Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Innovating Chinese Folklore: The Modernization Of The Eight Immortals Through Illustration And Licensing, Xiaodi Zhang

Theses - ALL

This thesis explores the traditional Chinese folk story "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" and its related works, aiming to identify strategies for the preserving and advancing this folk-art form. The initial focus of this thesis is to analyze the folktale "The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea," which involves a description of each of the Immortals, their distinct personalities, and their individual magical objects. Through the analysis of artistic works associated with this folk tale, this thesis reveals the potential of integrating them with modern technologies and reimagining the characters, resulting in consistently generating engaging artworks. This approach effectively facilitates the …

Masters Abroad, Sebastian Chavez

Capstone Collection

The research focuses on gaining the perspective and experience of students attaining a master’s degree abroad. The overall study is to answer the following questions: 1) What is the reasoning behind gaining a master’s degree abroad? 2) What kind of impact does a master’s degree have on the identity of students? 3) How might a master’s abroad experience aid international relations? Among the key findings, specifically, students’ main incentives ranged from career development in wanting to advance career objectives or real-world experiences of living and adapting to a new cultural environment. Following identity transformation, students experienced self-growth or discovered new …

Opportunity Discrimination: Resettlement Efforts Made By Ngos In The United States, Sarah Rauf

Capstone Collection

Social identity plays a key aspect in life. This research tests whether homogeneity between refugees and their host communities correlates to the immigration process and resettlement success. The analysis helps form a conclusion that people want to help those who look like themselves before those who appear more foreign. This is related to the central theories of social identity and prejudice stemming from stereotyping. Data collection comes from interviews with staff at a number of NGOs in the United States. The immigration and resettlement policies of these NGOs have been researched, and members were interviewed on the reformation of their …

International K-12 Schools Seeking U.S. Accreditation: An Analysis Of The Rationales Involved In Earning Accreditation Through The Western Association Of Schools And Colleges, Kerri Knapp

Capstone Collection

The international K-12 school market is growing fast, and new international schools are opening every year. Hundreds of those international K-12 schools seek out accreditation to help validate their institution’s authenticity. Accreditation allows potential students and families to trust that the education provided is legitimate according to a set of principles and standards provided by the accreditation organization. Colleges and universities, particularly those in the United States, where thousands of international students strive to be accepted, typically require students to matriculate from an accredited school. With this market growth comes a need for accountability, and therein lies accreditation. The United …

(Not) Accessing The Castle: Grappling With Secrecy In Research On Security Practices, Lilly P. Muller, Natalie Welfens

Secrecy and Society

This article discusses how to deal with secrecy and limited access in ethnographically inspired research of security fields. Drawing inspiration from recent debates about secrecy in Critical Security Research and from Franz Kafka’s The Castle, we propose to treat access limitations and the secrecy we encounter as methodological tools that provide insights into social relations and power structures of security fields. We develop the argument in two steps. First, we argue for a more fine-grained taxonomy of secrecy, that allows to distinguish between mystery, concealment and the relational dimension of secrecy. Second, we apply the taxonomy to our respective …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Secrecy And Technologies, Clare Stevens, Sam Forsythe

Secrecy and Society

Many scholars have treated the inscrutability of technologies, secrecy, and other unknowns as moral and ethical challenges that can be resolved through transparency and openness. This paper, and the special issue it introduces, instead wants to explore how we can understand the productive, strategic but also emancipatory potential of secrecy and ignorance in the development of security and technologies. This paper argues that rather than just being mediums or passive substrates, technologies are making a difference to how secrecy, disclosure, and transparency work. This special issue will show how technologies and time mediate secrecy and disclosure, and vice versa. This …

The U.S. Government's Global Food Security Strategy And The Effectiveness Of Agriculture-Led Growth Through The Perspectives Of Climate Change And Sustainability, Marcella Mcnerney

Capstone Collection

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Global Food Security Strategy Fiscal Year 2022-2026 addresses food security in developing countries. The U.S. Global Food Security Strategy set forth by USAID lays forth a strategy for increasing food security in twelve targeted low-income and developing nations. How well the USAID policy does this with consideration of climate change, sustainability, and socio-economic well-being is crucial to examine given the fact that climate change impacts and predictions are now affecting food systems at all stages, from growth through production. The following discussion combines elements of a policy brief and research paper to …

