Digital Commons Network^™

Measuring Behavior Change Resulting From Eore And The Need For Complementary Risk Reduction Activities, Helaine Boyd, Sebastian Kasack, Noe Falk Nielsen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Risk education (RE) in mine action has been around since 1992.[i] However, explosive ordnance risk education (EORE)[ii] operators are still struggling to measure how and whether EORE has resulted in positive behavior change.[iii] Of course, various monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methods have been pursued in the past, predominantly the use of knowledge, attitude, practice, and beliefs (KAPB) surveys; simpler pre-/post-EORE session surveys; the use of proxy indicators such as number of explosive ordnance (EO) accidents or victims; and number of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) callouts from the community. However, these methods come with some limitations in accurately …

Collective Identity In Germany: An Assessment Of National Theories, Sean Starkweather

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Beginning in the 18th century, the question of what makes a nation has occupied a prominent place in German politics. From the national theories of the 18th-century German Romantics, who identified cultural and ethnic factors as being the key determinants, to modern civic nationalists and postnationalists, who point to liberal civic values and institutions, the importance of collective identity and how it is oriented has remained an important topic for German scholars and policymakers. Using survey research, I assess the accuracy and relevance of these theories in contemporary German society. I find that, contrary to the optimism of modern thinkers, …

Women In Socialist Cuba: Political And Economic Equality, Julia E. Rogers

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Gender equality is recognized as a fundamental human right and goal by the United Nations. The 1959 Cuban Revolution advocated for widespread social changes including equality for women. Cuba is a critical case because it both confirms and refutes assumptions about gender equality. The central research question explored in this thesis is: How do domestic and global factors combine to affect the rhetoric and experiences of gendered and racial groups with respect to economic and political opportunities in socialist Cuba? I examine whether the divergences between expectations and experiences conform to the general literature. I find that women did achieve …

Lightning Activity In The Continental United States On An Enso Time Scale, 2002-2015, Tyler M. Gingrich

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This investigation examined the frequency and spatial pattern of lightning in the continental United States from 2002 to 2015. Before analysis, flashes were grouped based on their El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase and Spatial Synoptic Classification (SSC) type for the winter season (December, January, and February). The purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between planetary teleconnections, synoptic scale air masses, and micro scale phenomena, specifically lightning, in the continental United States. Evidence suggests ENSO cold phase flashes tend to have a lower frequency in number of flashes and flash days, as well as a northward …

The Artificial Leaf: An Investigation Into The Sociotechnical Integration Of New Solar Energy Innovations, Alexandra K. Treml, Jamie M. Mears

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Increasing global demand, combined with the volatility of fossil fuels, has called for a large-scale increase in renewable energy production. Photovoltaics hold significant potential, but by nature, solar energy is intermittent and lacks dispatchability. Researchers around the world are working to create innovative solutions that utilize semiconductors found in solar cell technologies in new ways. This project harnesses photoelectrochemical water-splitting, which uses light energy to dissociate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. When the water-splitting device is submerged in saltwater and illuminated by sunlight, oxygen and hydrogen gas are produced on opposite surfaces, and can be either released or stored …

An Economic Analysis Of The Short-Term Rental Market: Local Regulatory Decisions, Joseph L. Kauffman, Harrison D. Hooper

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

In recent years, short-term home rental companies such as Airbnb and Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) have grown in popularity throughout the United States and the world. The lack of regulation of this rapid growth, which stemmed from the legal grey area these rentals fall under, caused some states to adopt specific regulatory policies. These regulatory policies attempt to better monitor this sector, to tax rental earnings, and to reduce perceived negative externalities to this new market. This thesis researches the benefits and costs that short-term rentals (STRs) provide to cities and the regulatory implications on the growing rental market. …

Understanding Issues Of Exclusivity Surrounding Shared Mobility Devices In Harrisonburg, Virginia., Katherine E. Stankard

