Digital Commons Network^™

Conjunto Sounds In A Company Town: Decolonizing Movidas, San Antonio’S Quarrytown, And “La Piedrera” Polka, Alejandro Wolbert Pérez

NACCS Annual Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Environmental Justice Into Youth Education, Morgan F. Prittie

Community Engagement Student Work

Social Justice is a concept which is often glossed over or excluded from student education, particularly the issues associated with Environmental Justice. Discrimination, oppression, and poor environmental practices all coalesce into dangerously impactful issues, which can be combated by further education and exposure. This project seeks to spread awareness of Environmental Justice issues, provide educators with the tools to implement social justice education, and express the importance of such exposure to students. This interdisciplinary project utilizes the facilitation of a workshop with lessons, activities, and opportunities for participants to engage in discussions. The goal of the workshop was to describe …

Net-Zero Affordable Housing, Nash Kelly, Calee Martin, Morgan Davis

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Net-Zero Affordable Housing with client City of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Communication And Social Education Of Emissions And Energy Use In Nebraska, Maya Kaechele, Diana Mcgraw, Kyle Hauder

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Communication and Social Education of Emissions and Energy Use in Nebraska with clients City of Grand Island, Nebraska; City of Norfolk, Nebraska; and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Adult Education For Japanese Immigrant Community: Social Bonding To Social Bridging, Naomi Nakamura

Community Engagement Student Work

Many Japanese who have been living in the U.S. for more than decades identify themselves as Japanese, not U.S. citizens. This so called transnational identity has an impact on how they assimilate or integrate to American social life. The purpose of this project is to explore the better learning environment and the effects of education for Japanese adult immigrants who may not actively participate in local communities. A workshop was held with Japanese residents in the Boston area to explore microaggressions and how people can think about their engagement with their communities. Workshop evaluation findings suggested that there is a …

Positioning Community-Based Girl Group Programs For Success: Lessons Learned From The Population Council's Technical Assistance Partnership With Unfpa-Mozambique's Rapariga Biz, Miriam Temin, Arune Estavela, Craig Heck, Natalie Jackson, Joana Mendes

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council provided technical assistance and strengthened capacity for Rapariga Biz, a large-scale UN program in 20 districts across Nampula and Zambezia provinces in Mozambique. The program was established to reduce child marriage and early pregnancy through a set of multisectoral interventions. The partnership between the Council and UNFPA-Mozambique generated useful lessons regarding the opportunities and challenges of using the community-based girl groups (CBGG) model in low-resource settings, especially when implemented at scale. In CBGG programs, girls and young women meet regularly with a leader (e.g., a mentor) who uses a variety of pedagogical methods to address sexual and …

Pathways To Self-Governance And Success: An Exploratory Study Of Community Gardens In Louisville, Kentucky, Amanda Beavin

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Those involved in community gardens face multiple challenges to survival, including land tenure, lack of funding, lack of sustained interest, and poor infrastructure, but many successful, long-lasting gardens have found management style to be a key aspect of their success. This project investigated three community gardens in Louisville, Kentucky, in order to determine how self-governance, or internal management by gardeners, overlaps with other success indicators and what development processes lead to successful self-governance. Using qualitative, semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the researcher gathered and analyzed data relative to each garden site’s land tenure, community engagement, environmental design, resource mobilization, and …

Things Are Getting Worse On Our Way To Catastrophe: Neoliberal Environmentalism, Repressive Desublimation, And The Autonomous Ecoconsumer, Alex Stoner

Journal Articles

The aim of neoliberal environmentalism was to unleash the market to protect the environment; but as it turns out, things are getting worse on our way to catastrophe. Despite persistent failures, neoliberal environmentalism remains prevalent—and apparently without alternative. This paper directs focus on an often-overlooked dimension of this apparent stasis: the nexus of self and society in advanced capitalism, as shown in the linkage between neoliberal environmentalism and the autonomous ecoconsumer. Marcuse’s concept of repressive desublimation is engaged to better understand how environmentalist desire is currently being thwarted in ways that inhibit movement toward socioecological emancipation. The paper provides an …

A Field Guide To Community Coaching, Mary Emery, Ken Hubbell, Becky Miles Polka

Sociology Guidebooks

The field of community coaching is alive with possibilities and opportunities!
Ken Cohen, a former Horizons coach in Idaho, defines community coaching as, “an adaptive process tailored to unique community contexts to guide systemic change via participant empowerment.” A simpler definition used by many is “a community coach is a guide who supports communities and organizations in identifying and achieving their goals.”