Decolonizing Wash Practices Between National Policies & International Standards: A Case Study In Tanzania, Mary Thibodeau

Capstone Collection

The international community has developed guidelines and standards for the maintenance of water and sanitation (WASH) in states from the end of the 20th century to present and have often been criticized for their lack of contextual adaptations in the standards that states are expected to implement universally. The research explored how international standards on WASH have applied decolonized methods of interventions to guide the development of culturally relevant national policies. Tanzania was chosen as a case study to conduct a comprehensive review of the states’ integration of international standards within their policies through a decolonial perspective. The study included …

No Integration Without Employment: Asylum-Seekers In Serbia And Their Search For Employment, Jona Block

Capstone Collection

Employment is traditionally viewed as an integral component of refugee integration. Previous research suggests that for refugees, employment benefits psychological well-being, provides economic security, and develops social networks. The current research explores the dynamic between integration and employment for asylum-seekers and refugees in Serbia. It seeks to understand the difficulties these displaced populations face finding employment and why they remain in a country which is traditionally viewed as a transit country into the European Union. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured, qualitative interviews with asylum-seekers, refugees, and Key Informants in Serbian CSOs (Civil Society Organizations). The data shows that employment …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Using Point-Of-View Video Modeling On Mathematics Improvement In Students With Learning Disabilities In Saudi Arabia, Tirad Alsaluli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video Modeling (VM) is one of the most widely used approaches by researchers to improve many skills, such as academic skills in students with Learning Disabilities (LD; Boon et al., 2020). As the incidence rate of individuals with LD in Saudi Arabia increase (Almedlij & Rubinstein-Ávila, 2018), the need for evidence-based math interventions focused on the math development of individuals with LD also increases. Although VM is recognized as an Evidence-based Practice (EBPs), a limited number of studies have implemented VM as an intervention to improve mathematic skills. Implementing VM as a math intervention strategy would explore its effects on …

Hoping As A Transformational Imperative In Puerto Rico: A Phenomenological And Grounded Theory Study Within Colonized Space, José Luiggi-Hernández

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the United States continues to restrict Puerto Rico’s self-determination and imposes oppressive institutions such as the Oversight Board, the people of the archipelago live in precarity and hopelessness. Limited psychological research on colonialism has focused on the detrimental impact of oppression and its influence on the development of fatalism and the inferiority complex. On the other hand, existing psychological theories of hope fail to describe how it is lived within the post-colonial context and to explain the ways in which this psychological phenomenon arises even in the face of systematic dehumanization. As Puerto Ricans show evident signs of hope …

Do Men Strategically Leverage Women's Intersecting Identities? Intersectional Symbolic Inclusion As An Electoral Competition Strategy In Polarized Turkey, Elif Sari Genc

Dissertations and Theses

Do party elites use intersectionality as an electoral competition strategy? In this dissertation, I study this question in the context of mayoral elections in Turkey by focusing on the competition between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the People's Republican Party (CHP). Examining the gender and religious orientation of candidates from these parties, local variations in party affiliations, and partisan polarization that is decisive in vote choice at the district level, I argue that the Islamist AKP strategically selects secular-appearing women to leverage their intersecting identities in races where secularist partisan polarization against this party is high.

Drawing on …

Migrant And Refugee Women: A Case For Community Leadership, Whitney Mcintyre Miller, Rabab Atwi

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"The current paper posits that forced migration, as seen as a movement through a liminal space, provides the opportunity for refugee women to build upon their resilience and create social capital to find new ways and spaces to engage in community leadership. Escalating conflict in different parts of the world has led millions of people to flee their homelands in search of safety and protection. Based on recent statistics shared by the World Bank, more than 100 million people were forcibly displaced by May 2022, and two-thirds of the world's poor population is expected to live in settings dominated by …

Responsible Data Science For Genocide Prevention, Victor Piercey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The term "genocide" emerged out of an effort to describe mass atrocities committed in the first half of the 20th century. Despite a convention of the United Nations outlawing genocide as a matter of international law, the problem persists. Some organizations (including the United Nations) are developing indicator frameworks and “early-warning” systems that leverage data science to produce risk assessments of countries where conflict is present. These tools raise questions about responsible data use, specifically regarding the data sources and social biases built into algorithms through their training data. This essay seeks to engage mathematicians in discussing these concerns.

