Digital Commons Network^™

Conflicted Commons: A Local Makerspace In The Neoliberal City, Caitlin Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

The commodification of culture, space, and resources is incentivized by neoliberal urbanism. In response, we have seen an attempt to develop collectively organized, oppositional spaces within urban places. The tensions that arise when considering the production of commons in the development of the neoliberal city are the central focus of this paper. As I will observe, these spaces are subjected to commodification as they become increasingly de-politicized through neoliberal ideologies. In order to theorize about these contradictory elements, I observe a makerspace in Richmond, Virginia called HackRVA. Specifically, I consider HackRVA as an urban commons. Through in-depth interviews and participant …

Dimensions Of Professional Growth In Work-Related Teacher Education, Leena Aarto-Pesonen, Päivi Tynjälä

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article conceptualises adult learners’ professional growth in a tailored, work-related, teacher-qualification programme in physical education. The study data consisted of the reflective-learning diaries of 20 adult learners during a 2-year tertiary and work-related teacher-qualification programme. The data were analysed using data-driven open coding analysis, which was conducted using the constant comparative method of the grounded theory approach. This article presents the horizontal dimensions (egocentric learner, researching professional and expert within society) and the vertical dimensions (transforming self-image, expanding professional self-expression and widening agency) of the adult learners’ multifaceted professional growth process. In addition, the article discusses pedagogical implications in …

Better Outcomes: Improving Accountability & Transparency In Transportation Decision-Making, Robert Zako, Rebecca Lewis

TREC Final Reports

This report aims to help policymakers and staff at all levels of government make transportation investments that serve the public better.

Amazingly, we simply don’t know how effective government spending is at achieving the outcomes the public expects and has been promised! Clearly, taxpayer dollars buy roads, bus service, airports, ferry service, and other transportation facilities and services. But it is unclear how well such investments help get people where they want to go, create jobs, improve public health, support community development, and provide other benefits. In other words, it is uncertain how cost-effectively the means (transportation investments) achieve the …

Dmos And Rural Tourism: A Stakeholder Analysis The Case Of Tucker County, West Virginia, Doug Arbogast, Jinyang Deng, Kudzayi Maumbe

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Rural destination management organizations (DMOs) are faced with considerable challenges as they attempt to promote economic prosperity through tourism. This study sought to identify rural destination management challenges in Tucker County, West Virginia; identify the roles and activities of the destinations DMOs in addressing these challenges; and develop a perceived destination management framework. DMO challenges include maintaining authenticity and sense of place; economic diversification; seasonality, low wage jobs, and lack of employees; connecting resorts to small businesses and communities; and establishing a common vision, identity, and coordination of activities. While the majority of tourism literature calls for DMOs to play …

Ripple Effect Mapping Of Youth & Adult Dyad Pairs Demonstrating Community Impact From Icook 4-H Intervention, Sina J.E. King

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: Creating effective dissemination and implementation tools within community based, obesity prevention research is needed to bridge the current science to practice gap. Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) using Community Capitals Framework (CCF) is a community impact evaluation tool that is hypothesized to positively capture activity during dissemination within community programs. Although REM is a proposed impact evaluation method, it has not been widely adopted within the research sector. In order to facilitate the translation of research into evidenced based practice, a stepwise process must be described and tested to determine efficacy and effectiveness, followed by a method to translate findings …

Business Strategies To Increase The Financial Stability Of Private Universities, Brian Greenwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

University administrators of nonprofit higher education private institutions face challenges to maintain financial stability as the projected tuition revenue is expected to decline over the next 15 years. In addition, projected closure or mergers for all colleges and universities is expected to reach 50% by 2030. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies higher education private institution administrators use to manage financial stability. Kaufman's complexity theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Purposeful sampling was used to select 4 university administrators from an Ohio higher education private institution for face-to-face interviews. Semistructured questions provided …

Young Leader's Sustained Engagement In Environmental Action: A Narrative Inquiry, Sara Wicks

