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Commencement Program [Spring 2023], Clark University

Commencement Programs

Annual Commencement Program for graduation ceremonies at Clark University, held on May 21st, 2023.

Book Review: Qualitative Studies Of Exploration In Childhood Education: Cultures Of Play And Learning In Transition, Transitions In Childhood And Youth Series By M. Fleer Et Al., Ridhi Sethi

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This review of Qualitative Studies of Exploration in childhood Education: Cultures of Play and Learning in Transition outlines the manner in which chapters in the book use qualitative data to inform understandings of how culture affects children’s development. With little research on how play and culture affect the wellbeing of children, this book fills the void. It uses data qualitatively and answers the how and why about play and transitions. The review also looks at how the book informs my work as a developmental psychologist, and some of the book’s limitations or omissions.

Racism Without Race: The Racialization Of Middle Eastern And North African Students At U.S. Colleges, Hannah Mesouani

Dissertations

Although a growing body of literature covers the experiences of international students at U.S. colleges, the stories of those who do not fit into the U.S. racial schema remain untold. This study examined how Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students understood their racial identities given the United States’ tense history with Islam and the MENA world. Using foundational texts on critical race theory, current scholarship on Arab Americans and foreign-born students, and facets of the Ethnic Identity Scale (EIS), this study examined the experiences of MENA students who study amid a national backdrop of xenophobia and racialized Islamophobia. This …

Safeguarding From Scrutiny: Toward A Critical Consciousness Of Organizational Culture In Humanitarian Ngos, Andrew Henck

Dissertations

Humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (HNGOs) face a moment of reckoning brought on by decades of operational complexity and conceptual tensions between self-espoused values and external pressures as social change movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter demand organizational accountability. Humanitarian aid is being questioned systematically as most HNGOs continue reconciling with their colonialist origin stories from the Global North. Alongside a shrinking British foreign aid budget, and mounting pressures for proving value for money, HNGOs face a record number of natural disasters, energy crises, armed conflicts, and other major emergencies to respond to across the globe.

As the British aid sector …

How Exemplary Chief Nurse Executives Utilize The Six Domains Of Conflict Transformational Strategies To Establish Common Ground And Produce Breakthrough Results, Michael Thompson

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological method study was to identify and describe strategies that exemplary chief nurse executive leaders use to identify and establish common grounds to produce breakthrough results in healthcare by using the six domains of transformational conflict strategies: collaboration, communication, emotional intelligence, ethical behaviors, problem solving, and shared interest.

Methodology: As a part of the thematic phenomenological study, the research identified and described the lived experiences of eight exemplary chief nurse executive leaders in health care who used conflict transformational strategies to find common ground to produce breakthrough results. The target population for the study included …

Retrospective Assessment Of A Collaborative Digital Asthma Program For Medicaid-Enrolled Children In Southwest Detroit: Reductions In Short-Acting Beta-Agonist (Saba) Medication Use, Meredith Barrett, Rahul Gondalia, Vy Vuong, Leanne Kaye, Alex B. Hill, Elliot Attisha, Teresa Holtrop

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

Background
Real-world evidence for digitally-supported asthma programs among Medicaid-enrolled children remains limited. Using data from a collaborative quality improvement program, we evaluated the impact of a digital intervention on asthma inhaler use among children in southwest Detroit.

Methods
Children (6–13 years) enrolled with Kids Health Connection (KHC), a program involving home visits with an asthma educator, were invited to participate in a digital self-management asthma program (Propeller Health). Patients were provided with a sensor to capture short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) medication use, and given access to a paired mobile app to track usage. Patients’ healthcare providers and caregivers (“followers”) were invited …

Grief Web, Patricia M. Fong

Honors Projects

The grief web project is an attempt to respond to death. To become responseable — responsible and able to respond — within the deathzone: where the living and the dying meet, where we live on after they die, where their deaths make our lives possible. I grieve for all beings who have been made ungrievable, for all who die before their time, for all our dead and dying kin and kin of kin. In particular, I mourn for childhood friends who have been killed in my neighborhood, for species made extinct by climate change and capitalism, for my three grandmothers …

Immigration Policy After Covid-19 And Cultural Resistance At The U.S.-Mexico Border, Grace Ayres-Doyle

Senior Theses

What I examine here is how the global COVID-19 pandemic altered asylum and refugee responsibility among Global North countries. In particular, I look at cultural responses to restrictive pandemic policies which speak to the level of intensity of the current humanitarian crisis at the United States southern border with Mexico. The US-Mexico border functions well as a case study because of its highly publicized and discussed nature, along with the strong influence held by the US over the rest of the world. The cultural moment surrounding Title 42 and other pandemic policies represents a shift in public recognition of the …

