closed Process in Past – President Search
• Miller, Callie. Presidential Search Committee to Meet Friday
• Wegert, Sally. Local Police Officers Will Receive Body Cams
• Carlson, Kylie. New Scholarship Endorses German Culture Studies
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: United We Take a Knee
• Take a Knee: Students Organize in Protest of Oppression
• Burgess, Kelly. Apples: A Well-seasoned Staple of Fall Food
• Hornsby, Morgan. Unbreakable Spirt – …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 11, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Student Dies in Car Crash on Sunday – Stephanie Campbell
• Ares, Nicole. Graveyard Goats – Goat Browsers, Covington Cemetery
• Kast, Monica. Regents Debate RFP for Sports Complex
• Collins, Emma. U.S. Senate Candidate Jim Gray Visits Bowling Green
• Miller, Callie. Mocking Banners Gain National Attention – Vanderbilt University
• Kast, Monica. Regents Give Gary Ransdell Life-long Emeritus Position
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Kentucky Senate Election Debate
• Demand Debate: Rand Paul, Jim Gray Need to Debate Sooner than Later
• Winstead, John. In Wake of Tragedy, Values Matter More than Facts – …

Communities Of Opportunity: Pursuing A Housing Policy Agenda To Achieve Equity And Opportunity In The Face Of Post-Recession Challenges, Kalima Rose, Teddy Kỳ-Nam Miller

Trotter Review

Where we live directly impacts our ability to achieve our full potential. Access to good schools, quality jobs, reliable transportation, and healthy food is fundamental to achieving communities of opportunity. Unfortunately, communities of color, and urban black communities in particular, are disproportionately residing in neighborhoods locked out of opportunity, or disproportionately burdened by housing costs —spending over half of their income on housing. In 2015, PolicyLink undertook a research project to understand the changing post-recession housing landscape, to characterize the forces that were undermining housing security for communities of color, and to characterize the policy opportunities that could address the …

Urban Agriculture As Embedded In The Social And Solidarity Economy Basel: Developing Sustainable Communities, Isidor Wallimann

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is a viable strategy in dealing with some contemporary problems known both in industrial and developing countries. Addressed is how local populations could reach certain objectives and satisfy certain needs using techniques characteristic of SSE and, thus, carve out a social and economic space of their own vis-à-vis anonymous markets, global actors, local and national elites. Illustrated further is this strategy on the example of Urban Agriculture Basel, a unit of the Social Economy Basel. Within this self governed space, it is suggested, a path can be laid for the necessary transition towards local, …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 8, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Carlson, Kylie. Military Students Aided by Program – Textbooks for Troops
• Collins, Emma. Candidates for City Commissioner Address Immigrant Concerns
• Kast, Monica. Search for Garrett Conference Center Renovation Contract Begins
• Carlson, Kylie. Students Embrace Rights During Constitution Week
• King, Jennifer. Editorial Cartoon re: Pizza
• Johnson, Jack. New Thriller Was a Breath of Fresh Air – Don’t Breathe
• Burgess, Kelly. Tips for Maximizing Your Daily Cup of Coffee
• B-17 In Bowling Green
• Martin, Madison. Electoral Involvement Focus of Workshop – Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
• Moore, Elisabeth. Life Beyond Earth – …

Overall Declines In Child Poverty Mask Relatively Stable Rates Across States, Andrew P. Schaefer, Jess Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Andrew Schaefer, Jessica Carson, and Marybeth Mattingly use Census data released on September 15, 2016, from the American Community Survey--the only regular source for estimating yearly child poverty rates at, and below, the state level--to examine child poverty rates across the United States by place type, region, and state. They report that between 2014 and 2015, child poverty declined nationwide across rural areas, suburbs, and cities. As before, cities had the highest child poverty, followed closely by rural areas. Suburbs had the lowest rates. In thirteen states, child poverty declined since 2014; only Mississippi saw an …

You Poor Thing: A Retrospective Autoethnography Of Visible Chronic Illness As A Symbolic Vanishing Act, Alexandra Ch Nowakowski