Equalizing Community Voice In An International Service-Learning Project: A Narrative Inquiry Of A Social Entrepreneurial Peruvian Women's Group, Monica D. Hernandez

Theses & Dissertations

Traditionally, international service-learning (ISL) programs are created and led by host groups, which frequently overlook the international communities’ learning process and perspectives and the long-term impact of service missions on the community. Fundamentally, ISL is meant to address community needs. With the principal focus being on enriching students’ learning, community voice is often eclipsed. The research aim was to investigate the empowerment and efficacy of an ISL project to strengthen relationships between engaged scholars and international communities and improve future service-learning trips. Using a qualitive narrative research design, I investigated a 2021-2022 ISL Based Photovoice Project applying Kolb’s Experiential Learning …

Choosing Sides: Military Behavior In Severely Polarized Democracies, Timothy W. Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why does severe polarization result in military intervention in some cases but not others? I argue that the organizational culture unique to a particular military plays a critical role in influencing behavioral outcomes in severely polarized democracies. When faced with sovereign power disputes that arise as a result of severe polarization, military organizations are most likely to develop new strategies of action from the dominant practices, norms, and ideas of military leaders. Severe polarization presents a unique threat to civil-military relations and provides the type of unsettled social periods in which cultural ideologies express an observable influence on military behavior. …

Smu Redefines Lifelong Learning With Innovative Stackable, Applied Industry Practice Master, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University (SMU) will soon introduce a new educational offering – Industry Practice Master programme (行业实践硕士课程) – through its professional training arm, SMU Academy. For a start, SMU Academy will offer the Industry Practice Master of Digital Economy with two track specialisations - Data Protection and Data Governance, and Digital Supply Chain and Intelligence. SMU is the first university in Singapore to launch a stackable postgraduate programme that focuses on practical application. The programme also stands out for its emphasis on flexible learning, personalised learning, integrated SMU-employer partnership, and experiential and work-based learning; furthermore, lifelong learning coaches will also …

Civilizational Security: Why The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Shows That ‘National Security’ Is Not Enough To Understand Geopolitics, Greg (Grzegorz) Lewicki

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper argues that the idea of “national security” is sometimes overwritten by “civilizational security” in security-related considerations. Civilizational security, as understood in this paper, refers to a country's security stemming from its belonging to a cultural zone or a civilization. The author clarifies the terms “a civilization,” “civilizational identity,” and “civilizational security.” Citing the examples of Poland, Ukraine, and Russia when considering the parameter of civilizational security allows us to better analyze and predict some processes, including geopolitical dilemmas and civilizational trends. It is argued that prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia misunderstood its own civilizational security …

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

Claude-Henri, Comte de Saint-Simon, a father of modern sociology, observed that the history of the world alternated between two poles: organic periods (in which the social and political institutions are in harmony with the state of civilization), followed by critical periods, which are transitional and marked by conflict and destructive criticism.

Rector's Welcome, Robert Kosowski Phd

Comparative Civilizations Review

With immense pleasure, we welcome the beginning of cooperation of the War Studies University with the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC). As an Organizing Partner of the 2023 ISCSC annual conference entitled "Civilizational Security", we will facilitate solutions to make the conference impactful, memorable and internationally fruitful.

Here, There, And In-Between: On The Civilizing Process And Civilizational Analysis, Michael Palencia-Roth

Comparative Civilizations Review

This essay presents a cautionary tale about certain problems with systematization and abstraction in comparative civilizational studies. It advocates instead for the analysis of single works, limited events, or particular figures, within larger issues pertaining to what is understood as a “civilization” or “culture”. It prioritizes certain aspects of the civilizing process: the here, or the civilizing and interpretive gaze; the there, or the Other that is the object of that gaze; and the in-between. It further suggests that insights and methods from Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans-Georg Gadamer and others from the humanities, social sciences, and philosophy can …

The Applicability Of Lessons From American Society For The European Union: Tolerance, Demographic Change, And Social Structure, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

While Americans have long tended to see our society and civilization as exceptional, in fact the civilization is primarily based on European precedent. We see ourselves, in the words of one of our most significant poets, Emma Lazarus, as the new colossus, “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp cries she... I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” We claim to be an exception; that means that we are unique, different, what many, alluding to the New Testament as viewed by the Pilgrim founding fathers, have called “a shining city upon a hill.”2 And as “a beacon of hope.”