Economicdevelopment In The Postcolonial And Postwar Era In East Asia: A Comparison Of Taiwan And South Korea, Eliot R. Johnston

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the postwar political economy of South Korea and Taiwan, aiming to find how Taiwan achieved higher GDP per capita and lower corruption perception than South Korea when both countries carried out similar policies as they developed their economies. By comparing a historical overview of policy and outcome and taking economic measures, the thesis seeks to find a method that could be applied to other developing countries. Though the measurements used were insufficient to prove analysis, enough was found to give plausible suggestions for the difference in the outcome, such as the South Korean reliance on mega conglomerates …

Cultural Erasure For Nationality Stability: Constructions Of Uyghur And Hui Self-Identity, Maya Fatima Snowden

Senior Theses

The Chinese Communist Party enforces state stability through replacing ethnic heritage with nationalist loyalty, a unique form of cultural erasure that equates national unity with the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the Han majority. This government policy is exemplified by the variance in governmental policy concerning the Uyghurs of Xinjiang, and the Hui-minzu throughout China. Both groups share an Islamic faith and history, yet the Uyghurs incur cultural restriction and surveillance while the Hui do not. Such creates a paradox of inclusion, where the Chinese Communist Party grants the Hui larger freedoms in religious and cultural expression, while simultaneously encroaching …

Watering The Grassroots: The Importance Of A Comprehensive Approach To Conflict In The Sahel, Chanelle A. Dortch

Senior Theses

The withdrawal of French troops from Mali in August 2021 has revealed massive structural problems with crisis intervention and conflict mitigation in Africa. The purpose of this research is to reveal how foreign intervention in the Sahel has failed to stabilize the region in the face of mounting political, socioeconomic, and environmental crises. This paper examines Mali and France, two countries that are centered in crisis in the Sahel, and how the politics of intervention have resulted in the current situation. While the crisis in the Sahel does not yet have a clear result, this project seeks to contextualize current …

The Connection Between Colorism And White Supremacy: Colorism As A Tool Of White Supremacy In The Contemporary Age In The United States And Puerto Rico, Taylor Nicole Bell

Senior Theses

As the world moves into a perceived post-racial era, it is important to acknowledge and understand the existing presence and strength of white supremacy. While outright expressions of racism become less acceptable, people of color continue to face discrimination in multiple facets of their lives. One way to preserve and strengthen white supremacy in the modern age is through color-based discrimination or colorism. Across the globe, people of a lighter complexion, or those in closer proximity to whiteness, experience privileges and better treatment than those of a darker complexion. My thesis aims to argue that colorism in the modern age …

Epidemiology Of Island And Mainland Populations: How Does Culture Influence Health Risk Factors Of Non-Communicable, Chronic, And Metabolic Diseases?, Jake Thomas D. Palisoc

Honors Projects

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including chronic and metabolic diseases, are responsible for 74% of global mortality and are strongly influenced by health risk factors. Geographical differences in NCDs have been identified in several countries but have not been completely explained through cultural factors, specifically island and mainland cultures. This study aimed to develop an epidemiological framework for determining diseases with the highest mortality for further investigation regarding different health risk factors rooted in a specific population’s cultural foundations. Preliminary findings indicated diabetes type II (D2) and CKD caused by hypertension and D2 to have the highest risk factor and mortality percentage …

Bone Flute:Exploring Voices From The Margins Of Entrepreneurship With Expressive Therapies, Cherith A. Pedersen

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The problem under investigation is the lived experiences of marginalized entrepreneurs in Barbados. The group of entrepreneurs being explored have been marginalized culturally, institutionally, and resourcefully. The research questions were: How do marginalized entrepreneurs experience business-related encounters due to their identity? How does their identity and use of their “voice” in business situations, position them as businesspersons? Can photography illustrate how they see themselves as businesspersons? There were eight participants in the study, who ranged in age from 18 to 69 years. They were three females and five males who belonged to diverse marginalized identities such as a single mother, …

Social Creatures: The Impact Of Solitary Confinement On Psychophysiological Health And How Inmates Percieve Their Humanity And Social Well-Being, Julia Austin

Honors Projects

This paper will define and examine the use of solitary confinement within the United States prison system and review its mental, physical, and social impacts. As social creatures, human mental and physical well-being depends on meaningful social interactions absent in segregation units. As it currently stands, vulnerable populations, including racial minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and those with developmental disabilities or psychological disorders, are at risk of irrevocable harm and abuse within these facilities from staff as well as other inmates. With a rotating 80,000 inmates held in solitary confinement every day, the current structure of the prison system deemphasizes rehabilitation and …

