Digital Commons Network^™

And Then Covid Happened: The Impact Of The Pandemic On Transition Temporalities For Mobile Youth, Anita Harris, Giulia Marchetti, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article explores how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mobile young people’s experiences of the temporality of transitions to adulthood. Young people are today the most mobile population globally, and mobility has necessarily become integral to youth-to-adulthood transitions. By adopting transition temporalities as an analytical key, we consider the impact of pandemic immobility on the transition experiences of young movers who, when the pandemic hit, found themselves stuck not only in place but also in time. Drawing on in-depth interviews undertaken during the pandemic with transnationally mobile young people (aged 18–30) who left Australia for abroad or moved to Australia from …

Sustaining Caring Mobilities In Immobility Regimes: Adaptive Strategies Of Vietnamese Migrant (Grand)Parents In Australia, Hien Thi Nguyen, Catriona Turnbull, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

(Grand)parents are increasingly traveling internationally to visit and spend time with their transnational families. This mobility is essential to provide informal, unpaid care, driven by globalisation as family members relocate for study and work. However, governments in receiving countries like Australia are implementing restrictive measures, defined in the literature as ‘immobility regimes’, to control the movement of older migrants into their territories, including overseas (grand)parents. Drawing on the lived experiences of 22 Vietnamese migrants (11 (grand)parent visitors and 11 adult migrants who host their (grand)parent visitors), this paper explores the relationship between transnational mobility and institutional migration policies in the …

Exploring Cultural Values In Alcohol And Other Drug Use Among African Australian Youth: A Qualitative Study, Abraham Kenin, Justine Dandy, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante, Sonam Pelden

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The heritage cultural values of Sub-Sahara African (SSA) migrants in the Australian sociocultural context could offer insights into understanding the problem of Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) use among SSA Australian youth. This study explored the conceptualization of SSA cultural values in Australia, and to establish how they relate to AOD use among SSA Australian youth. Utilizing convenience sampling, one-on-one interviews were conducted with a total of 18 SSA Australians. The participants comprised 9 youth (aged 18–30; 4 females, 5 males), and 9 community leaders (aged 35–74; 4 females, 5 males). Based on a reflexive thematic analysis of the data, …

Migration Literacy And Commercial Intermediaries: The Debt Financed Labour Migrations Of Chinese Working-Class Tradesmen In Boomtime Australia, Catriona Turnbull

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper explores how constrained informational capital makes migrants dependent upon commercial intermediaries to facilitate their migration. It proposes migration literacy as a critical dimension of mobility capital and as a way to articulate the dependencies engendered through low information capital in relation to the regulatory regimes of the immigration state. These ideas are illustrated with reference to a cohort of working-class labour migrants to Australia whose experiences are shaped by their low migration literacy. Trade skilled migrants from China paid high fees to chains of brokers to secure sponsored employment in Australian workshops. Their low migration literacy, the result …

Providing Help In Europe: Are In-Household Care And Outside-Household Support Associated With Grandparental Child Care?, Roosa Maria Savela, David A. Coall, Mirkka Danielsbacka, Antti O. Tanskanen

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Grandparental child care is a vital form of social support that can enhance family well-being. Prior studies have found that older adults who provide support to one individual are more likely to offer help to others within their families and social networks. However, little research has examined whether helping others is associated with grandparental child care. Using data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, covering 27 countries, and using multinomial regression models, we show that (a) support provided to individuals outside the household is associated with increased grandparental child care, whereas (b) family care provided within …

Overview Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health Status 2025, Australian Indigenous Healthinfonet

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This Overview provides a summary of the most recent indicators of the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (of all ages, where data are available). The topics included in the Overview cover chronic health conditions which are featured on the HealthInfoNet website. Over the years as additional funding has been obtained and in consultation with HealthInfoNet networks, more topics have been covered on the website and are now included in the Overview. The topics aim to reflect the status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health over this period and going forward.

