Digital Commons Network^™

Amazonia In Motion: Changing Politics, Development Strategies, Peoples, Landscapes And Livelihoods, Susanna Hecht, Marianne Schmink, Rebecca Neaera Abers, Eduardo Assad, Denise Bebbington, Eduardo Brodizio, Francisco De Assis Costa, Ana María Calisto Durán, Philip Fearnside, Rachael Garrett, Sebastian Heilpern, David Mcgrath, Gustavo Oliveira, Henrique Pereira, Miguel Pinedo-Vazquez

Geography

We review the often-invisible powerful processes that drive social and ecological change in Amazonia, and the diverse peoples who inhabit its landscapes. It explores large-scale development ideologies of modernization, and the policy tools that were deployed to carry them out. Outlining general periods of macro policy shifts, we show the evolution of the framework for today’s complex interactions between large-scale agroindustry, mining, and hydrocarbons, and diverse small-scale livelihoods, as well as the clandestine and illicit economies of land grabbing, gold, coca and timber, and their operation in globalized and regional economies. While Pan-Amazonian governments have oscillated between authoritarian and democratic …

The Need For More Inclusive Deliberation On Ethics And Governance In Agricultural And Food Biotechnology, Catherine Kendig, Theresa Selfa, Paul B. Thompson, Raymond Anthony, Wenda Bauchspies, Gwendolyn Blue, Ashmita Das, Rebecca Harrison, Chris Henke, Shan Jin, Jennifer Kuzma, Forbes Lipschitz, Kurt Lichter, Morgan Ruelle, Timothy Silberg, Bruno Takahashi

Sustainability and Social Justice

An inclusive and socially legitimate governance structure is absent to address concerns over new agricultural biotechnologies. Establishing an agricultural bioethics commission devoted to inclusive deliberation on ethics and governance in agricultural and food biotechnology is urgent. Highlighting the social and ethical dimensions of current agricultural bioengineering disputes in the food system, we discuss how a nationally recognized policy forum could improve decision-making and increase public understanding of the issues. We clarify ways the concepts that are used to categorize food and frame governance of food affect consumer choices, and how dissemination of information and the mode of dissemination can contribute …

Unwritten Ground Rules Of School Choice: Excavating Capital As A Regulator Of Access To Educational Goods, Jason E. Saltmarsh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

District leaders in school choice contexts tend to overlook the many hidden costs of selecting schools in terms of mobility, time, liquidity, and labor. Meanwhile, a body of literature on school choice policies and cultural, social, and political capital shows that middle-class parents use the resources they possess to get the school access they want. In this study, I critically examine the complex interplay between school choice policies and forms of capital. This analysis extends our empirical understanding of the political dimensions of families’ school choices—the way parent resources, relationships, and strategies determine “who gets what, when, and how” (Laswell, …

Social Media Sanctuaries: A Discourse Analysis Of Indian International Students' Agency And Liminality During The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict, Bhavika Sicka, Nadiya Ungo, Dennis Gregory

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study used a social media discourse analysis approach to illuminate the narratives of Indian international students in Ukraine who experienced displacement and upheaval because of the Russo-Ukrainian war. We used agency and liminality as analytic lenses to highlight how this uniquely situated population used Facebook to navigate conflict, voice their demands, support each other, challenge hegemonic narratives, re/construct their diasporic identities, and re-orient their futures. Findings indicate that Indian international students in Ukraine displayed insurmountable courage and resilience during the war, enacting agency from the margins to amplify their voices and actuate desired futures. Furthermore, South Asian students in …

Belief In War, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

Introductory Statement

Belief in war dominates our world. From Ukraine to Sudan to America’s ‘war on terror’, extraordinary resources are poured into militaries and arms races. The explanation for why belief in war has become prominent in foreign and security policy in Russia, the United States., China, NATO states and many other places is linked to the influence of Realist political theory. Pope St. John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris argued for honoring the alternatives to Realism – international law and institutions. It is time for an encyclical that responds directly to Realism and teaches belief in the authentic natural …

Societal Impacts Of Harmful Macroalgal Blooms On Caribbean Communities, Kenneth Hamel