The Economic Regions Of Chinese Civilization: A Gis-Based Analysis Of Grain Markets In China, 1736-1842, Karl Ryavec, Mark Henderson, Rocco Bowman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Philip Ball. The Water Kingdom: A Secret History Of China, Robert Bedeski

Comparative Civilizations Review

Over centuries scores of sinologists have sought to define the essence of China. Philip Ball addresses and goes well beyond the materialist paradigm of Karl Wittfogel’s hydraulic thesis, which described the role of water management in China as stimulating state development. In his theory, government emerged as the central institution to manage transportation, flood control and irrigation. Ball also sees water management as critical in Chinese civilization and injects his description with spiritual and moral content, drawing on poetry, art, biography and extensive reference to historical events. His book is an exploration of the role of water in China’s culture, …

Global Security In The Third Millennium Of The Common Era, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

The primary purpose of this short essay is to catalyze discussion among security professionals about how perspectives on ‘global security’ and ‘wise civilizations’ might affect military affairs during a time of great, interdisciplinary stresses that impact everyone on earth today.

Global civilization faces two main existential threats this century. The first is a quick death from general thermonuclear war or release of other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) like exotic, genetically engineered biological weapons. The second is a slow death from incremental destruction of the living system that supports all civilizations, wise or unwise, by mechanisms like deforestation, desertification, climate …

Book Review: Steven Sabol. The Touch Of Civilization: Comparing American And Russian Internal Colonization, Robert Bedeski

Comparative Civilizations Review

America and Russia are derivative civilizations from the same Greco-Roman source, with very different results. After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, Russia proclaimed itself to be the Third Rome as it lifted the Tatar yoke. Although the U.S. did not become a country for another three centuries, the colonial experience and culture remained closer to England’s – a nation proudly conscious of its lineage.

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Analysis Of Extended Producer Responsibility (Epr) For E-Waste Management Policy Drivers And Challenges In Singapore, Aldy Gunawan, Tasaporn Visawameteekul, Aidan Marc Wong, Linh Chi Tran

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper examines Singapore’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for managing e-waste, focusing on policy drivers, challenges, and young consumers’ attitudes through an online survey. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), it models the relationships between awareness, norms, and perceived convenience. Findings emphasize the need for tailored policies, formal recycling promotion, and analysis of disposal factors, cost preferences, and incentives. Text analysis also highlights concerns from respondents’ recommendations.

Neighbourhood Satisfaction And Networks Among Older Adults In Singapore, Rachel Ngu, Micah Tan, William Tov

ROSA Research Briefs

The built and social environment surrounding one’s place of residence is an important factor that shapes well-being and quality of life. This is especially so for older adults as their sphere of mobility decreases and their functional capacity may decline as they age, making their immediate environment more vital in shaping their lives. Studies have established the importance and impact of the physical environment on health and well-being of older adults across various communities (Addae-Dapaah 2008; Alidoust and Bosman 2015; Gale et al. 2011; Oswald et al. 2007). A study on older adults in Singapore found that living environment and …

Key Determinants Of Life Satisfaction In Older Adults, Barry Nuqoba, Yi Wen Tan, Yen Cong Wong, Wensi Lim

ROSA Research Briefs

Life satisfaction constitutes a fundamental facet of wellbeing, exerting an influence on an individual's mental and emotional state (Zissi & Barry, 2006). Among older adults, elevated levels of life satisfaction are frequently linked to a more optimistic outlook, contributing to improved health and resilience (Khodabakhsh, 2022; Zheng, Huang, & Fu, 2020). This in turn enhances societal involvement, both in the professional and social domains (Khodabakhsh, 2022). It is also vital to acknowledge that life satisfaction is a multifaceted construct, intricately influenced by an array of external and internal determinants. Life satisfaction is essentially a subjective judgement and assessment of one’s …