This field guide to coaching provides an introduction to both the concept and the practice of coaching for community change, along with tips, tales and tools designed to assist practitioners in successfully integrating coaching into their work. The …

Journeying With Communities: A Community Engagement And Organizing Handbook For University Extension Workers, Mark Anthony Dayot Abenir, Abegail Martha S. Abelardo, Froilan A. Alipao, Melanie D. Turingan

Development Studies Faculty Publications

This handbook highlights the public and social mission of higher educational institutions (HEI) through Community Engagement; a term that brings forth the important use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community Organizing for Community Development (COCD). The unique contribution of this handbook is that it specifically situates HEI Community Engagement within the unique historical context of the Philippines; thus adding a Philippine voice in the literature of Community-Engaged Scholarship (CEnS). It also provides activity exercises and case studies where readers can situate themselves and apply the theories; concepts; and tools they have learned so they can enhance the Community Engagement …

Sociological Perspectives On Climate Change And Society: A Review, Md Saidul Islam, Edson Kieu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Society is at an important intersection in dealing with the challenges of climate change, and this paper is presented at a critical juncture in light of growing recognition that the natural sciences are insufficient to deal with these challenges. Critical aspects of sociological perspectives related to climate change research are brought together in this review in the hope of fostering greater interdisciplinary collaboration between the natural and social sciences. We fervently argue for the need to inculcate interdisciplinary approaches that can provide innovative perspectives and solutions to the challenges we face from the impacts of climate change. As such, some …

The Social Impacts Of Tourism In The Unesco Champlain Adirondack Biosphere Reserve (Usa), Kelly L. Cerialo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In its most benign form, tourism is able to protect the cultural and ecological integrity of a region and to promote economic development in line with sustainability principles. Additionally, sustainable forms of tourism have the potential to improve the quality of life within the host community by promoting intergenerational equity. However, sustainable models of tourism are extremely challenging to design, implement, and manage at the community level because of competing stakeholder interests. There are significant power dynamics associated with sustainable tourism planning and management that often fail to incorporate all citizens’ voices, particularly those belonging to underprivileged backgrounds. Due to …

The Long-Haul: Buddhist Educational Strategies To Strengthen Students’ Resilience For Lifelong Personal Transformation And Positive Community Change, Namdrol Miranda Adams, Kevin Kecskes

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

For decades, community engagement scholars have built a robust body of knowledge that explores multiple facets of the higher education community engagement domain. More recently, scholars and practitioners from mainly Christian affiliated faith-based institutions have begun to investigate the complex inner world of community-engaged students’ meaning-making and spiritual development. While most of this fascinating cross-domain effort has been primarily based on “Western” influenced Judeo-Christian traditions, this study explores service-learning/community engagement themes, approaches, rationale, and strategies from an “Eastern” perspective based on the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This case study research focuses on curricular approaches, influences, and impacts of Buddhist …

The Electronic Hardware Music Subculture In Portland, Oregon, James Andrew Hickey

Dissertations and Theses

Music is relatively understudied as a geographic phenomenon, but recently there has been a shift in academic literature to understand the social, cultural and economic factors that determine music and its development in specific places. The purpose of this study is to examine the Electronic Hardware Music Subculture (EHMS) in Portland, why it thrives, and how it is linked to the local cultural economy. To do this, I used semi-structured, long form interviews with key members of the EHMS. These interviews, and my own observations, gave insight into what factors affect the success of members of the EHMS, and how …

The Bay Area Rail System: A Sustainable Network Or A Social Equity Phenomenon?, Whitney Libunao

Master's Projects and Capstones

Sustainable transportation, as it relates to sustainable development, aims to achieve economic stability, social equity, and environmental preservation via transit projects. However, gentrification processes and transit-oriented developments or TODs have attracted more households inward toward reinvested transit-centric areas. The San Francisco Bay Area, California has continued to see positive economic growth, with that, higher-income households inhabiting more centralized locations. Native low-income residents have started to feel displacement pressures on both a social and economic scale. Over time, displacement risk inevitably leads to residential displacement where low-income families are forced to relocate to distant, more affordable neighborhoods. As more distance separates …

Urban Forest And The Tree Canopy: A Pathway To Climate Resilience, Ralph Moran, Turner Allison, Brandi Bell, Eric Brown, Monet Dews, Sheena Foster, Lydia Kidane, Zachary Olukani, Tivon Phillips, Llaquelin Reyes-Mendez, Natasha Roy, Lilla Schottner, Kenneth Stancell, Jaheen Watson, Tiesha Wright

The International Undergraduate Journal For Service-Learning, Leadership, and Social Change