Open Access Dissertations

Pelagic Sargassum species, long considered a vital component of Caribbean ecosystems, began to arrive on and near shore in unprecedented quantities starting in 2011; these arrivals have transformed many Caribbean people’s perspectives of these macroalgae from a native benefit to an alien invader, and are now regarded widely as a harmful algal bloom (HAB). HABs often receive attention for the ecological and economic damage they present, but other human dimensions are less commonly considered, and this is doubly true of Sargassum events. This dissertation was intended to fill increasingly pronounced research gaps by providing exploratory evidence that can be useful …

Review Of Still Life With Bones: Genocide, Forensics, And What Remains, Mack Cristino

Nebraska Anthropologist

Review of Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains by Alexa Hagerty. 2023. Crown Publishing Group, New York. xvi + pp. 228. $28.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-593-44313-2. Review by: Mack Cristino, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Alexa Hagerty pours her entire heart into this book in both recounting her own personal experiences and passions in contributing to the repatriation of these victims and in bringing about awareness of such governmental corruption. Millions of innocent people are dead at the hands of greedy figureheads, and it is in the marriage of forensics and empathy that we will solve these crimes and …

Review Of The Marginalized In Death: A Forensic Anthropology Of Intersectional Identity In The Modern Era, Dakota L. Taylor

Nebraska Anthropologist

Review of The Marginalized in Death: A Forensic Anthropology of Intersectional Identity in the Modern Era by J. F. Byrnes and I. Sandoval-Cervantes. 2022. Lexington Books. Reviewed by Dakota Taylor, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

This book is a compilation of articles that explore the representation of marginalized populations in the forensic anthropological record. The primary focus of this book is on the need for more research to be conducted in this field regarding marginalized populations. Some of the main takeaways from this book is the urgent need to train or educate forensic anthropologists about all these issues. Additionally, this book …

The Americans With Disabilities Act In The Borderlands, Theodore J. Szpakowski

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

During the twentieth century, the United States federal government claimed to be working in partnership with Indigenous governments. However, it neither sufficiently ensured that Indigenous people were protected to the same extent as settlers nor fully released Indigenous governments to create their own protections. The results of this dynamic can be seen through examining civil rights legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Although settler disability historians have tended to view the ADA as a unifying success, it did not legally or culturally account for disabled Indigenous people living on Indigenous land within the United States.

In Defense Of The “Peculiar Institution”: The Influence Of European Scientific Racism On The Confederacy, Guillem Colom

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Through the antebellum period and American Civil War, American and European race theorists exchanged ideas through correspondence and scientific explorations asserting the truth of scientific racism. Scientific racist beliefs posited the natural superiority of white people and inferiority of Black people based on what these theorists claimed were innate biological characteristics, and these beliefs served as a critical linkage between Europe and the United States. Utilizing correspondence and journal entries, this paper shows that this exchange of scientific racist ideas significantly influenced the Confederacy’s political thought and policy positions, especially foreign relations, through the Civil War. Through the work of …

Gettysburg Historical Journal 2024

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Complete Issue of the Gettysburg Historical Journal 2024

The Power Of Polish: Exploring The Impact Of Nail Adornments On Perceptions Of Attraction, Sara Demichele

Honors Theses

Understanding the significance of nail adornments in shaping perceptions of attractiveness and mate value provides insights into human behavior and preferences. In the current investigation, participants rated human nail length and color on physical attractiveness and partner desirability measures. Results revealed significant effects of nail length and color across different demographic groups. Medium-length nails consistently received higher ratings for physical attractiveness, cuteness, and partner desirability compared to short and long nails. White-colored nails were generally rated most attractive, while blue and black nails received the lowest ratings. Additionally, participants reported a moderate association between having manicured nails and feelings of …

"Can You Make Coffee Wrong, Anyway?": An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Culture Of Coffee In Lewisburg, Pa, Elizabeth Hoffman

Honors Theses

The rapid development of Lewisburg’s coffee scene demonstrates the social impacts and meanings of coffee. The “three waves” of coffee describe the growing importance of unique flavors and sourcing in order to best satisfy an increasingly sophisticated palate in coffee consumption. These allude to people’s preferences for different kinds of coffee and rely on how an individual’s taste guides them in their choices about what coffee to consume. Each wave emerged as a result of the coffee market’s increased attention towards quality: the first and earliest wave does not rely on origin or tasting profiles in order to sell, but …

Bounded Entities And (Some Of) Their Discontents, Surabh Vishnubhakat

Minnesota Law Review Headnotes, Vols. 107 onward (2022-present)

No abstract provided.

