Contentions At The Human-Wildlife Interface: An Analysis Of Chicago’S Coyote Management Plan, Ilanah Taves

Sustainability and Social Justice

Urbanization and habitat fragmentation cause animal species to either adjust to human- dominated landscapes or suffer population loss. This paper examines the municipal challenges associated with coyotes, an animal successfully adapting to cities throughout North America. The presence of predators in highly developed areas challenges conceptual and spatial attempts to separate cities from nature. This report’s introductory sections critically examine the alienation of wildlife from the urban form. Theoretical perspectives from the discipline of animal geographies are employed to deconstruct problematic relationships between cities and animals, and reimagine a metropolis that considers the presence of nonhuman others. Engaging Jennifer Wolch’s …

A Moment Became The Season: An Exploration Of Trauma Narrative Within The Community Development Context, Lydia Berry

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research explores current methods of psychological trauma intervention within the community development context, namely the understandings that bound the clinical and diagnostic side of trauma, and the more recent victim centered approach: the trauma informed care method. The shortcomings of these approaches is that they individually lack the ability to establish the victim back into their sense of self or community, accordingly. This research argues that a narrative approach, a process by which a survivor of trauma has full agency to express their experience, used in conjunction with existing practices can rectify the shortcomings of both methods. The researcher …

Inequity In Rebuilding After Disasters, Sara Brown

Sustainability and Social Justice

Natural disasters are becoming more and more frequent. Policies that help rebuild residential areas after disasters need to be equitable. The five residential programs researched are The Road Home Homeowner Assistance Program, The Road Home Small Rental Property Program, LIHTC Piggyback Program, Hazard Mitigation Gram Program, and Non- Profit Rebuilding Pilot Program. Through a case study of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans this research reviews five residential rebuilding programs to see if its goals were written equitably. This research then compares the Lower Ninth Ward with the entire City of New Orleans as well as two other planning …

Asset Assessment For Women: A Case Study Of Imasayi Village In Ogun State, Nigeria & Ngo Development: A Strategic Plan, Olamide Adeyinka

Student Works

This paper presents the findings of an asset assessment performed with women in a village southwest of Nigeria, Imasayi Ogun state. This paper not only describes the process and results of a qualitative study, but also presents the implementation plan for an NGO that will work with the women of Imasayi to implement community-wide development projects. The research upon which this paper is based used the framework of seven capital domains, which are then used in turn to structure findings, recommendations and NGO planning and analysis. For the purpose of this paper, the marketplace is identified as significant for Imasayi’s …

The Latina Women & The Informal Microenterprise, Ivette Olmeda

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

THE LATINA WOMEN & THE INFORMAL MICROENTERPRISE

Ivette Olmeda

The informal economy refers to economic transactions that are not generally recorded through formal business compliance systems such as licensing, taxes, permitting and others. Informal economic activities are primarily completed through cash transactions.

This research explores the perceptions, intentions, and motivations of Latina women to operate informal microenterprises in an open market. The research consisted of interviews with five Latina women from Worcester, Massachusetts to gather information and ultimately understand why they are not entering formal entrepreneurship systems. The interviews supported existing research in which women state that they operate …

Asset Assessment For Women: A Case Study Of Imasayi Village In Ogun State, Nigeria & Ngo Development: A Strategic Plan, Olamide Adeyinka

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper presents the findings of an asset assessment performed with women in a village southwest of Nigeria, Imasayi Ogun state. This paper not only describes the process and results of a qualitative study, but also presents the implementation plan for an NGO that will work with the women of Imasayi to implement community-wide development projects. The research upon which this paper is based used the framework of seven capital domains, which are then used in turn to structure findings, recommendations and NGO planning and analysis. For the purpose of this paper, the marketplace is identified as significant for Imasayi’s …

Barriers To Sustainable Hunting-Based Conservation Of Elephants In Zimbabwe, Jessica H. Cusworth

Sustainability and Social Justice

The international demand for ivory has devastated African elephant populations. In 2015, more elephants were poached for ivory than were born. Many countries have sought to decrease poaching pressures through ivory trade bans. However, Zimbabwe, home to the second largest African elephant population, funds its anti-poaching efforts with revenue from ivory exports. The ivory bans implemented by other countries prevent Zimbabwe from generating many sources of ivory revenue. These bans hamper Zimbabwe’s ability to fund anti-poaching efforts and exacerbate the complex interactions between the social, economic, and political factors which contribute to poaching. Increasing the understanding of the relationships between …

Impact Of Two Wars On The Educational System In Nigeria, Helena Onyemelukwe-Waziri