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This project aims to understand the factors associated with micromobility and shared mobility devices that contribute to inequitable access in local transportation systems. While there are many factors of inequity, I will focus on the intersection of policy and gender in a number of selected cities. The compendium of selected cities should serve as a guide to policymakers and communities that are seeking to add or regulate shared mobility devices into preexisting transportation networks. Through looking at various pilot programs and policy created by these cities, I will outline a number of recommended measures for Harrisonburg, and small cities more …

A Novel Approach To Updating Municipal Tax Parcel Impervious Surface Calculations, Patrick D. Muradaz

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Accurate impervious surface calculations are important to many municipalities due to the high volumes of surface rainwater runoff caused by high impervious surface density. Municipalities must deal with this runoff through the establishment and maintenance of drainage facilities. To help offset the added cost of these facilities, many municipalities impose taxes and fees on privately owned impervious surfaces such as homes, driveways, and patios. Currently, in order for a city like Harrisonburg to calculate tax parcel impervious surface density, aerial images must be manually digitized or mapped using computer-based classification techniques using predictive models. These methods of impervious surface calculations …

Application For Student Safety In Harrisonburg, Clara R. Peirce

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Through the development of a smartphone application specific to the James Madison University (JMU) campus, this project confronts and combats the unique safety concerns that students in Harrisonburg are likely to face. This app addresses community-specific threats and scenarios while bolstering JMU’s current system of alerts in a preventative, proactive manner. This project meets is preventative and proactive goals through an analysis of existing measures, research, and critique of similar initiatives. This project’s creative brief is guided by a SWOT analysis and assessment of the target audience and the intended area of implementation. The application is intended for usage by …

Impacts Of An International Professional Development Program: A Qualitative Study, Marijn W. T. De Waal

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This qualitative study with phenomenological components examined the impacts of a U.S. State Department-funded teacher professional development program, hosted at a liberal-arts university on the east coast of the United States in the spring semester of 2018. An initial review of the public literature revealed that it was challenging to find evaluation data pertaining to this particular program or ones of a similar nature. Through semi-structured synchronous online interviews with five program alumni, the researcher probed if—and if so, how—the professional development (PD) program had made the intended impacts on participants’ (1) teaching methods/curriculum, (2) content knowledge in their personal …

University Music Engagement: A Mixed Methods Examination Of University Student Music Participation And Institutional Responsibility For Expanded Opportunities, Daniel B. Warren

Masters Theses, 2020-current

School music participation in the United States has continued to decline over the past 70 years, the effects of which can be seen on university campuses across the country. This decline has become a commonly understood trend among those observing the state of K-12 public schools, and universities have been largely overlooked as a place for students to continue—or, even less often, begin—to explore musical interests and opportunities. What are possible explanations for this decline? Do universities themselves have an obligation to provide or expand music lessons, ensembles, and musical resources for students as part of the university experience?

In …

Campuspartner: An Assistive Technology For Pedestrians With Mobility Impairments, Cynthia R. Zastudil

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Route-planning applications such as Google Maps and Apple Maps are used by millions of people each month. However, these mapping applications are optimized for vehicle navigation, and although they provide pedestrian routing, the route customization options aren’t sufficient for pedestrian users, especially those with mobility impairments. CampusPartner is an assistive mobile application that was designed with the purpose of supporting people with mobility impairments in planning and previewing their walking routes. By viewing routes in advance, users can see an overview and detailed information about them as well as turn-by-turn instructions. CampusPartner integrates existing services, GraphHopper, OpenStreetMap, and Mapbox, to …

Reconciling With Slavery In The United States: An Evolving Narrative, Jamie Phlegar

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This project addresses two strands of inquiry that spring from this issue of evolving race relations in the U.S. First, I examine how Americans talk about the history of slavery in the U.S. What rhetorical strategies are employed when slavery is discussed and/or debated in public history contexts and beyond? Second, I examine talk about the future of race relations in the context of the legacy of slavery. Specifically, I am interested in exploring what rhetorical strategies are employed when discussing the potential for reparations in mainstream arenas.

