Digital Commons Network^™

Water And War: The Potential For Perpetuation Of Conflict Due To Climate Change, Kaufman Butler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Climate change has had a dramatic impact on the world’s weather for years, scientists can only make predictions about how global climate will continue to change going forward; but in all scenarios the circumstances are quite dire. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will see some of the most severe effects of climate change, which will permanently alter the lives of millions of people in the region. In the MENA region, climate change is projected to result in extreme drought and temperatures which will lead to increased water scarcity, in what is already the most water poor region in …

The Middle Ground: A Comparative Study On Mexico And Morocco As Transit And Forthcoming Host Nations, Christina Sarai Roca

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration has always existed but has increased with globalization as societies are becoming more interconnected through different mediums, surging the larger scale of movement between borders and the increasing inequalities in wealth between nations. As transit countries, Mexico and Morocco function as nations seen receiving migrants in transit to their countries of destinations. Central American migrants and migrants from the South-of-the-Sahara are two prominent migrant populations in Mexico and Morocco for many years, but due to the increased political discourse, legislation, and increased enforcement at these border regions, these migrants find themselves remaining for extended periods or even settling permanently …

The Inclusion Of Displaced Women In The Women, Peace, And Security Agenda, Ava Strasser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, which stresses the importance of women’s involvement during times of conflict as decision-makers in peace-building processes. While this resolution and the broader Women, Peace, and Security agenda are dedicated to including women in important post-conflict reconstruction processes, the international community; comprised of states, international organizations, and civil society; has been criticized for its failure to implement this agenda. Further, it is evident that displaced women are a large population whose voices are widely left out of the post-conflict reconstruction processes. Within the discourse regarding the experience of displaced …

Gaston’S Economic, Religious And Political Intersectionality, Jack Droke

Denison Journal of Religion

Gaston county, North Carolina provides a perfect case to explore the intersectionality of the economy, politics, and religion that dominates power structures on a national scale. With an attention to the Loray Mill strike of 1929, this paper theologically analyzes the relationship between neoliberal economy and the prosperity gospel and questions whether the church is a setting of concessions when it should be acting as a voice for its constituents, regardless of what the upper class desires or has constructed.

Infinity Wars: Post 9/11 Superhero Films And American Empire, Peter J. Bruno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the last two decades, superhero films have accounted for some of the most popular and financially lucrative films of all time. This thesis analyzes some of the aesthetic and ideological dimensions of various superhero films following their post 9/11 boom. Beginning with America’s response to the events of 9/11 and a subsequent retreat into a Manichean world of good versus evil, I introduce the term “empirical reality” in order to account for the ways daily American life is shielded from the worst effects of U.S. foreign policy. On screen this manifests by perpetuating the myth of the “clean war” …

Signals In The Black Stack / Geometyr Design Manual, Jason T. Scaglione

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The following white paper provides a critical accompaniment to my capstone project: the GEOMEtyr Design Manual. GEOMEtyr is a virtual reality to be made accessible as a mobile and web platform for the visualization of certain systemic elements of a utopic world that parallels our own planet’s geographies, polities, and climates. As such, the GEOMEtyr virtualization is designed to derive utopian space from the informational structures of our own world. The operations by which this may be accomplished are broadly described within the accompanying GEOMEtyr manual. The white paper, Signals in the Black Stack, elaborates vital world-building characteristics of informational …

Rich In Needs: The Forgotten Radical Politics Of The Welfare Rights Movement, Wilson Sherwin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Situated temporally between the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement, the Welfare Rights Movement of the 1960s and 70s distinguished itself by its militant critique of waged labor. Returning to the movement’s archives I examine how the mostly poor, Black, female participants developed their “antiwork politics”, how they asserted their right to live not only meager but occasionally luxurious lives—demanding not only bread but also roses. In the courts, streets, welfare offices, department stores, policy proposals, and numerous internal debates, these women waged national battles to assert full autonomy over their families, consumption, sexuality, and their own time.

