Digital Commons Network^™

Revitalizing Rural Grocery Stores In Northern New Mexico: A Community Handbook, Emily Arasim

Student Publications

Rural grocery stores are cornerstone institutions that are central to the health and well-being of their communities - not only providing food, but also serving as spaces of economic development, cultural and historic preservation, social connection, and resilience. In response to the loss of many rural stores over recent decades, the ‘Revitalizing Rural Grocery Stores in Northern New Mexico’ handbook brings together community histories, political analysis, and practical strategies to support their protection and resurgence. The handbook shares findings on the multi-faceted importance of rural grocery stores and the causal factors in their loss; maps and photographs documenting the condition …

Think Piece: Urban Echoes: How The New Historiography On Cities Is Reframing Our Understanding Of Mao’S China, Taoyu Yang

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Despite the conventional portrayal of the Chinese revolution as a predominantly peasant-oriented movement, cities emerged as critical arenas for the Chinese Communist Party’s project of modernization and class restructuring during Maoist period (1949–1976). Over the past decade, scholarly attention has increasingly turned to the urban dimensions of the early years of the People’s Republic. This think piece addresses how recent scholarship on cities offers new analytical insights into our understanding of Maoist China by focusing on six recently published monographs. Themes to be discussed in this essay include the contested and evolving notion of socialist modernity, the transformative effects of …

The Communal Ethos Of The Mennonite Central Committee: Testing The Bounds Of Community In Kenya, Emily Welty

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

Apocalyptic Redemption And Utopian Resignation: How Visions Of Dystopia Made Community Impossible In Jonestown, Morgan Shipley

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

The Shadow Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On State Comprehensive Universities, Rachel Dolechek, Latisha Haag, Kylie Jank

Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the State Comprehensive University

Collegiate faculty at state comprehensive universities (SCU) have an opportunity to reflect on and learn from Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) and Remote Hybrid Teaching (RHT) experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and apply the lessons learned to future emergency or crisis situations. This paper focuses on the shadow of COVID-19 and offers insight into building a learning environment that maintains academic design and prepares for the possibility of ERT or RHT, as well as the increased demand for hybrid courses. Findings from an explanatory, mixed-methods study at an SCU suggest a lack of teaching presence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on …

The Rider (2025-11-03), Daniela Martinez Salazar

The Rider Archives

Vol. 11, No. 10

Struggle For Economic Plurality; Economies Of Belonging: Subsistence, Indigneity, And The Contradictions And Margins Of Capitalism In The Andean Highlands, Mario Renato Cavani Quevedo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the collective-oriented economy of the Viacha Highlands, a Quechua community in Cusco, Peru, to show how subsistence agriculture, reciprocity, and ritual practices constitute a coherent non-capitalist system of provisioning and belonging. Drawing on one year of ethnographic immersion, the study situates Viacha’s economy within the Community Economies framework, foregrounding its three commitments: anti- essentialism, pluriversality, and ethical–political praxis. Findings reveal that practices such as ayni-ayni (reciprocal labor exchange) and faina (communal work) resist reduction to wage labor, coexist alongside monetary and capitalist dynamics, and ground social reproduction in responsibility and care. At the same time, capitalist schooling, …

Roots Of Care, Wings Of Learning: Protecting And Prioritizing Wellbeing In Education, Rajni Shankar-Brown

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Journal

No abstract provided.

Starting An Equine-Assisted Services Program, Makenna L. Pahlke

All Current Publications

Starting an equine-assisted services (EAS) program requires more than just access to horses and a passion for helping others. This fact sheet outlines the key considerations for communities and individuals interested in developing safe, sustainable, and impactful equine-assisted programs.

Collaborative Opportunity: Growing A Community Around Integrated Engineering, Rebecca Bates, Emanuela Tilley, Jenna Carpenter, Susan Lord

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

Integrated Engineering is emerging across the world. One commonality among programs is a desire to innovate in ways not seen as possible within traditional engineering disciplines. The inclusive pedagogical approaches seen in integrated engineering programs offer promise for truly transforming engineering education. These student-centered approaches align with caring pedagogies and provide sustainable infrastructure for supporting diverse student experiences. Innovation in engineering education can be challenging to implement and can be challenging to sustain. Community support can make a positive difference. Building on a series of community conversations at multiple international conferences as well as an international symposium in London during …

Upcycled And Rightful: Navigating Trademark Law And The Circular Economy, Irene Calboli, Gabrielle Armstrong

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article elaborates on the practice of upcycling and argues that upcycling should be considered a lawful practice under current trademark rules in the United States. Upcycling is the process of taking existing products lawfully sold on the market, in most instances, used products, and giving these products a second life by adding additional elements and decorations or by using the still viable product parts to create new products altogether. Because of its focus on reusing existing products or product parts, the practice of upcycling has become increasingly popular, also because it promotes circular and environmentally friendly production practices. However, …

Prahita, Power, And Partnership (Ppp) : Navigating Community-Based Welfare And Clientelism In Myanmar’S Poverty Reduction, Comparative Analysis Of Myanmar And Thailand, Mai Tam Aung Seinn