Background: Urban ecosystems face many environmental, infrastructure, and social systems challenges. Urban forest plays an important role in urban ecology but continue to face many direct and indirect threats. Research indicates that climate change, insects, disease, and urbanization are the major causes of urban forest decline. Tree canopies play a major role in ecosystem services, providing the advantages of a natural, cost-effective system of green infrastructure, removal of air and water pollutants, modulation of energy use, and improvement in water quality. These services increase climate resilience. Purpose: The purpose of this service-learning project was to gain a better understanding of …

Reducing Violence Without Police: A Review Of Research Evidence, Charles Branas, Shani Buggs, Jeffrey A. Butts, Anna Harvey, Erin M. Kerrison, Tracey Meares, Andrew V. Papachristos, John Pfaff, Alex R. Piquero, Joseph Richardson Jr., Caterina Gouvis Roman, Daniel Webster

Publications and Research

Arnold Ventures sought to review the research evidence for violence reduction strategies that do not rely on law enforcement. The John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) and an expert group of researchers from public policy, criminology, law, public health, and social science fields conducted the scan. The research group members worked collaboratively to identify, translate, and summarize the most critical and actionable studies.

Are We Planning For Equity? Equity Goals And Recommendations In Local Comprehensive Plans, Carolyn G. Loh, Rose Kim

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Problem, Research Strategy, and Findings:

Social equity goals are supposed to be prioritized in planning along with economic and environmental goals, yet in practice they are often de-emphasized. We develop a publicly available plan equity evaluation tool to investigate to what extent and in what ways local governments include goals and recommendations that would advance equitable outcomes in their comprehensive plans. Using plan content analysis, we find that most plans do not talk about equity, nor do they include many goals and recommendations that would advance equity. More recent plans, plans in communities with more planning capacity, plans in …

Preparedness, Agility, And The Philippine Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Early Phase In Comparative Southeast Asian Perspective, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

Was the Philippines prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic? Did the government take early and effective action that can be characterized as strategically agile? Thisarticle answers these questions by reconstructing the chronology of the Philippine government’s response to the pandemic during the early phase. It focuses on three issues: virus importation (specifically the first Covid-19 case), testing, and contact tracing. The Philippine response is contrasted with those of Thailand and Vietnam, which, unlike the Philippines, have succeeded in lowering per capita mortality rate. Deficient in strategic agility, the Philippines failed to consider early on a scenario of extreme disease outbreak. KEYWORDS: …

Community Development, Quality Of Life, And Community Well-Being: Three Fields Ripe With Opportunities For Future Research And Practice, Craig A. Talmage

Community Development Practice

This perspective piece aims to spur conversations between quality of life, community well-being, and community development scholars and practitioners. The article showcases overlaps in concepts found across journals devoted to those three fields of inquiry. The major themes from those overlaps are discussed, so future directions for interdisciplinary research can be identified. The article finishes with specific attention to exploring how collaborations between the fields of quality of life (QoL), community well-being (CWB), and community development (CD) can better inform community development practice, so that community well-being and quality life can be positively shifted through evidence-based practice.

Predictors Of Social Distancing And Mask-Wearing Behavior: Panel Survey In Seven U.S. States, Plamen Nikolov, Andreas Pape, Ozlem Tonguc, Charlotte Williams

Economics Faculty Scholarship

This paper presents preliminary summary results from a longitudinal study of participants in seven U.S. states during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to standard socio-economic characteristics, we collect data on various economic preference parameters: time, risk, and social preferences, and risk perception biases. We pay special attention to predictors that are both important drivers of social distancing and are potentially malleable and susceptible to policy levers. We note three important findings: (1) demographic characteristics exert the largest influence on social distancing measures and mask-wearing, (2) we show that individual risk perception and cognitive biases exert a critical role in influencing …

Social Power Of Jazz Festivals, Olga Bekenshtein

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Jazz festivals occur in all parts of the world, small cities and metropolises, urban and rural landscapes, stadiums, churches, streets, and abandoned factories. Being a part of the entertainment industry, they have the potential to impact social change. Jazz festivals help us reconsider notions of identity and community, and their communal experience has the potential to undermine dominant social norms. The industry of jazz festivals is based on Black music and has a history of positive and negative social outcomes. Evaluating festivals through the symbolic meaning of music provides an optic into how festivals marginalize and exploit African American cultural …

Con Confianza: Using Community-Based Participatory Research Principles To Inform Community-Academic Partnership Practices And Build Trust In Hispanic Communities, Sharon Tafolla