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Young people have been identified as key stakeholders in taking a leadership role in addressing environmental issues, but more research is required to find out how to sustain young people’s motivation for environmental action over time. The present study investigated this through narrative interviews with eleven environmental leaders who attended a conference called IMPACT! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership in 2009 or 2011. Drawing upon the literature on life paths to environmental action (Almers, 2013; Chan, 2009; Chawla, 1998, 1999; Harré, Tepavac, & Bullen, 2009) the interviews incorporated an exercise that asked participants to plot important events in their lives …

Going Beyond The Best Insufficient Option: An Exploration Of Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives Within Two Non-Profit Social Welfare Organizations In Ontario, Amy Joyce Shuttleworth

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Facing a backdrop of decreased government funds and an increasing need for services, social service non-profit organizations are struggling to survive and provide services to their communities. One proposed solution to this financial struggle is to generate revenue through social entrepreneurship and social enterprise. Two non-profit organizations in Ontario have engaged in social enterprise and they form the basis for this case study. Adopting a hybrid social enterprise model, Organization X and Housing Corporation A receive revenue from three main sources: government funding, private donations, and profits created through social enterprise activities.

These organizations have managed to broaden their service …

Revitalizing Ban Kaset Puttana Village Through Community-Based Tourism, Sairoong Dinkoksung, Mehran Nejati

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

There has been a boom in health tourism. A growing number of tourists travel to other countries for preventive and rehabilitative care and seek detoxifying, destressing and healthy activities. Based on a community-based tourism project, this study aimed to explore the possibilities of developing health tourism in Ban Kaset Puttana, a village located in the suburban area of Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand. The one-year project based on participatory action research covered the entire process of forming thematic alternative health tourist products by employing the concept of natural-based health care. The project was then followed by 10 semistructured interviews with local …

Home Rule In An Era Of Local Environmental Innovation, Sarah Fox

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

As 2016’s national election made clear, striking ideological differences between cities and their surrounding states exist in many parts of the country. One way in which this divide manifests itself is in state governments passing laws with the sole purpose of outlawing particular local conduct. For instance, recent state legislation has prohibited local governments from establishing a minimum wage, from prohibiting the use of plastic bags, and from protecting the rights of transgender individuals to use the bathroom of their identified gender. These state actions do not create substantive law; instead, they merely curtail the grant of authority—known as home …

Robocar Risks, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Suggests that policymakers should not widen roads or stringently enforce anti-jaywalking laws in order to accommodate autonomous vehicles.

Assessing State Efforts To Integrate Transportation, Land Use And Climate, Rebecca Lewis, Robert Zako

TREC Final Reports

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a threat to life on earth. “Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems. Limiting climate change would require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions” (International Panel on Climate Change, 2014, 8).

The transportation sector accounts for almost one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the United States. Reducing GHG from transportation rests on the “three-legged stool” of improving vehicle efficiency, reducing the carbon content of fuels …

Pdxscholar Annual Report 2016, Karen Bjork, Sherry Buchanan, David Coate, Bertrand Robinson, Stacey Schlatter

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

This report details the sixth year of operation for PDXScholar, Portland State University's institutional repository, as well as the growth of Portland State University Library's publishing services. The report covers the period between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016.

Pesticide Concentrations In Water From A Southern Louisiana Marsh Influenced By The Mississippi River, Kara Leigh Callicott

LSU Master's Theses

The pesticides atrazine, chlorothalonil, and fipronil are common surface water contaminants due to their high rates of application and their chemical properties. This study investigates the introduction of contaminants into coastal wetlands via the Bayou Lamoque Mississippi River control structure in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. A protocol for environmental sampling using Continuous Low-level Aquatic Monitoring (C.L.A.M.) C-18 disks is described, along with effective solid phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methodology for the determination of atrazine, chlorothalonil, and fipronil in surface water. Average concentrations of atrazine and chlorothalonil inside the Bayou Lamoque freshwater diversion structure for the months …