SOC 605 Comparative Social Policy Research Project - Student Works

Myanmar’s persistent poverty has been deeply rooted in its current political unrest, decades of poor governance, and entrenched clientelism – a system where informal patronage networks exchange material benefits for political loyalty, sidelining equitable welfare delivery (Jones, 2014, Berenschot and Mulder, 2019). The serial issues have now developed into a poly-crisis which consists of a confluence of economic collapse, political instability, and disasters like COVID-19, cyclones, earthquakes, and armed conflicts (UNDP, 2025b). Therefore, the study aims to synthesize Myanmar’s complex interplay between grassroots welfare systems, power dynamics, and external partnerships within Myanmar’s fragile context and proposes to comprehensively investigate poverty …

Sharing Leadership In The Context Of Socioeconomic Diversity: Combining Shared Leadership And Socioeconomic Diversity For The Greater Good, Rebekah Dibble, Carlos S. Baradello

American Business Review

Shared leadership involves a collective effort where multiple identities, perspectives, skills, and experiences are incorporated into relational and decision-making processes. As such, we argue that diversity is a critical consideration in the presence of shared leadership. Specifically, we argue that socioeconomic diversity is an important consideration when engaging in collective forms of leadership; nevertheless, organizational research has yet to adequately understand shared leadership in this context. We identify this as a critical gap and draw upon qualitative data in our study of a large non-profit organization in Latin America to extend and develop theory on shared leadership in the context …

Afterword, Kristina A. Hesbol

The Rural Educator

No abstract provided.

A. Saranya, A. Kalavathi And S.Krishnaprakash, Neutrosophic Superhypersoft Sets, Florentin Smarandche

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

Neutrosophic SuperHyperSoft Sets (NSHSS) represent an innovative extension of traditional soft set theory, integrating the principles of Neutrosophy to address uncertainties in decision-making processes. In this study, we recall the NSHSS and establish its foundational principles, including the relationships between various attributes and their corresponding values. The framework facilitates a structured evaluation process, allowing decision-makers to assess multiple proposals based on criteria such as environmental impact, feasibility, community engagement, cost effectiveness, and innovation. Each criterion is categorized into distinct levels, ranging from low to transformative, thereby enabling a nuanced analysis of project proposals. Through illustrative examples and tabular representations, we …

Extremism Governance In The United Arab Emirates: A Case Study Using Qualitative Policy Framework, Haya Saleh Almansoori

Theses

This thesis investigates how the United Arab Emirates governs extremism using various models of governance and Gareth Morgan’s metaphorical organizational models. This research goes beyond a focus on security and looks at extremism as a governance and policy problem related to social cohesion, institutional trust, and legitimacy. The research utilizes a qualitative case study design through analyzing federal laws and national strategies, as well as institutional frameworks to understand how authority, coordination and meaning are organized in the UAE’s governance of extremism.

The results show that the UAE’s governance of extremism is characterized as a hybrid governance model with hierarchical …

Cost-Optimized Energy Management For Urban Multi-Story Residential Buildings With Community Energy Sharing And Flexible Ev Charging, Nishadi Weerasinghe Mudiyanselage, Asma Aziz, Bassam Al-Hanahi, Iftekhar Ahmad

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Multi-story residential buildings present distinct challenges for demand-side management due to shared infrastructure, diverse occupant behaviors, and complex load profiles. Although demand-side management strategies are well established in industrial sectors, their application in high-density residential communities remains limited. This study proposes a cost-optimized energy management framework for urban multi-story apartment buildings, integrating rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, shared battery energy storage, and flexible electric vehicle (EV) charging. A Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is developed to simulate 24 h energy operations across nine architecturally identical apartments equipped with the same set of smart appliances but exhibiting varied usage patterns to …

Understanding Behavioral Patterns: A Case Study Of Emirati Ex-Offenders In United Arab Emirates, Salim Ali Al Naqbi

Theses

Research on desistance has helped criminologists to better understand how people change their criminal identity and exercise personal choice. Yet in the UAE, these ideas has not often been applied to prisoners serving one or multiple offenses, even though incarceration and reoffending remain important social concerns. Because of this, desistance theory has not been fully used to study how rehabilitation is managed in UAE prisons, which means that some useful lessons may be missed. This study begins to close that gap by looking at the personal stories of 15 Emirati participants that were formerly incarcerated by adapting a qualitative and …

Justice Through Proximity: Theoretical Foundations And Practical Applications Of Collaborative Justice, Federica Coppola, Jarrell E. Daniels

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article introduces a collaborative justice framework as a model for addressing crime and reimagining approaches to policymaking and legal education. The framework emphasizes the prevention and resolution of criminal matters through holistic strategies that confront the structural and social determinants of crime and victimization including poverty, systemic inequality, trauma, unjust policies, and institutional neglect while also promoting broader systemic change. At its core is the active engagement between legal system actors especially decisionmakers such as judges, prosecutors, and policymakers and legal system impacted individuals and communities, fostering a more equitable distribution of decisionmaking power between justice providers and justice …

A Conceptual Model For Assessing Environmentally Responsible Practices In Ecological Intentional Communities: Examples From Texas, Usa, Christina W. Lopez, Russell Weaver

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

Behavioural Approach As The Basis Of Traditional Market Redevelopment Strategies, Ajeng Regita Assyifa, Imaniar Sofia Asharhani, Adriyan Kusuma

ARSNET

This design study focuses on the redevelopment of the Kebayoran Lama traditional market using a behavioural approach. Traditional markets hold an important role in the social, economic, and cultural life of urban communities, functioning not only as centres of trade but also as spaces for interaction that shape the city's character. However, rapid urban development often creates challenges for traditional markets, reducing their competitiveness against modern shopping centres.