Sustainability and Social Justice

Since the 1960's Nigeria has continuously been in a state of internal conflict, with different ethno-religious groups vying for social, economic, and political control. The situation has played out in extreme violence and has been on the international world's radar since the emergence of Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the late 2000's. Boko Haram translates to "Western education is forbidden," and the group has been behind the destruction of over 2,000 schools in Nigeria, killing hundreds of teachers and students, while displacing entire communities. As Nigeria holds the highest African population, it also has the highest number of …

Examining The Intersection Of Refugee Policies And Contemporary Protracted Displacement, Christopher M. Owens

Sustainability and Social Justice

Article 33 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees states that host nations shall not expel or return a refugee to their home nation ‘where his life or freedom would be threatened.’ However, as demonstrated in three contemporary case studies in protracted displacement the interests of the sovereign state drive nations to craft strategies to limit cross-border refugee mobility. The refoulement of refugees escaping drug cartel violence throughout the Americas, internally displaced Haitians, and Syrian refugees in Jordan are all ‘managed’ by one of two methods. First, some destination nations either strategically blur refugees into other mobility …

In Pawn: Kurdish Economic Development In The Context Of Conflict, Stephen E. Mcavene Iii

Sustainability and Social Justice

In this paper the author examines the struggle of the Kurdish people for self-determined social, political, and economic development in the whirlwind of conflict in the Middle East. It uses a case study of how a Kurdish minority in Iraq interact with multiple stakeholders in their struggle for nationhood, and implications of these interactions for overall Kurdish social and economic development. Studies on economic development while interested in social, economic and political aspect of development, are less concerned with the implications of right to self-determination on development; the unique case of the Kurdish struggle provides an opportunity to expand the …

Environmental Justice/Urban Initiative Project: Summer Internship With Massachusetts Department Of Environmental Protection, Tiancheng Ouyang

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report serves as a detailed description of my internship at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in Worcester, MA, during the summer of 2016. The internship was proposed by Brian Postale, the Urban Compliance Initiative Project Coordinator as a way to automate the integration of GIS data and the computation of data used for visualization purposes. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure of the organization, my responsibilities as an intern, and my assessment of the internship.

The internship proved to be a precious experience and provided the opportunity to apply and enhance my knowledge …

An Analysis Of Corruption In China: The Guanxi Network Of Chinese High Level Officials And Governors, Xiangru Yin

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS OF CORRUPTION IN CHINA: THE GUANXI NETWORK OF CHINESE HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS AND GOVERNORS

Xiangru YIN

Corruption is considered as one of the biggest hurdles faced by the Chinese government, as it has the effect of thwarting economic growth by perpetuating poverty and income inequality, and discouraging foreign investments into the country. However, unlike other countries, China is a special case because of the Chinese concept of guanxi that highlights the importance of maintaining relationships and networks. This system helps to better understand corruption in the Chinese context. The rules of guanxi are deeply embedded in Chinese …

A Tanzanian Woman's Place Is On Top: An Exploration Of Women's Participation In Kilimanjaro's Trekking Tourism Industry, Margeaux Prinster

Sustainability and Social Justice

While high poverty rates persist for women in Tanzania, the growing trekking tourism industry surrounding Mount Kilimanjaro and its resulting demand for labor presents these impoverished women with a potential avenue for economic empowerment. This paper examines the national and local realities of women’s work in Tanzania, analyzing culturally informed gendered patterns of employment against the colonial and sexist histories of tourism and commercial mountaineering on Mount Kilimanjaro to identify barriers to women’s economic participation in Kilimanjaro’s trekking tourism industry. This analysis is followed by a cross-cultural comparison with Nepal, focusing specifically on women’s barriers to participation in commercial mountaineering, …

Reconstruction Of The Destroyed Sinjali Secondary School, Isabella Kaganowski

Sustainability and Social Justice

This practitioner paper chronicles my involvement of the grant writing proposal that was designed on behalf of a non-for-profit organization, the Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), in order to secure funding and donations for the reconstruction of the destroyed Sinjali Secondary School in Gorkha district, Taklung village, after a 2015 earthquake struck Nepal. The proposal was guided by and collaborated with Professor Jude Fernando of Clark University, as Professor Fernando was able to visit Taklung village and gather information about the needs in the educational sector damaged by the earthquake. Literature review and research was gathered to …

Geo-Taxonomy Service Development Summer Internship At The United Nations Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs, Nyc, Henry Mros Iii

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report provides a detailed account of my internship experience with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) in New York, New York during the summer, autumn, and winter of 2016. The internship was completed at Two United Nations Plaza and remotely from Clark University under the supervision of UN-OCHA Information Management Programme Officer, Andrej Verity. While temporarily serving as an international civil servant, I had the unique opportunity to contribute my knowledge and skills to an intergovernmental organization that continuously aims to improve the nations of our world. Adhering to the requirements set forth by …