A 2024 Guide To Assessing: Resiliency And Resistance In Iran, Robert Burrell, David Diorio

GNSI Publications

This essay applies a data-driven and human-centric methodology to examine resiliency and resistance aspects in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It applies a four-phase process to analyze state resiliency, assess resistance to governance, identify various resistance movements, and provide possible options for an external actor to influence Iran's stability or to support resistance to the Islamic Republic. The methodologies utilized in this essay were previously published by Small Wars and Insurgencies and Expeditions with the Marine Corps University Press. In analyzing Iran, the data finds the Islamic Republic is a fragile regime governing a state with multiple and deep societal …

Critical Theories, Justice, And The Rule Of Law, Adam J. Macleod

Scholarly Articles

An increasing number of legal scholars and activists now identify law as an impediment to justice that must be deconstructed. The deconstructionists tear down the resources we need to sustain the rule of law. And as they deconstruct law, they also deconstruct justice itself. Against deconstructionism, the classical tradition of jurisprudence that gave us our fundamental law affirms that we can know justice and that we can achieve justice through the establishment of law.

That classical tradition made possible the conviction that law is not a mere product of power, as the deconstructionists assert. And that conviction made the rule …

Anglo-Saxon Res Judicata Culture For Civil Law Systems, Cesare Cavallini

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

One traditional aspect distinguishing the common law system from the civil law one lies in the perceived disparities in the inspiration of the law-making process. The Anglo-Saxon system typically grounds its rules in explicit and discernible policies spanning social, anthropological, and economic realms directly relevant to the circumstances. In contrast, the civil law tradition frequently necessitates a fixed conceptual framework, sometimes detached from the practical needs of society. Or, at least, this dynamic persisted until recent changes prompted by the “doing business” model, which has timidly ascended to the forefront of the State agenda, particularly across Europe, notably in Italy. …

What Fishing Tackle Should I Bring Today?: Safety Harbor Resource Collection Tools As Adaptations To Aquatic Environments, Richard J. Davis Iii

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis reports on the results of research conducted to determine whether technological adaptations to local environmental conditions can be observed through geospatial and artifact analysis of Safety Harbor collections from the Tampa Bay region of Florida. Past artifact and spatial analysis did not take advantage of modern technological advancements when studying how human-environmental interactions can influence certain adaptations to local conditions. In this project, GIS was used to reconstruct local aquatic environmental conditions of waterways adjacent to Safety Harbor sites. New statistical software programs have also proven themselves useful to archaeologists seeking to conduct hypothesis testing of artifact data. …

Work Motivation And Occupational Attitudes: An Application Of Self-Determination Theory Among Rangers, Richard L. Elligson Jr

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Job attitudes of rangers play a key role in the implementation and effectiveness of conservation initiatives. As such, scholars have begun to examine the attitudes rangers hold towards their role, organization, and external working environment. However, little is known about work motivation among rangers. Work motivation is a key predictor of employee performance, job attitudes, and well-being. The relationship between work motivation and ranger occupational attitudes may offer insight that conservation agencies can leverage to improve positive job attitudes. Guided by self-determination theory and the criminal justice literature, this study examines the relationship between ranger work motivation and attitudes towards …

The Color Of Disease: Race Science, Pandemic Influenza, And The Rise Of Epidemiology In The Segregated South, Andrew Kishuni

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis evaluates the relationship between race science and eugenics, statistical epidemiology and Southern public health thought, African American health, and the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic. Historians have neglected the flu as an important epidemiological event in Southern history and historiography. To demonstrate the significance of the flu, this thesis makes several arguments based on research from new qualitative and quantitative evidence. The chief argument is that African Americans suffered disproportionately compared to whites in the South, challenging the consensus that the flu affected both races equally. Segregation did not protect African Americans from the flu. In some cases, African Americans …

International Issues In Family Law: An Annotated Bibliography, Allen Rostron

Faculty Works

This bibliography addresses international legal issues that may be of special interest or significance for family law attorneys.