Ocean Circulation And Biological Processes Drive Seasonal Variations Of Dissolved Al, Cd, Ni, Cu, And Zn On The Northeast Atlantic Continental Margin, Xue Gang Chen, Dagmara Rusiecka, Martha Gledhill, Angela Milne, Amber L. Annett, Antony J. Birchill, Maeve C. Lohan, Simon Ussher, E. Malcolm S. Woodward, Eric P. Achterberg

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Nutrients and nutrient-like dissolved trace metals (dTMs) are essential for the functioning of marine organisms and therefore form an important part of ocean biogeochemical cycles. Here, we report on the seasonal distributions of dissolved zinc (dZn), nickel (dNi), copper (dCu), cadmium (dCd), aluminum (dAl), and nutrients on the Northeast Atlantic continental margin (Celtic Sea), which is representative for temperate shelf seas globally. Variations in surface water dTM and nutrient concentrations were mainly regulated by seasonal changes in biological processes. The stoichiometry of dTMs (especially for dCu and dZn) and nutrients on the continental shelf was additionally affected by fluvial inputs. …

Investment Without Displacement: A Study Of The Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors Initiative In East Oakland, Jeremy Mack

Master's Projects and Capstones

This Capstone interrogates the teleology of neoliberal community development – does investment in historically disinvested working-class urban neighborhoods inevitably lead to gentrification? Learning from the Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors Initiative (BNSN) in Deep East Oakland as a case study, the Capstone uses a Transformative Justice (TJ) framework to make the case for an ethical approach to community development: one in which working-class urban residents are the authors and architects of their own neighborhood’s future, community needs are centered, and long-term residents are able to continue to age-in place. This approach utilizes the lens of Black-centered community development, integrating an understanding …

Toward Mutual Recognition: An Investigation Of Oral Tradition Evidence In The United States And Canada, Kalae Trask

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

United States (“U.S.”) courts have long failed to recognize the value of oral traditional evidence (“OTE”) in the law. Yet, for Indigenous peoples, OTE forms the basis of many of their claims to place, property, and political power. In Canada, courts must examine Indigenous OTE on “equal footing” with other forms of admissible evidence. While legal scholars have suggested applying Canadian precedent to U.S. law regarding OTE, scholarship has generally failed to critically examine the underlying ethos of settler courts as a barrier to OTE admission and usefulness. This essay uses the work of political philosopher, James Tully, …

Comparing Probabilistic Planning Success On Three Types Of Robots: Wheeled, Legged, And Underwater, Daniel Griessler, Josias Moukpe, Braidan Duffy, Akil Hosang, Blake Janes, Omar Jebari, Kourtnee Fernalld, Erbene De Castro, Humberto Rivera, William Stern, Badria Alfurhood, Akram Alghanmi, Marius Silaghi

Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics

We compare the relevance of POMDP graphical models to addressing a given common task, the autonomous navigation, in mobile robotics, for robots in three different environments: legged walking, wheeled, and underwater robots. Principled approaches to the implementation of Intelligent robots in realistic environments with uncertainty exploit probabilistic models. The use of graphical models increases tractability and verifiability of probabilistic reasoning. Our robots face similar localization problems of passing by three doors on a corridor in a building, respectively, for the underwater case, of passing by three barrels in a pool. All the three robots are equipped solely with noisy sonars …

Exploring The Impact Of Community Engaged Work Through Arts-Baws Methods With Child, Youth, And Family Studies Practicum Students, Community Partners, And Community Members With Staci B. Martin, Staci B. Martin

PDXPLORES Podcast

In this episode of PDXPLORES, Staci B. Martin, Assistant Professor of Practice at the School of Social Work, outlines her CERA grant-awarded proposal, Exploring the Impact of Community Engaged Work Through Arts-Based Methods with Child, Youth, and Family Studies Practicum Students, Community Partners, and Community Members, seeking to focus on the impacts of Speaking for Ourselves Action Research methodology at practicum sites, and positioning community members as authorities of their own experiences, further developing their awareness of systemic issues and moving them to social action.

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Understanding The Adversary: Strategic Empathy And Perspective Taking In National Security, Allison Abbe

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

National security practitioners need to understand adversary motives, mindsets, and intentions to anticipate and respond to their actions effectively. Although some authors have argued empathy helps build an understanding of the adversary, research points to its cognitive component of perspective taking as the more appropriate skill for national security practitioners to have. This article synthesizes previous research on the development and application of perspective taking in analysis and decision making and recommends four ways for strategists and practitioners to enhance their ability to gain insight into adversary motives and mindsets.

2023-05-19 Minutes & Appendices, Longwood University

Board of Visitors Meeting Minutes 1964-

No abstract provided.