Hanoi Vietnam’S Peri-Urban Space And Its Impact On People’S Livelihoods, Collin V. Sumera

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

Hanoi Vietnam’s Peri-urban Space and Its Impact on People’s Livelihoods

Collin V. Sumera

Peri-urban is both a space and a process, yet there is no cookie cutter definition that may be applied to developing cities encountering this phenomenon. Each space is constructed differently, and each process has different actors. This paper examines the role that the Communist Party of Vietnam plays in the creation of peri-urban space in Hanoi, and how this space affects residential and former agricultural Land Use Right holder’s livelihood opportunities. The notion of the peri-urban space has not fully been developed for Hanoi, thus I …

Gis Internship At Tighe And Bond, Yuanting Qu M.S.

Sustainability and Social Justice

I started working as GIS Intern at Tighe and Bond Worcester Office on May 11, 2016. I was given a multitude of civil engineering related projects to edit, verify, do analysis and process data. I was able to apply my computer programming skills to help the GIS team develop a useful script tool set that will improve efficiency work. This internship provided me insight into how GIS operate as a part of engineering project on a day-to-day basis. Working background, my responsibilities and what I have learned from this internship is discussed in this report.

Gis Internship At Umass Medical School Information Technology Department, Qiming Shi M.S.

Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract

GIS INTERNSHIP AT UMASS MEDICAL SCHOOL IFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Qiming Shi

This paper summarizes my internship at the University of Massachusetts Medical School Information Technology Department in Worcester, MA, which lasted for 1 year. I worked on several projects correlating health and disease outcomes to spatial and temporal factors where I not only brought my technical skills in GIS but also turned my solution into a useful web application, using R Shiny.

It was a great learning and professional experience, and I learned a great deal about R programming and public health GIS.

I would highly recommend Internship at Umass …

Atole De Maíz Azul: Building Climate-Change Resilience With Local Knowledge/Food Sovereignty In Northern New Mexico, Katherine C.R. Dixon

Sustainability and Social Justice

The impacts of climate change in Northern New Mexico will cause a variation in seasonal precipitation and increased drought conditions. Northern New Mexico is home to numerous indigenous and rural-agricultural communities who rely on these water resources for subsistence and cultural practices. They are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

This paper investigates the impacts of climate change to Northern New Mexico. It examines the role of participatory methods and local knowledge in building community resilience. This paper is informed primarily through secondary research, and also draws upon a series of personalized interviews from Northern New …

Geospatial Solutions For Insurance, Erica Moody

Sustainability and Social Justice

My Internship with the Travelers Indemnity Company (Travelers) took place fromJune 7^th to August 12^th, 2016, where I worked as a Geospatial Intern in the Business Intelligence and Geospatial (BIG) internship program.

Be Serious About Diversity: Exploring Why Innovation Communities Are Not Diverse, Julia Carrasquel

Sustainability and Social Justice

BE SERIOUS ABOUT DIVERSITY:

EXPLORING WHY INNOVATION COMMUNITIES ARE NOT DIVERSE

JULIA CARRASQUEL

Innovators and entrepreneurs rely on support, resources and collaboration to succeed, but who can access these resources? Failure is a constant variable in the learning progression of an entrepreneur, but who can afford to fail? There exist inherent biases that prevent women and minority entrepreneurs from entering entrepreneurial pipelines, which has led to a general lack of diversity within innovation communities. This paper, unlike other bodies of research, does not explore why diversity (or the lack thereof) is an important issue to consider in innovation and entrepreneurship. …

Engaging In Effective Behavioral Health Treatment Methods: The Importance Of Building Trust And Relationships With High And Proven Risk Men With A History Of Childhood Trauma(S), Tracie Sullivan

Sustainability and Social Justice

Nearly 60% of youth involved in the juvenile justice system in the United States have a diagnosable mental illness (Buffington, 2010; SAMHSA, 2012). These high and proven risk youth have fallen through the cracks in the behavioral health system, with a lack of prevention, intervention, and effective treatment methods being provided to them prior to incarceration. This paper presents connections between childhood trauma, undiagnosed and untreated mental illnesses, and delinquency in adulthood for high and proven-risk young men. It also investigates barriers to engaging high and proven risk young men in treatment with the concepts of stigma, and hyper-masculinity introduced. …

Understanding And Addressing Governance Dysfunction And Unsustainable Development In The Illegal Gold Mining Region Of Madre De Dios, Peru, Phyllis Duff