As …

Meta-Analysis Of Public Acceptance Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems In The United States, Miles M. Legere

Student Works

Automated and unmanned systems are rapidly revolutionizing every aspect of military, commercial, and public use operations in the United States. While this technology serves effectively in dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks, the rapid introduction of unmanned technologies into society has generated intense debate about their ethical, moral, and legal use. Specifically, the rise in the development and application of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) has created significant public discord. As public acceptance of UAS plays a major role in the regulatory decisions that allow for expanded use in commercial and public use applications, it is critically important to understand the complexities …

The Terror Pandemic: The International Diffusion Of Terrorism, Stephen Michael Chicoine

Theses and Dissertations

The online recruitment efforts of ISIS have raised questions about the new role of the internet in the spread of terrorism. However, the use of the mass media by terrorist groups to recruit and spread is not unique to ISIS or the digital age and has been an aspect of terrorism since its modern conception. To explain the spread of terrorism historically and understand the unique dimensions of terrorism and the internet, a cultural explanation is proposed to explain the process through terrorism spreads as well as the content that inspires violence. This study includes two major parts: a virtual …

"...Make Them Disappear With A Piece Of Paper": Understanding The Lived Realities Of Federally Unrecognized Indigenous Women In The Southeast, Brian A. Pitman

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Indigenous women experience some of the highest rates of violence and negative health outcomes of any racial/ethnic group yet are largely ignored in social science research. This dissertation explores the lived realities of Indigenous women who are members of federally unrecognized nations and how their tribal membership impacts their experiences with a variety of criminal justice and social issues. Unrecognized nations do not have access to potential benefits, opportunities, and legitimacy that comes with federal recognition thereby creating an additional intersection to consider for some Indigenous women. Essentially, federal recognition policies seek to place further constraints on Indigenous identity, while …

Sandler, Todd. Terrorism: What Everyone Needs To Know. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018., Reshmi Kazi Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Murder And Machismo: Behind The Motivations Of Salvadoran Women Asylum Seekers, Victoria Colbert

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to draw connections between a culture of machismo, an ideological gender belief distinct to Latin America with heavy traces of patriarchy and misogyny, and the motivations of Salvadoran women seeking asylum in the United States. I develop these connections by first reviewing the literature on structural violence, the form of violence wherein the structure or social institution prevents certain demographics of people from meeting their basic needs and living their optimal lives (Galtung, 1969). I repeatedly use structural violence and its functions to parallel the operations of patriarchy and machismo to suggest that violence against women (VAW) …

The Hydraulic Dimension Of Reconstruction In Louisiana, 1863-1879, Matthew P. Carlin

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Louisiana developed an extensive system of levees throughout the Atchafalaya Basin and along its territorial Mississippi River. This system reached its zenith on the eve of the American Civil War. It went into dramatic decline following the conflict due to the confluence of military activity, protracted irregular warfare, and neglect stemming from labor and capital revolution. These shifts intensified with the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and finally consolidated after the ratification of Louisiana’s Constitution of 1879. The shift of responsibility for the construction and maintenance of levees during the Reconstruction Era led to many significant changes in the character and function …

Findings From Surveys On Adventism, Politics And Social Issues, John T. Gavin, Wiliam W. Ellis, Curtis J. Vanderwaal

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

AHSRA Presentation Proposal

Abstract: The relationships between Adventism and the social political world has implications for the mission of the church and its involvement in the social issues of our time. Researches present an analysis of research conducted over several decades which explore the relationship of Adventism, politics and social issues.