Precarity On The Move: The Relative Economic Precarity Of Mobile Youth Moving To Australia, Lara Mckenzie, Anita Harris, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Analyses of precarity often focus on how insecure employment, careers, finances, and geographies influence people’s lives for the worse, with young people understood as especially precarious in their economic stability and transitions to adulthood. This article analyses accounts of precarity amongst middling transnationally mobile youth, drawing from 24 semi-structured interviews incoming to Australia, and longitudinal survey data. We show that experiences of economic precarity are impacted by their access to work, government support, ability to access or sustain visas, and access to support from family and partners. By drawing on migration scholars’ observations that transnational mobility can be privileged and …

How I Cook With No Kitchen: An Investigation Of How #Microapartment Kitchens Are Depicted On Tiktok, Joelie Mandzufas, Karen Lombardi, Dorian Winter, Sarah Foster, Siobhan Hickling, Gina S.A. Trapp

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Physical constraints of small apartment kitchens and the influence of the surrounding community food environment may impact food practices of apartment residents. Social media portrayal of these features may influence public perception of apartment living. Aim: This project aimed to describe the public depiction of small apartment kitchen and cooking facilities. Methods: Content analysis of TikTok videos posted with small apartment-related hashtags was determined the portrayal of kitchen facilities, residents’ food practices, and hypothesised barriers to healthy cooking and eating practices. Current residents of small apartments compared these video depictions to their own experience. Results: We found TikTok videos …

Translation And Transformation Of Class Through Migration: Rethinking Social And Spatial Mobility Across Contexts, Jamie Coates, Catriona Turnbull, Maja Cederberg

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This issue of Current Sociology Monographs explores new conceptual opportunities at the intersection of migration studies and the sociology of class. The contributions examine migration as a distinct site where class is translated and transformed, using rich, empirically specific cases to show how social class is experienced and produced relationally, transnationally and temporally through the lives of migrants. Through this focus, the papers conceptualise class as a mobile process that travels with migrants, links different contexts and is translated through movement. Distinct from paradigms that tend to universalise a particular narrative or definition of class, this issue adopts a comparative …

Beyond The Pandemic: How Covid-19 Highlighted The Need For Cross-Sector Healthcare Solutions For Young Australians Living With Adversity, Ennur Erbasi, Shannon Muir, Karen Mclean

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

We explored the perceived impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and healthcare access among young people living with significant adversity in Victoria, Australia, using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Guided by a pragmatism epistemology, fifty-seven purposively sampled Victorian adolescents aged 15–19 years with lived experience of adversity completed a primarily quantitative online survey, and eight also participated in semi-structured interviews. Descriptive quantitative results indicated that a greater proportion of participants rated their mental health as fair or poor during COVID-19 (69%) compared to before the pandemic (40%). Similarly, more participants rated their physical health as fair or poor during …

Karlup Bidi, Pathways Home, Len Collard, Sandra Wooltorton, Louisa Stredwick

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper uses karlup bidi (pathway home) as a metaphor to show and explain the cultural landscape of a significant central Perth locality: Kaart Gennunginyup Bo, or Karrgatup, or Kaarta Koomba, also known as King’s Park. Drawing on oral histories, cultural narratives and contemporary reflections, the study uses Noongar understandings of Country, family, time and relationship to challenge and decolonise Western paradigms of land use and identity. The intent is to narrate Noongar Boodja (Country) as it was, remains and always will be-as Noongar heartland. Central to this paper is the trilogy of boodja, moort, kaartdijin (Country, family, knowledge), a …

Transnational Youth And Social Mobility: The Role Of Family Financial Support In Unsettled Lives, Alexandra Lee, Anita Harris, Loretta Baldassar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Transnational mobility is typically seen as an opportunity to break out of fixed class positions and facilitate social mobility. However, the availability of parental support remains a persistent if complex determinant of the social mobility opportunities available to young adults who move abroad. The influence of family support and class background on youth social mobility has been clearly recognised in class scholarship in Australia. Yet, this relationship has remained under-examined in transnational mobility contexts, where social mobility has tended to be examined more in relation to young people’s employment opportunities and visa pathways. Seeking to fill this gap, our paper …

Strengthening Social Structures To Improve Informal Care For Older People With Chronic Life-Limiting Illnesses In Rural Ghana, Barbara Adonteng-Kissi, Obed Adonteng-Kissi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Traditional family-based care for older people in Ghana is declining as globalization and social change weaken historical support systems. This analysis is informed by a review of scholarly literature concerning the implications of globalization for the provision of caregiving for older people managing chronic life-limiting illnesses. We aimed to explore ways of strengthening social structures to enhancing the quality of lives of older people with chronic life-limiting illnesses in rural Ghana amongst 15 older people; 15 family caregivers; 10 healthcare professionals. Critical Social Theory (CST) functions as the primary theoretical framework for conducting an interrogation of the systemic structures that …