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper endeavors to explore the link between dysfunction in governance systems and persistent challenges to sustainable development in the illegal gold mining region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Through the use of stakeholder narratives, field observations and literature review, four questions were examined: 1) What are the existing social and environmental conditions in the case study area? 2) What are the existing relationships amongst stakeholders, and how do these illustrate dysfunction of the existing system of governance? 3) What gaps and/or deficiencies in the existing system are revealed by stakeholder narratives, and what are their visions for an alternative …

Physical And Theoretical Notions Of Home: In The Context Of Khmer Krom In Soc Trang And Can Tho, Vietnam, Toquyen T. Doan

Sustainability and Social Justice

Is “home” where your family currently resides or where you were brought up? Is it where you were born or where you have been in the past ten, twenty, or thirty years? This paper will draw upon the complex and contested nature regarding the notion of “home” for Khmer Krom in Soc Trang province and Can Tho city in southern Vietnam. Kampuchea-Krom or Khmer Krom are a group of Khmer people exclusive to Vietnam, the term “Krom” is used to differentiate them from Khmers (Cambodian) in Cambodia. Using literature on home identity across multiple disciples, this paper seeks to make …

Territoriality, Narratives And Violence: Stories Of Eight Women Living In The Presence Of A Large-Scale Mine In Ecuador, Chelsea N. Viteri 7742622017

Sustainability and Social Justice

Women play a substantial role in communities that are affected by mining nevertheless, their role has not been well documented and their voices and experiences have not been centered in the debates around extraction. In Ecuador, local rural, campesina, and indigenous women bear much the cost of large scale development projects, as their bodies, families, homes, environments and economies are impacted. This paper emerges from eight semi-structured interviews with indigenous and campesina women from Tundayme, a small rural town which is in the middle of the first large scale mine in Ecuador. Using a feminist political ecology framework and storytelling, …

Trafficking Of Women In Nepal And Their Vulnerabilities, Sushmita Diyali

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN IN NEPAL AND THEIR VULNERABILITIES

Sushmita Diyali

Around the world, women are marginalized and their liberty has been violated despite women rights and movement. The women and girls are still treated as subhuman. They are subject to sexual exploitation, sexual slavery, and a forced labor. The problems of women based discrimination are widespread all over the world and trafficking of women issues is taken as the most intolerant criminal activity in the earth. Though the world is advancing but Nepal is still dragging behind and its one of the problem is sex exploitation. Human rights of …

Conditional Cash Transfers For Education: A Comparative Analysis Between Funder And Country, Wesley Marcum-Mullins

Sustainability and Social Justice

Educational Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) are market driven poverty alleviation interventions, which have been growing in popularity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 25 years. These are multilateral interventions with many different participants such as funders, national governments, municipal governments, school, teachers, students, and parents. This paper addresses the question: How are educational Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs discussed and rationalized by various state and funder participants? This paper compares funders, The World Bank and Inter-Americas Development Bank, and country CCT programs, Jamaica’s Program of Advancement through Health and Education and Brazils Bolsa Familia. The paper concludes …

Worcester Black Small Businesses And Racial Inequality In Wealth, Shamen Laquan Radcliffe

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research presents findings from scholarly literature, two background cases, and three key informant interviews about why Black small businesses might receive less loan assistance through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) than White small businesses. Specifically, it addresses whether racial inequality in wealth explains why Black small business owners receive less loan assistance than their White counterparts in the City of Worcester. By examining existing literature around topic, this research offers policy recommendations to improve conditions for Black small businesses and their minority counterparts in the small business market.

Refugee Self Organization : The Effects Of Organizations On Refugees, Ayfer Hurmuzlu

Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract

Refugee Self Organization: the Effects of Organizations on Refugees The following abstract will introduce research conducted to find how incoming refugees integrate themselves into American societies through the aid of organizations. The paper was divided into two main questions: 1. How do refugees self organize themselves upon arrival to a new country? 2. How do organizations help them transition into integration? The paper is serves to define ways that refugees integrate into new environments. The research was collected through conducting interviews to organizations that serve refugee communities. The findings presented in this paper were defined through a collection of …

Defending Home: How Resistance Movements Are Framed Against Mineral Extraction In Cajamarca And Tambogrande, Peru, Anne B. Read

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper examines community resistance in the Peruvian communities of Tambogrande and Cajamarca to mineral extraction by the corporations Minera Yanacocha (MYSA) and Manhattan Minerals. It considers the fluid nature of the frames, strategies, and tactics that allow social movements to shape and reflect each other. This paper documents how ideas and symbols travel through space and time, in the form of community referenda, collective acts of resistance, and symbols of cultural patrimony, to resist mining projects in two emblematic conflicts. Social movement theory informs this study, in particular it explores the ways in which movements frame mining conflicts, build …