Watering Black Roots: Exploring Black Ecological Identity Development Within Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy, Stormy Saint-Val

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Nature-based expressive arts therapy promotes the holistic healing and recovery of individuals by interweaving the practices of ecopsychology, ecotherapy, and expressive arts therapy. These interventions have been proven to mediate ranges of symptomologies, such as anxiety disorders and PTSD. Research conducted by the U.S. National Park Services indicates that African- Americans are less likely to have a positive relationship to nature than all other racial groups. The amplification of this report without introspection of its context perpetuates racialized generalizations. This can limit a black individual’s ability to embrace their ecological identity and be receptive of nature-based expressive arts therapy interventions. …

Supernatural Pilgrims: A Journey To A New Apostolic Reformation Congregation In The Ozarks, Samuel Wayne Gingerich

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Birthed out of the revival events of the 1990s, the New Apostolic Reformation is known for its charismatic leaders and provocative theology. As an emerging third wave Pentecostal movement, the New Apostolic Reformation is redefining the edifices of American Pentecostalism. While academics and journalists are currently focused on exposing the influence of some of its leaders such as C. Peter Wagner, Bill Johnson, Randy Clark, and Heidi Baker, there is little scholarship regarding the congregations and communities of believers who find themselves a part of this dynamic movement. This thesis takes a step towards understanding the larger story of the …

Sweeping Exposures: Lead Poisonings And Black Working Poor Populations In The United States, Shirley Reid

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The focus of my thesis is to explore some of the realities that the impoverished urban black poor populations face in America today. The goal of my thesis is to illustrate how poverty is reproduced within impoverished neighborhoods through the idea and mechanism of lead exposure, by recognizing how specific exposure to the element lead and its by-products is both a symbol and a material cause of black urban poor illness and disability. There is no mistake that people living in the U.S. are aware of the social injustices against black populations in the form of racial injustice. However, …

The Family, Political Theory, And Ideology: A Comparative Study Of John Stuart Mill And Friedrich Engels, David M. Murray Jr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project is concerned with the development of the Christian family in Europe and how its sociological and historical characteristics informed the writings of John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Engels. The term “Christian family” refers to the dominant form of the family seen in Western Europe, namely the atomistic nuclear family. The sociological and ideological foundations of the family are explored to provide context for the writings of John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Engels that utilize the concept of the family for their political projects. Both wrote critically about the state of the family in their lifetimes, particularly in regard …

Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, Volumes I And Ii (Redacted Version Of April 18, 2019), Robert S. Mueller Iii

United States Department of Justice: Publications

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO VOLUME I

RUSSIAN SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

The Internet Research Agency (IRA) carried out the earliest Russian interference operations identified by the investigation–a social media campaign designed to provoke and amplify political and social discord in the United States. The IRA was based in St. Petersburg, Russia, and received funding from Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin and companies he controlled. Priozhin is widely reported to have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin [redacted]

In mid-2014, the IRA sent employees to the United States on an intelligence-gathering mission with instructions [redacted]

The IRA later used social media accounts and interest …

Confirmation And Contradiction: A Continuous Recreation Of Gender And Ethnicity In The Works Of Josephus, Taylor C. Ashby

Religion: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This essay addresses Josephus's The Life as a autobiographical representation of his own masculinity and ethnicity during the the first century.

Resettling Female Refugees From The Democratic Republic Of Congo: Obstacles And Their Implications For Intervention, Makenzie Jo Winger Pasma

Global Studies Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Indonesia’S “Fresh Meat”: Lgbtq Activism Amid Political Homophobia And Transphobia, Catherine Cho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2016, Indonesia—the fourth most populous country in the world—received international attention for what the Human Rights Watch calls an LGBTQ “Crisis” (2016). Sparked by high ranking officials publicly declaring homophobic and transphobic sentiments, a wave of intolerance, fear, and hate disseminated throughout the country. Gender and sexual minorities became “fresh meat” for political players—government officials, military leaders, religious figures, and other social agents competed to take a stand against an “impeding” LGBTQ threat. These dialogues catalyzed into action as zealous anti-LGBTQ campaigns staked violence and discrimination against gender and sexual minorities across Indonesia.

The “Crisis of 2016” cannot be …

The 25th Anniversary Of South African Democracy: Exploring Perspectives Of 10 Stellenbosch Residents On Patriotism And National Pride, John Mitchell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and qualities of a South African patriotism in Stellenbosch. 25 years after the transition to democracy and an election in 2019, this study aims to develop a sense of national pride using a small sample size. The major question is how is that pride expressed? Is it using rhetoric from the post-1994 ANC nation-building projects? Or have those efforts lost salience in people’s lives?