Fear Across The Map: A Cross-Municipal Analysis Of Fear Of Crime In Canada, Muhammad Ali

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines the predictors of fear of crime (FOC) across three Canadian municipalities: Hamilton, Ontario; Brantford, Ontario; and North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Data from 1,956 survey responses were analyzed to understand how certain factors shape FOC across different municipal contexts in Canada. This study uses descriptive statistics, reliability analyses, correlation matrices, and Ordinary Least Squares regression models to examine whether FOC, and the predictors of FOC, operate consistently across municipalities. The findings indicate that the predictors of FOC are relatively reliable across municipal contexts. However, the influence of the predictors of FOC can vary across municipalities. Importantly, the level of …

Designing Narrative-Based Ai Assistance For Sensemaking In Collaborative Environments: Case Studies In Education And Dementia Care, Dylan Edward Moore

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

This thesis addresses a gap in the human-computer interaction literature regarding the design, development, and evaluation of narrative-based AI assistance for collaborative, complex problem solving. I explore this design space through three case studies across the domains of education and dementia care. This work encompasses multi-year industry partnerships and longitudinal fieldwork, user-centered design, dataset curation, model training, and system evaluation.

Specifically, the first case study considers a story-based web platform for teaching AI literacy through peer-generated, personalized narrative scaffolding. Learners on the platform showed significant knowledge gains and other learning-related outcomes. To describe the novel design of this system, I …

Injury To Insight: Exploring The Influence Of Media On Acl Rehabilitation Experiences Of Female Soccer Players, Chynna Ho-Young Cadogan, Jill Tracey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Participation in soccer inherently carries a risk of injury, with female athletes facing a significantly higher susceptibility to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries (Campbell et al., 2014; Le et al., 2025; Silvers-Granelli, 2021). The increasing participation in women’s soccer, coupled with the growing demand for its consumption through spectatorship, has contributed to a rise in ACL injuries, and increase in media coverage on this phenomenon (Parsons et al., 2021). Understanding how media narratives surrounding ACL injuries and recovery may influence rehabilitation experiences can educate coaches, mental performance consultants, athletic therapists, and female soccer players to better understand and navigate ACL …

Christianity As Coping Mechanisms For Migrants With Mental Health Challenges In Australia: Social Work Implications, Obed Adonteng-Kissi, Nnaemeka Meribe, Kathomi Gatwiri, Lillian Mwanri, Agness Tembo, Frank Darkwa Baffour, Edith N. Botchway-Commey, Aunty Kerrie Doyle, David Chisanga, Ahmed A. Moustafa, Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Christian religion may be a powerful resource that can serve as a coping mechanism to resolve challenges and provide comfort to African migrants confronted with mental health challenges. We aimed to explore the coping strategies among African migrants in Australia. We undertook semi-structured interviews online with 11 participants with African backgrounds, comprising six mental health clinicians and five migrant service users living in Australia for at least the past 12 months. Literature exploring religious coping mechanisms, social support and acculturation was drawn on. The interviews were undertaken online via Teams, WhatsApp call, and zoom with participants whom we recruited through …

Do Lineage-Based Inheritance Norms Matter In Kinship Care Arrangements? Exploring Inheritance Paths In Grandparent Kinship Care Practice In Ghana, Hajara Bentum, Alhassan Abdullah, Vicki Banham, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Kinship lineage and inheritance norms in Ghana play a significant role in shaping family decisions. Research has shown that kinship lineage and inheritance norms determine kin membership for children by specifying whether they belong to their maternal or paternal family, as well as whether they can inherit properties of their biological father or mother. The notion of kinship membership has shaped parenting and child welfare practices in Ghana, including child maintenance payments and parental neglectful behaviours. This research explored whether kinship-based inheritance norms could influence decisions about selecting a grandmother (maternal vs. paternal grandmother) as a child’s caregiver. We interviewed …