The Qualitative Report

In this autoethnography, I outline a framework for understanding illness as deviance, contextualizing general sociological theory on sick role dynamics to the specific case of chronic conditions that manifest with visible physical differences. I demonstrate two distinct ways in which chronic conditions can foster labeling and stigma. First, I explore how social norms can result in sanctions for showing physical evidence of chronic conditions. I describe sanctions I have experienced for violating conventional ideas about youth and female beauty, and associated behavioral expectations. Second, I explore how double jeopardy can result from failing to meet usual social expectations for sickness. …

Welfare Reform And The Intergenerational Transmission Of Dependence, Robert Paul Hartley, Carlos Lamarche, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

We estimate the effect of welfare reform on the intergenerational transmission of welfare participation using a long panel of mother-daughter pairs over the survey period 1968-2013 in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Because states implemented welfare reform at different times starting in 1992, the cross-state variation over time permits us to quasi-experimentally separate out the effect of mothers’ participation on daughters’ welfare choice in the pre- and post-welfare reform periods. Our empirical framework also addresses potential issues in identifying a causal pathway from parent to child that arise from correlated unobservables in welfare decisions, misclassification error in survey reports, …

Puerto Ricans In Virginia, The United States, And Puerto Rico, 2014, Center For Puerto Rican Studies

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

In 2014, Virginia had the 11th largest Puerto Rican population in the United States with 92,319 Puerto Ricans, accounting for 1.8 percent of all Puerto Ricans living in the United States. From 2000 to 2014, the number of Puerto Ricans in Virginia more than doubled from 41,131 to 92,319.

Puerto Ricans In North Carolina, The United States, And Puerto Rico, 2014, Center For Puerto Rican Studies

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

In 2014 an estimated 89,212 Puerto Ricans lived in North Carolina and accounted for 1.7% of all Puerto Ricans living in the United States. The number of Puerto Ricans in North Carolina almost tripled from 31,117 in the year 2000 to 89,212 in 2014.

Climate Change And Vulnerability To Poverty: An Empirical Investigation In Rural Indonesia, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

Scientists estimate that anthropogenic climate change leads to increased surface temperature, sea-level rise, more frequent and significant extreme weather and climate events, among others. In this study, we investigate how climate change can potentially change the vulnerability to poverty using a panel data set in Indonesia. We focus on the effect of drought and flood, two of the commonly observed disasters there. Our simulation results indicate that vulnerability to poverty may increase substantially as a result of climate change in Indonesia.

Concepts And Measurement Of Vulnerability To Poverty And Other Issues: A Review Of Literature, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper reviews the growing body of literature on vulnerability. We first provide a survey of existing studies on the concepts and measurements of vulnerability to poverty by classifying them into welfarist, expected poverty, and axiomatic approaches. We then review a number of empirical studies on vulnerability to poverty in Asia and elsewhere. This review shows that poverty and vulnerability are related, but different, and that key determinants of vulnerability often include education and location. We also briefly review other areas of vulnerability analysis such as vulnerability to climate change and offer various policy implications arising from vulnerability analysis.

Network Approaches To Substance Use And Hiv/Hepatitis C Risk Among Homeless Youth And Adult Women In The United States: A Review, Kirk Dombrowski, Kelley J. Sittner, Devan Crawford, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz, Patrick Habecker, Bilal Khan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

During the United States economic recession of 2008–2011, the number of homeless and unstably housed people in the United States increased considerably. Homeless adult women and unaccompanied homeless youth make up the most marginal segments of this population. Because homeless individuals are a hard to reach population, research into these marginal groups has traditionally been a challenge for researchers interested in substance abuse and mental health. Network analysis techniques and research strategies offer means for dealing with traditional challenges such as missing sampling frames, variation in definitions of homelessness and study inclusion criteria, and enumeration/population estimation procedures. This review focuses …

Globalization And Its Effects On Agriculture And Agribusiness In The Mississippi Delta: A Historical Overview And Prospects For The Future, Paulette Ann Meikle

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This article examines processes of globalization and local development particularly how agribusiness, in alliance with the federal government, has shaped recent economic, demographic, and social changes in the Mississippi Delta region. The author examines how globalization shapes conditions in the flatland Mississippi Delta and argues that globalization creates conditions at the local level that suppress economic opportunities for many residents. The final section identifies the implications for public policy formulation and development practice on both the global and local levels.The author offers recommendations on how the region can “take the high road” to ease persistent poverty.