Unearthing Strata And Changing Waters: A Landscape For Today, Mallory P. Burrell

Masters Theses, 2020-current

My current practice culminates in generative acts that respond to the objects that I collect from Blacks Run in Harrisonburg, VA. The writing and artworks are extensions of my interest in hybridity and spaces where organic and artificial matter intersect. This thesis provides a conceptual framework for Unearthing Strata and Changing Waters: A Landscape for Today, an MFA body of work by Mallory Burrell.

"The Twilight-Colored Smell Of Honeysuckle:" William Faulkner, The South, And Literature As A Site Of Memory, Emily Innes

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines the intersection of literature and historical memory, focusing on William Faulkner’s literature and the construction of memory and identity in the 1920s-1930s American South. Understanding the basic objective of memory as using the past to consolidate a social consciousness rooted in a shared identity and future, I examine how literature contributes to and enriches this process. I argue that because memory is deeply embedded in the social frameworks of a population, and dependent on the population’s cultural, political, and social identity, it is a fundamental component of understanding cultural identity. By interpreting literature through the lens of …

The Russo-Japanese War: Origins And Implications, Benjamin E. Mainardi

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War was the first major conflict of the twentieth century and a turning point in the balance of power in East Asia. In the short term, Russia’s defeat helped precipitate the 1905 Russian Revolution and the 1917 October Revolution. More broadly, the aftermath of the war informed Japan’s imperial ambitions in Manchuria—the early stages of World War II in Asia during the 1930s—and continuing Russo-Japanese enmity over Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Island chain. Studying this historical conflict in terms of international relations provides valuable insights into the nature of the conflict and how the past continues …

The Colonial Politics Of Water: Mapping Afghanistan’S Indus And Oxus Rivers, Lauren Palmieri

Middle Eastern Communities and Migrations Student Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Whitepaper: Understanding Land-Atmosphere Interactions Through Tower-Based Flux And Continuous Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurements, Manuel Helbig, Tobias Gerken, E Beamesderfer, D D. Baldocchi, T Banerjee, S C. Biraud, N A. Brunsell, S P. Butterworth, W S. Chan, A R. Desai, J D. Fuentes, D Y. Hollinger, N Klijun, M Mauder, K A. Novick, J M. Perkins, C Rey-Sanchez, R L. Scott, B Seyednasrollah, P C. Stoy, R C. Sullivan, J Vilà-Guerau De Arellano, S Wharton, C Yi, A D. Richardson

Libraries

Executive summary

● Target audience: AmeriFlux community, AmeriFlux Science Steering Committee & Department of Energy (DOE) program managers [ARM/ASR (atmosphere), TES (surface), and SBR (subsurface)]

● Problem statement: The atmospheric boundary layer mediates the exchange of energy and matter between the land surface and the free troposphere integrating a range of physical, chemical, and biological processes. However, continuous atmospheric boundary layer observations at AmeriFlux sites are still scarce. How can adding measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer enhance the scientific value of the AmeriFlux network?

● Research opportunities: We highlight four key opportunities to integrate tower-based flux measurements with continuous, …

Volume 6, 2019

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

No abstract provided.

Jungle Gyms Of Justice: Understanding The Urban Park Accessibility Problem, Victoria Holmes

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Urban parks and green spaces have the potential to provide outstanding benefits to both children and adults. However, increased urbanization and the disproportionate placement of urban parks and green spaces can make these benefits elusive. Case studies focused on Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago have found that access to urban parks and green spaces is more challenging for non-white and low-socioeconomic status populations. The present study, focused on the much smaller, much less populated city of Harrisonburg, Virginia, builds on this work using geographic information system (GIS) buffer analysis to find that all socioeconomic groups face access issues to some …

November 14, 2019, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2010-2019

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Lone Wolf Riots: Social Frustration & U.S. Mass Violence, Heather E. Rosso