East To West: Cultural Attitudes And The Perceptions Of Death, Hannah F. Ahmed

Undergraduate Research Posters

Death is a universal human experience, but cultures teach people to interpret it in different ways. These interpretations influence how individuals understand dying, how they cope with loss, what support looks like, and what meaning death makes in their lives. Eastern, spiritual, and religious traditions emphasize death as a natural transition or return to divinity rather than an endpoint, and as something one must prepare for. In these contexts, people often grow up hearing stories, prayers, and teachings that situate death within a broader journey. Because of this, death becomes something familiar and speakable rather than distant or frightening (Naderi-Afif …

Case Study: The Economic And Legal Challenges Moving From A Township To A City, George F. Dierberger Dr., Ibrahim Keita Dr., Cory Erickson

Journal of the North American Management Society

The paper examines the economic and legal challenges moving from a township to a municipality in the state of Minnesota. One of the authors was a member of the township board as they went through the process of educating the citizens on the risks and rewards of changing from a township to a municipality.

Maximizing Online Intersession Enrollment Through Targeted Course Offerings, Heather S. Mcmillan, Charles D. Mcallister

Journal of the North American Management Society

Abstract

Online winter intersession courses have become an increasingly important strategy for universities seeking to support accelerated student progression while generating incremental tuition revenue. This study examines ten years of winter intersession enrollment data from a public, master’s-level comprehensive university in the Midwestern United States to identify course characteristics associated with higher student enrollment. Using 12,520 individual enrollment records, the analysis focuses on course type (general education versus major requirement), course classification (lower level, upper level, blended undergraduate/graduate, and graduate), and course discipline. A series of ANOVAs and Bonferroni post-hoc tests reveal significant differences in enrollment across these dimensions, with …

Organizational Pitfalls Of The Dual-Identity Leader, Yvonne Randolph, Asa Wilson

Journal of the North American Management Society

The dual-identity leader (D-IL) is an individual assigned to one job description yet is, in practice, fulfilling an additional position’s role. This secondary role is self-determined; has not been assigned yet is being allowed by those with governance and/or executive authority. Three case examples of the D-IL are presented and discussed as a problematic leadership configuration for an organization. The personal characteristics driving this approach are identified as a foundation for clarifying the organizational consequences of such an executive leader. Preventative and corrective tactics are discussed that eliminate or minimize the adverse impact of the D-IL’s organizational behavior.

Reflections At The Close Of My Freshman Year As Editor, Heather S. Mcmillan

Journal of the North American Management Society

No abstract provided.

Family Dementia Caregivers’ Disaster Preparedness In Chinese American Communities In New York City, Weiyu Mao, Bei Wu, Yaolin Pei, Zhen Cong

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Disaster preparedness is a significant public health concern. Disasters manifest in different forms and often lead to disruption of daily life. This is especially challenging for family dementia caregivers and their care recipients in the community. There remains much unknown regarding dementia caregiver disaster preparedness, especially in ethnic and racial communities. Guided by Protection Motivation Theory, with the backdrop of Hurricane Ida, this study explored the association between caregiving-related characteristics, cognitive appraisals, and disaster preparedness among caregivers in Chinese American communities. Data came from a pilot study on Chinese American family dementia caregivers in New York City between November 2021 …

K-U-L-T-U-R-A Sa Gitna Ng Suliranin Ng Lupang Tirahan Ng Pamayanang Ayta Ng Putingkahoy, Rosario, Batangas, Jeyson T. Taeza

Dalumat: Multikultural at Multidisiplinaryong E-Journal sa Araling Filipino

Suliranin sa lupa ang isa sa pinakamabigat na hamon ng mga pamayanang Ayta sa bansa, ngunit nanatiling limitado ang mga pag-aaral hinggil sa kanilang paninirahan sa labas ng lupang ninuno. Tinugunan ng papel ang puwang na ito sa pamamagitan ng pagsusuri sa karanasan ng pamayanang Ayta sa Putingkahoy, Rosario, Batangas bilang indigenous peoples outside ancestral domain. Ginamit sa pag-aaral ang modelong mnemonic na K-U-L-T-U-R-A at disenyong etnograpiya na nakabatay sa partisipasyon ng pamayanan upang masuri ang kamalayan, saloobin, pag-uugali, reaksyon, at pagkilos ng mga Ayta sa kanilang suliranin sa lupang tirahan. Natuklasan na ang paninirahan sa labas ng lupang ninuno …