Gender Role Identification, Sexual Orientation, And Disordered Eating In Young Adults, Natalie Perkins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Young adults are at a significantly high risk for eating disorders. Existing research is lacking in what factors can contribute to this disorder; however, there is some that suggests that self-identification with masculine and feminine gender roles can contribute to an individual’s risk for disordered eating. Research investigating disordered eating in sexual minorities is particularly slim. The current study sought to examine the relationship between gender role identification, sexual orientation, and disordered eating, as well as the roles that anxiety and depression have in disordered eating development. In our sample (n = 437, 73.6% female, 76.7% white, 87.6% heterosexual), participants …

An Application Of Brand Personality To Green Consumers: A Thematic Analysis, Anitha Acharya, Manish Gupta

The Qualitative Report

Green products are increasingly becoming popular in India as a fashion statement. Yet, limited attention has been given to understand why users of green products associate themselves with green brands in India. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of brand personality to green products. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions of green product consumers revealed six dimensions of green brand personality (GBP). GBP is a set of human characteristics associated with a green brand. By focusing on the green brand personality dimensions discovered in this paper, marketing managers can better understand why …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 92, No. 2, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Sullivan, Tommy. Campus Police Chief Search Ongoing
• Kast, Monica. Under the Sea – Royhan Gani, Geology & Geography
• Kast, Monica. Governor Matt Beavin Appoints Two New Board Regents – Jason McKinney, Julie Hinson
• Five Projects Student Government Association Plans to Tackle This Year
• Carlson, Kylie. Freshens Replaces Two Tower Restaurants – Dining Services
• Carlson, Kylie. Bookstore Introduces Self-Service System
• Kaetzel, Kylee. A New Journey: Talisman Builds On Its Legacy in New Form
• Ronkainen, Millie. Rediscovering My Authenticity During Camp
• Ares, Nicole. Five Ways to Cheat the Hill
• Ares, Nicole. …

Decomposing Trends In Adult Body Mass Index, Obesity, And Morbid Obesity, 1971-2012, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Robert L. Wagmiller

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Trends in adult obesity have been used to motivate key public health policies in the United States. While these analyses provide important insights into the broad historical contours of the obesity epidemic in the U.S., they shed less light on the proximate mechanisms that have generated these changes and that will ultimately determine the long-term course and pace of change in obesity rates. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Glenn Firebaugh's linear decomposition technique, and Kitagawa's algebraic decomposition method to decompose change in body mass index (BMI), obesity, and morbid obesity from 1971 through …

Tangled Roots, Bittersweet Exposure, Chase Clow

The Goose

Accompanied by tree portraits, this personal narrative reflects upon the intersecting histories between the indigenous peoples of Marin County (north of San Francisco, CA) and the author, who is Euro-American, while contemplating the changing relationship to their shared woodland, the effects of colonization, and possibilities for healing.

Decolonize Your Diet, Jasmine A. Deras

Master's Projects and Capstones

With the industrialization of the food system in past decades, convenience foods have become the cornerstone of the standard American diet. This spike in obesity rates has been more impactful for some populations than for others. In low-income communities of color, fast and processed foods are often the most accessible and affordable source of sustenance. Critical indicators of status and well-being, health disparities are one example of the social barriers faced by predominately low-income people of color.

The Decolonize Your Diet project channels principles of resistance into its mission to improve the health of people of color in Oakland, California. …

The Impact Of Family Autism Camp On Families And Individuals With Asd, Luchara R. Wallace

The Qualitative Report

Families of children with disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), often search for opportunities to acquire information about and receive emotional support from others who may have or had similar experiences. An evaluation of the Dakota Black Goose Family Autism Camp sought to determine the impact of the family camp experience. Pre- and Post-Camp surveys were administered upon families’ arrival at Camp and prior to their departure (n=17) to evaluate the overall quality of the program as well as the level of informational and emotional support anticipated and received. Follow-up interviews were completed six months post Camp to determine …