To conduct this research, I used mainly a 'vox pop' style interview, meaning participants were chosen randomly to answer a short, 5-6 question survey about national …

Z4, A Slow Puncture: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Language, Embodiment, And Meaning-Making, Charlotte Rose Samuels

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In my ISP, I explored language as it relates to the ways in which people living in Cato Manor make sense of HIV/AIDS in their community. With 7.1-7.2 million people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in South Africa, individuals across the country are either infected or affected by illness. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the province with the highest rate of HIV, is also the province that was surveyed with the disproportionately highest internal stigma rates for PLWHIV. High prevalence of HIV, particularly in KZN, calls for a constant contextualization of life in the presence of illness.

Throughout the world, metaphor and symbolism is …

In China's Vanguard Civilization: Is There Shelter For The Third World?, Tseggai Isaac

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper looks at China’s civilizational and modernization heritages. Its ancient civilization is described as the first phase of China’s civilization. In the first phase, China’s Civilization was stellar, and creative, possessing well–structured bureaucratic institutions with phenomenal capacities for artistic production and the advancement of high sciences. The second phase of China’s civilization reflects its current modernization, one inspired and operationalized by Marxism and Maoism. The earlier phase of China’s Civilization was aloof, benign, self-sufficient, reticent and reluctant to attract untoward global attention. This ancient civilization, rooted in the organic soil of China itself, was holistic, robust on its own …

Multiple Identities: Touchstones In Terrorism, Democratic Institutions, And The Rule Of Law, Mary Frances Lebamoff

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper explores the underlying, foundational politico-social theories and themes that relate closely to radicalization, terrorism, democracy and the rule of law. It examines factors (touchstones) critical to these areas (political violence, terrorism, rule of law and democracy, along with democratic institutions). Some of these touchstones include the ‘lenses’ of identities, tribalism, and contrasts between identities, including cultural, linguistic, socialization and civilizational aspects.

Five Selected Writings Authored By Prof. Palmer Talbutt, Palmer Talbutt

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Approaching Contemporary Terrorism, Jonathan Marcus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to analyze how governments of the modern era can better engage with contemporary terrorist organizations. It argues that nations and governments must alter their strategy on terrorism in light of its increasing prevalence and lethality in the modern era. Proclamations of non-negotiation, made with false perceptions that terrorists are simply irrational radical actors, are no longer viable if governments truly seek to reduce terrorist violence. In fact, it’s the ambiguity of terrorism and the major differentiation in the practices of various organizations which necessitate a more flexible strategy. Simply, the one-size-fits all solution of unequivocal no-negotiation is …

Humanitarian Negotiations & Humanitarian Principles: The Interaction Between Humanitarian Negotiations For Access And Organizations' Ability To Adhere To Humanitarian Principles, Gabriela Gil

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Aim: To examine how do humanitarian organizations apply, or fail to apply, the humanitarian principles through humanitarian negotiations in modern conflict settings.

Methods: A literature review identified relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature on international humanitarian norms and law, the landscape of modern conflict, and existing guidelines on humanitarian negotiations. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in humanitarian negotiations chosen on the basis of their relevant background. A coded analysis of these interviews was conducted to identify major themes and subthemes in responses.

Background: Multiple international mechanisms outline the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence and States, non-State …

Grime And Spirit: On A Hype!, Monique Charles

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Grime is a genre of Black British music originating from London at the turn of the twenty-first century. In this article, I explore responses to moments of Grime music making and engagement in live performance settings. I make connections between Grime, Black music streams (Lena), Black Atlantic (Gilroy) practices, the Black Public Sphere (Baker) AND how engagements at these intersections are connected to spiritual practice in the context of live performance. The power in Grime live performance settings; where the spiritual is found, connects to the sonic characteristics deployed, embodied and emotive responses and cultural practice. Spirituality, through cultural practice, …