The Strategic Importance Of Taiwan To The United States And Its Allies: Part One, Luke P. Bellocchi

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article presents four factors to consider in evaluating Taiwan’s strategic importance to the United States and its allies and answers a question often raised at forums concerning the Indo-Pacific: “Why should the United States care” about this small island in the Pacific? The response often given is simply US credibility, and while this is an important factor, this article reviews a wider array of possible factors to consider when answering that question. The study of these factors should assist US military and policy practitioners in accurately evaluating the related strategic environment. Through a survey of official US policy statements …

Assessing The Biking Suitability In National Highways: The Case Of Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, Danica Shine Q. Sagnip, Mark P. De Guzman

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability

The conundrum of the Philippines’ public transportation has been a long- standing issue. With this, the Philippine government has been moving toward more sustainable public transportation systems such as cycling. Culturally and traditionally, cycling has never been mainstreamed or fostered in the country’s public transportation system. However, bicycles were considered an alternate means of transportation in the new normal. Thus, this study assessed if biking would be suitable on national highways, particularly in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. Several factors can influence the use of cycling, such as physical and environmental factors, level of service, and width of inner and outer …

The Performance Of Major Airports In The Europe, North America And Asia, Jae Woo Park, Saeyeon Roh, Hyunmi Jang, Young Joon Seo

Plymouth Business School

Purpose This study aims to provide a meaningful comparison of airports’ performance and better understand the differences observed in the analysed airport performance by presenting a model to analyse the relationship between operational and financial performance and airport characteristics. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative analysis approach. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and entropy weight were utilised to analyse 17 airports in three Airports Council International regions: Asia, Europe and North America. Through operational and financial factors, these sample airports identified the most efficiently operated airports from 2016 to 2019. Findings Overall, Asian airports …

Taiwan’S Food Resiliency—Or Not—In A Conflict With China, Gustavo F. Ferreira, Jamie A. Critelli

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The US military, intelligence, and diplomatic communities have overlooked a key vulnerability in their assessment of a military conflict between China and Taiwan—Taiwan’s growing reliance on agricultural imports and its food stocks (except for rice) that could endure trade disruptions for only six months. This article assesses Taiwan’s agricultural sector and its ability to feed the country’s population if food imports and production are disrupted by a military conflict with China or a naval blockade imposed by the People’s Liberation Army Navy; identifies the food products that should be prioritized in resupply operations, based on Taiwan's nutritional needs and domestic …

Criminal Injustice: An Examination Of Racial Profiling And Discriminatory Police Practices In Canada And The United States, Patricia Advincula

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The Black Lives Matter movement swept across the United States after the murders of black people at the hands of law enforcement. Not fully acknowledged in the media are the police brutality cases that have also occurred in Canada, a country that prides itself on tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. Police brutality is an unfortunate reality that stems from racial profiling, one of the many symptoms of historically oppressive institutions. In this paper, I will examine police coercion and racial profiling in Canada and the United States. This paper will employ a theoretical framework of conflict theory and minority threat hypothesis …

Caring For Rural Hispanic/Latinx Foster Youth: Cultural Competency And Providers Of Foster Youth Mental Health Services, Vidal Salgado Gonzalez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Hispanic/Latinx cultural competency is desperately needed in our child welfare system. Hispanic/Latinx is the largest population in the California foster care system, 48.6% of California’s total foster care population (Population Reference Bureau 2021). There is a lack of cultural competency in the workforce available to address their specific mental health needs. A particular need and opportunity for improvement in the foster care system would be a commitment by public providers to make cultural competency a foundational workforce requirement. In this capstone thesis paper, I have investigated how public providers can recruit and retain a diverse and culturally competent workforce and …

Offshore Wind Energy And Seabird Collision Vulnerability In California, Whitney Grover

Master's Projects and Capstones

California has ambitious clean energy goals designed to help mitigate the worst outcomes of climate change. Offshore wind is an important part of the solution to meet California’s clean energy goals, but has potential negative impacts on the marine environment. As offshore wind energy is new to California, this paper reviews and synthesizes existing literature from other parts of the world, looking at the real and theoretical risk of seabird collision with offshore wind turbines. Learnings from existing offshore wind projects in the U.K. as well as theoretical and modeled risk assessments are applied to California’s plans to determine the …

Assessing Equity Of Green Infrastructure Strategies To Address Heat Vulnerability In Los Angeles Sustainable City Planning, Sophia N. La Herran

Master's Projects and Capstones

Urbanization has brought about many undesirable environmental changes, with extreme heat and urban heat island (UHI) effect being some of the most significant. In addition to the challenge of UHI effect and increase of extreme heat events, heat also disproportionately affects different types of urban populations with higher populations of minority and low-income residents, who are more exposed and have limited capacity to adapt to extreme. The increased vulnerability to heat faced by socially vulnerable communities can be linked to the inequalities in neighborhood level exposure to extreme heat events, underlying health conditions, workplace conditions, housing quality, and other lasting …