The study began with direct observation and behavioural mapping activities at the Kebayoran Lama traditional market to understand how traders and visitors interact with the space. Findings show the current layout does …

Spartan Daily, October 29, 2025, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2025

Volume 165, Issue 29

Rewilding The Built Environment: Navigating Economic, Political, And Social Barriers To Urban Ecological Restoration, Carly E. Smith

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Urban rewilding offers a nature-based approach to restoring ecological processes in cities while advancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and public well-being. Unlike conventional green infrastructure, rewilding allows ecosystems to develop with minimal intervention, emphasizing succession, complexity, and long-term adaptability. This paper examines the political, economic, and social factors that frame how rewilding is understood and implemented in urban planning. Governmental frameworks often prioritize order, predictability, and short-term results, making it difficult to accommodate the uncertainty and ecological complexity that rewilding requires. Economic models struggle to capture its long-term value, frequently overlooking ecosystem services or reconciling competing land uses. Social perceptions of …

The Maverick: Woodstock’S Bohemian Art Colony, John P. Murphy

Communal Societies

No abstract provided.

Center For Participatory Research Leads National Efforts In Community-Based Research, Dustin Roberto

HSC Newsroom

Nina Wallerstein, DrPH, is a Distinguished Professor of Public Health and director of the Center for Participatory Research at the University of New Mexico. She has spent more than four decades shifting health research toward community-based participatory research (CBPR). Her work emphasizes partnerships in which communities guide research priorities and retain ownership of findings.The center's work spans Indigenous health, including culturally centered family programs, CBPR, youth participatory action research and co-learning initiatives.

Evaluating Sustainability Research In Argentine Higher Education, María Belén Arias Valle, Frederic Marimon Dr.

Higher Learning Research Communications

This study analyzes the integration of sustainability into the research activities of Argentine higher education institutions (HEIs), both public and private. Through a quantitative approach, 132 HEIs were evaluated regarding the presence of sustainability research lines, the inclusion of this topic in strategic plans, and the existence of specialized institutes and academic publications. The results indicate that only 26% of HEIs have established research lines on sustainability, with greater participation from public universities. However, the overall commitment is uneven, with only 55% of institutions including sustainability in their strategic plans. The limited presence of observatories, specialized journals, and research centers …

Immigrant Catholics’ Perspectives And Engagement On Climate Crisis, Tison Vadakkekudiyil Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In this generic qualitative study, how immigrant Catholics in the United States make sense of climate change and environmental justice was examined, addressing a critical gap in understanding how faith and cultural identity shape environmental engagement among marginalized communities. Guided by sensemaking theory and the Catholic principle of integral ecology, as outlined in Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’, the research question addressed how church-going immigrant Catholics in Maryland perceive and engage with the climate crisis, considering their religious beliefs and concerns for environmental justice. Seventeen first-and second-generation adult immigrants participated in semistructured interviews, and data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s …

Project Cycle Management In Ngos: Challenges And Best Practices, Laurita Morina, Kujtim Zylfijaj

UBT International Conference

Project Cycle Management (PCM) in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is a complex process often accompanied by challenges such as insufficient funding, limited human resources, and difficulties in measuring project impact. The aim of this study is to examine the most common obstacles faced by NGOs in managing projects and to identify effective practices that contribute to better outcomes. The research employed a qualitative approach, with data collected through a semi-structured questionnaire distributed to seven NGOs operating in Kosovo. The questionnaire primarily included open-ended questions designed to capture insights into the main phases of the project cycle: identification, planning, implementation, monitoring, and …

Zine Labs As Centers For Public Interest Communication Design, Mina Bikmohammadi, Abigail Boafo, Ryan Cheek, Rachel M. Schneider, Carleigh J. Davis, Erin Clark

English and Technical Communication Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces Zine Labs (ZLabs) as centers for public-interest communication design that treat as practices that foreground making, collaboration, and community knowledge. Launched in 2024 with multi-institutional support, the project established parallel ZLabs that partner with local artists, libraries, and community groups to run pop-up, hands-on events in flexible, welcoming spaces. We show how ZLabs prioritize process over product, negotiate privacy and anonymity alongside inclusion. We also resist top-down branding so community identities can lead. We report classroom applications, courses in AI, information design, and public writing, where students used zines to connect questions of technology, access, and ethics …

Volume 66-1, May 2025: Complete, Nancy Hoalst Pullen, Mark W. Patterson

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 66-1, May 2025: Complete