International Journal on Responsibility

Through various life events and circumstances, some individuals find themselves at a disconnect with their surroundings—unable to relate to peers, socially awkward, and socially isolated and outcast. As a result, socially constructed basic human needs (BHNs) of meaning, recognition, and justice can seem even more difficult if not impossible to satisfy. The resulting relative deprivation becomes more problematic for these individuals as they navigate pursuit of these BHNs absent the value opportunities provided by social bonds, such as shared experience, collaborative problem solving, emotional outlets, networking, and alternate perspectives. Simultaneously, empathy and bonding toward their communities are damaged or erased. …

October 24, 2019, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2010-2019

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

September 12, 2019, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2010-2019

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Ieds And Urban Clearance Variables In Mosul: Defining Complex Environments, Mark Wilkinson Ph.D.

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

More than any other post-conflict environment in Iraq, the complexity of west Mosul and its improvised explosive device (IED) threat challenges our fundamental perceptions and definitions of mine action. From here, 400 km (248.5 mi) north of Baghdad in the al-Maedan District on the west side of the Tigris River, ISIS ran its caliphate and made its ill-fated last stand against attacking Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 23.2 (2019), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Middle East: An Editorial by Jordan's HRH Prince Mired R.Z. Al-Hussein | IEDs: 'Complex' vs. Simple Clearance in Fallujah and Mosul | Iraq: A Photo Essay by Sean Sutton | Lebanon: Impact of Landmines and ERW on food Security

Geneva International Centre For Humanitarian Demining 2018 Annual Report, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

In 2018, GICHD staff visited and supported 61 countries to improve mine action globally and locally and delivered over 30 training sessions and workshops. To carry out this work, our staff grew. As of the end of 2018, the GICHD is made up of 74 staff members representing 23 nations.

Read about all the main areas of the Centre's work in 2018, as well as highlights of some of its major achievements. The report also includes a summary of the financial statements and the most recent list of the members of the Council of Foundation and the Advisory Board.

Teaching Empathy: Examining The Relationship Between State Political Environment And Social Studies Curriculum, Norman Morris Ellis Iii

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the age of partisan divide in America, education plays a pivotal role in overcoming social and political barriers––bridging these divides by creating a shared understanding of core values and beliefs that promote the tolerance and acceptance of the diversity of others and the recognition of the inequities that exist in society. Although there are number of factors that have contributed to our nation’s division, this paper specifically investigates how public education might play a role in mitigating social and political tension, and the political factors that might facilitate or hinder the implementation of valuable curriculum goals. The purpose of …

Increasing Food Security: Developing And Testing A Nutrition Education Curriculum For A Mobile Food Pantry, Alexandra Lepecha, Kathleen M. Kraft

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Background: The Neighborhood Produce Market (NPM) is a food distribution model similar to a mobile food pantry. NPM stakeholders observed a lack of community engagement and familiarity with produce offered.

Project Description: The objective was to develop a nutrition education curriculum for NPM volunteers to better engage families and community members by providing food samples, recipes, and nutrition education. A stakeholder steering committee guided the needs assessment, curriculum development, volunteer training, and pilot test. The curriculum consisted of food safety, cultural considerations, and nutritional information for nine produce items and food tasting procedures and recipes. Seven student volunteers were trained …

China: Do The Uighurs Represent A Serious Threat?, Bridget Read, Ryan Walters

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) utilization of harsh ethnic control policies coupled with extreme and violent enforcement by the People’s Armed Police (PAP) will likely drive the Uighurs to become a security threat to the PRC and disrupt international relationships. The Uighurs do not currently constitute a security threat to the PRC based on their limited connection to terrorist organizations and attacks. Due to several underlying factors, the Uighurs represent a political concern to the PRC and the conflict between the PRC and the Uighurs is fueled by ethnic tensions. Ongoing security operations in the Uighurs’ home province of …