Bini-Hag Na Mga Kalalakihan: Isang Photo-Narrative Na Pag-Aaral Sa Mga Gen-Z Fanboys Ng Isang Pinoy Pop Girl Group, Marc Stephen B. Tulagan, Alaina Samantha Atienza Dy, Gian Kristoffer G. Espenilla, Luis Iñigo G. Hernandez, Kurt Jocel Sarmiento Liberato, Janeson M. Miranda

Dalumat: Multikultural at Multidisiplinaryong E-Journal sa Araling Filipino

Ang pananaliksik na ito ay naglalayong ilahad ang mga mga kwento, karanasan, at pananaw ng fanboys ng BINI. Gumamit kami ng photo-narrative na metodo upang mas malalim na masipat ang panatisismo ng mga Gen-Z na kalalakihan sa pamamagitan ng mga larawan at naratibong ibinahagi ng pitong (n=7) kalahok na nagtataglay ng mga katangian ng isang fanboy. Natuklasan sa pag-aaral na ito ang mga mahahalagang karanasan at pananaw ng mga kalahok bilang mga BINI fanboy na nagbunsod sa pagkabuo namin sa isang metaporikal na framework—ang Naratibong Balangkas ng Pagsibol ng Fanboys na may tatlong pangunahing tema: Pagbibinhi, Pagpapalago, at Pamumukadkad. Kabilang …

“Do We Play By The Same Rules?”: Exploring The Involvement Of The Magic Circle In Navigating Relationships In Popular Multiplayer Video Games, Nathan Toshihiro A. Villanueva, Julianne Margaret M. Lao, Thea Juliana Alvarez Jocom, Liezl R. Astudillo

Sinaya: A Philippine Journal for Senior High School Teachers and Students

Just like leveling up in a game, dating has transcended the physical world into the realm of multiplayer games where individuals are able to communicate and interact with one another within the virtual third space, the magic circle–the boundary that separates life from play. Within these immersive environments, players create shared experiences that often extend beyond the screen, blurring the line between in-game interactions and real-life emotions. This blurring can lead to emotional spillovers and identity challenges as players navigate the complexities of digital intimacy in world and relationship formation. To define the fluidity of the magic circle, the study …

Coolies Of Shimla: Modern Slavery As Relic Of The British Raj, Priya Kapoor

Politics and Global Affairs Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coolie labor needs to be understood as a contemporary transnational practice rooted in local practices of feudal kings and the British Empire. When the British Raj established Shimla as its summer capital in 1864, they did not eliminate archaic labor practices; instead, they cleverly modified them to serve the Empire’s infrastructural needs. Under the guise of reform, the British introduced nominal pay to bypass anti-slavery laws, effectively rebranding the forced laborer as the "coolie"—a racialized linguistic construct that signified a state of permanent subalternity. This labor force was the veritable backbone of the Raj, manually carving the treacherous Hindustan-Tibet Road …

Ai Ethics And Governance For Leaders In Higher Education: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Of Faculty Early Adopters’ Sensemaking, Pedagogical Innovation, And Transformation, Freddie Seba

Doctoral Dissertations

Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially Generative AI (GenAI), is transforming how we work, learn, acquire, produce, and deliver knowledge, as higher education experiences existential pressures, including demographic changes that reduce enrollment and revenues, as well as shifting public and government perceptions of higher education's value.

This hermeneutic phenomenology dissertation study explores how faculty early adopters critically engage, innovate, and experiment with this nascent transformational technology in their pedagogies amid multilevel pressures: macro—market-driven (neoliberalism) logic, Big Tech, and demographic change; meso—institutional policy, broader faculty community, and pedagogical innovation; micro—widespread student adoption, pedagogical experimentation, and innovation.

This dissertation study centers on shifting AI …

Reflexivity And Collaboration In Tesol Research: A Qualitative Review Of Participatory Practices In Global Contexts, Elih Sutisna Yanto

The Qualitative Report

This review critically examines with Building a Culture of Research in TESOL: Collaborations and Communities, edited by Jessie Hutchison Curtis and Özgehan Uştuk, through the lens of qualitative research practice. The volume contributes to the ongoing dialogue on the democratization of TESOL research by introducing collaborative research, autoethnography and reflective narratives. Drawing on a number of global case studies, the book highlights participatory approaches which blur the boundaries between researcher and practitioner, especially in contexts where the language is underpresented. This review explores how the book conceptualizes the partnerships between teachers and researchers as reflexive, context-sensitive production of knowledge …