Human Rights & The Rights Of Nature: Friends Or Foes?, Jérémie Gilbert

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Green Public Spaces And Backyard Gardens Amid Covid-19: An Anthropological Study Of Metro-Orlando Gardeners, Chelsea N. Daws

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation critically analyzes home and community gardens within Metro-Orlando by considering the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic impacts residents' garden participation and access to green public spaces. The study utilizes an ethnographic approach to produce informed understandings of participants' experiences within local gardens, alternative food networks, and community supported agriculture analyzed using Marxian theoretical frameworks. Findings are primarily grounded in qualitative information derived from interviews, participant observation, and photovoice. Data were collected both prior to the global COVID-19 outbreak and over subsequent months of lockdown and public health mitigation measures. Primarily focusing on local community garden organizers, community garden …

Understanding Health-Seeking Decision-Making Process And Behavior Among Haitian Immigrants: A Grounded Theory Approach, Shelleta Ladonice

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Black people in the U.S. die at younger ages, have significantly higher rates of death from treatable medical conditions, are more likely to have late-stage breast and colon cancer diagnoses and more likely to die from these cancers, and are at higher risk for chronic illnesses compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Accessing healthcare is crucial to health and well-being; however, U.S. immigrants' use of healthcare services is far less than native-born Americans. Haitian immigrants experience health disparities at the highest rate compared to other Black immigrants in the U.S. Given their unique history, culture, and immigration experience, it …

East Marshall Street Well Project: Reparative Work And The Policy For Human Remains, Rome Kamarouthu

East Marshall Street Well Project Symposium Posters

This poster introduces the public to the history of medical exploitation tied to the East Marshall Street Well in the 19 th century, as well as the reparative efforts of the East Marshall Street Well Project, a partnership between VCU and a community group known as the Family Representative Council. It stresses that the Family Representative Council has called upon VCU to bury the remains found in the well, as well as to support research and memorialization efforts. The poster highlights the work of student fellows in fulfilling those recommendations, specifically in conducting and processing oral history interviews, and in …

Empowering Diverse Learners: A Comprehensive Approach To Differentiated Instruction (Di) And Culturally Responsive Teaching (Crt), Sujeong Lee

Education | Graduate Culminating Projects

Empowering Diverse Learners: A Comprehensive Approach to Differentiated Instruction (DI) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) explores the integration of DI and CRT to create inclusive and equitable educational environments. This project aims to transform classrooms into spaces celebrating students' cultural heritage and addressing diverse learning needs. The primary objectives are to develop inclusive classroom activities, curate practical resources, and design professional development modules. A central feature of this project is the interactive Padlet, "Teacher's Hub: Effective Teaching Resources", which provides a dynamic platform for educators to access and share valuable resources, lesson plans, and strategies for implementing DI …

Bs Engineering Technology, Technical 2024-25, Arkansas State University - Jonesboro

Bachelor of Science and Education

Technical Studies Emphasis

Legacy Everlasting: How The 1993 Waco Siege Became A Symbolic Rallying Cry For The American Far Right Decades Later, Dominic Chiappone

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Towards Unleashing The Potential Of Ai In Education; Exploring Educators' Perceptions And Practices In Tanzania (The Case Study Of Two Districts In Coastal Region, Tanzania)., Luciana Marwa Hanson

Master of Education

As AI adoption in education progresses globally, understanding educators' viewpoints is crucial for effective integration in specific contexts like Tanzania. This study was an exploration of the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, focusing on the Tanzanian context. It aimed to understand educators' perceptions and practices regarding AI integration in education. The research objectives include exploring the potential benefits and challenges of AI integration, as well as understanding educators' attitudes and intentions toward AI adoption. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model, the study utilized a qualitative case study approach involving interviews, FGDS, and observations with 10 students, 10 educators …

Judgmental Perspectives/Perceptions Of Foreign Languages/Foreign Language Speakers, Katherine Miles

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.