Master's Projects and Capstones

Hispanic communities are at disproportionate risk for chronic diseases and researchers have cited the need for further community and culturally informed studies to improve research outcomes to either make treatments and interventions more generalizable or modify them to the needs of Hispanic communities. However, many of the same linguistic and cultural barriers to health care access and utilization also impact the ability for Hispanic groups to participate in research studies. Community Academic Partnerships (CAPs) are positioned to conduct culturally and linguistically competent research in Hispanic communities. For research in Hispanic communities to be effective, CAPs must prioritize practices that build …

Responding To Appalachian Voices: Steps In Developing Substance-Use Recovery Ecosystems, Bruce Behringer

Journal of Appalachian Health

A description is presented of the four-step process used by the Appalachian Regional Commission to develop a new Recovery to Work initiative. The Commission identified, defined, and described issues facing individuals who complete substance abuse disorder treatment and who seek reentry into the workforce. Key elements were identified for resources and supports to develop and maintain community-based substance abuse recovery ecosystems. The steps included conceptualization, data collection, analysis, and review to formulate recommendations for program and policy development. The full process of development was accomplished in twelve months.

Perspective On Substance-Abuse Recovery Ecosystem From The Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair, Tim Thomas

Journal of Appalachian Health

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a local, state, and federal partnership focused on economic development in the communities of the Appalachian Region. ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas provides his perspective on how an economic development entity, such as ARC, can support efforts to address the Region’s drug crisis in a way that both saves lives and strengthens economic opportunity in communities throughout Appalachia.

The Life And Death Of Mambo: Culture And Consumption In New York's Salsa Dance Scene, Carmela Muzio Dormani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In recent decades salsa dancing has become a global phenomenon, spawning a variety of styles and levels. Although formerly passed from person to person through Latinx family and community networks, salsa dance has long been practiced in a more codified way. Today, salsa is largely reproduced in dance studio classes, congresses, and competitions collectively referred to as “the salsa scene”. In New York City, the salsa scene retains vestiges of Nuyorican and Afro-Caribbean identity, though it is practiced by people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and marketed to a global base. Building on long term participation observation and nearly …

Collaboration And Evaluation In Urban Sustainability And Resilience Transformations: The Keys To A Just Transition?, Liliana Elizabeth Caughman

Dissertations and Theses

Climate has changed and will continue changing; city populations are swelling as urbanization continues to accelerate; extreme environmental events like heat waves and floods are becoming more severe and more common; and the climate justice movement is rapidly gaining momentum. It in this context that municipal governments find themselves urgently seeking solutions to transition cities from extractive, vulnerable, and unjust to sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The task is complex and will require systemic transformations across interconnected social, environmental, and economic infrastructures. Emerging theories regarding how to govern such massive changes suggest Transition Management strategies and the values of a just …

What Does A "Just" Local Food System Look Like? Views From Worcester In A Changing Climate, Marguerite Cawley

Capstone Collection

Food and climate are closely intertwined, with the high-emissions U.S. industrial food system contributing to climate change, while a changing climate produces new food system vulnerabilities, which will particularly impact those of the least means. This research is premised on the need to transform our food system, and to define what this vision looks like at the local level, while centering questions of power, justice and rights. It explores how groups, organizations and individuals engaged in local food system change envision transformation and understand corresponding social justice concerns, in a changing climate. It looks at opportunities for food and climate …

The Island Earth Field Studio: A High School Summer Program On Polynesian Voyaging In Hawaii, Andrea M. Bachmann

Capstone Collection

The Island Earth Field Studio is a ten-day program for high school students to learn about Polynesian voyaging in Hawaii as a framework to understand non-Western knowledge systems. The program design is grounded in research on the historical significance of voyaging and informed by current literature on adolescent development and place-based pedagogy.

To further refine the program, a needs assessment was conducted using a combination of surveys and interviews with parents and educators in the continental United States (mainland) as well as interviews with local partners in Hawaii. The assessment revealed that cultural learning and community building were viewed by …

Citizen Engagement In Aquatics Equity: The Case Of Winston Waterworks, Steven N. Waller Phd, James H. Bemiller Jd, Emliy J. Johnson, Chermaine D. Cole, Jason Scott Phd, Angela Wozencroft, Phd

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Historically, swimming pools have been a source of inequity when it comes to the distribution of recreation services in the United States. Many of the problems that correlate with the inequitable allocation of recreation resources including public swimming pools began with ideas about race, geography, poor planning practices and faulty policymaking (Rothstein, 2017). Moreover, one of the primary outcomes of engaged, inclusive planning is equity in the provision of recreation programs and facilities. In this essay, we offer a summary of key legal cases that help address questions related resource allocation related to public swimming pools. Finally, we present a …