Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Nebraska Snapshot #24-002: How Are Nebraskans Fairing Financially?, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Mayors In Achieving Brunei Darussalam’S Wawasan 2035, Lessons From China, Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Ayidana Asihaer, Juan Pablo Sims

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Brunei Darussalam's national vision, WAWASAN 2035, sets forth ambitious goals for the nation's development, emphasizing a centralized governance paradigm. However, the potential of decentralized governance, as exemplified by China's mayor-led districts, offers a compelling model for achieving national aspirations. This research explores the feasibility and potential benefits of introducing mayors in Brunei's districts, drawing insights from China's successful decentralized governance structure. By fostering inter-district competition and allowing for localized policy tailoring, Brunei can enhance its adaptability and responsiveness to local nuances. Drawing from China's experiences, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of how Brunei might optimize its governance structure to …

Nebraska Snapshot #24-001: Is Nebraska Heading In The Right Direction?, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Jews And Urban Life, Leonard J. Greenspoon

Studies in Jewish Civilization

Jews and Urban Life recognizes that throughout their long history, Jews have often inhabited cities. The reality of this urban experience ranged from ghetto restrictions to robust participation in a range of civic and social activities. Essays in this collection present relevant examples from within the Jewish community itself, moving historically from the biblical period to the modern-day State of Israel. Taking a comparative approach while recognizing the particulars of individual instances, authors examine these phenomena from a wide variety of approaches, genres, and media. Interdisciplinary and accessibly written, the articles display a multitude of instances throughout history showing the …

Power Projection And Counter-Terrorism: Strategies For Small States Like Brunei Darussalam, Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Gulshan Bibi Ms

Journal of Terrorism Studies

This study delves into the intricacies of power projection strategies and counter-terrorism measures, emphasizing their relevance to small states, with a specific focus on Brunei Darussalam. Using a dual matrix model, the research categorizes various strategies based on risk-reward parameters, offering a structured insight into potential approaches these states can employ against potential aggressors. The counter-terrorism matrix is the initial focal point, recognizing the contemporary significance of terror threats and their unique challenges for small nations. Subsequently, the power projection matrix offers a broader view of defense tactics beyond counter-terrorism. By synthesizing information from primary academic sources, the study aims …

Review Of Making Livable Worlds: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice, Ava L. Corey-Gruenes

Feminist Pedagogy

Making Livable Worlds: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice, by Hilda Lloréns, highlights Black Puerto Rican women’s efforts to create equitable futures for their communities in the face of capitalism, racism, colonization, and ecological collapse. This review covers key concepts in Making Livable Worlds, including matriarchal dispossession, decolonizing ethnography, the myth of a homogenous Puerto Rico, and myths of inherent economic self-interest. Analyses of these concepts through an absence lens are suggested to enrich formal and informal feminist learning spaces.

Inclusion And Trust In Community-Engaged Scholarship: A Case Study Of A County Visioning Project, Ava Ryan, Mark Edwards, J. Dusti Linnell

The Journal of Extension

In recent decades, local governments have sought to increase community engagement in collaborative governance processes, such as community visioning and strategic planning, to develop policies that are inclusive and supportive of those who live in the community. A key component of the community visioning process is the inclusion of diverse community members and stakeholders which can enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of the process in addition to providing an opportunity for civic engagement. We review how trust was an essential component required for developing strong community engagement in a community visioning project in Tillamook County, Oregon.

“Connecting Better And Wider”: A Constructivist Grounded Theory And Situational Analysis Exploration Of Community Resilience In The Anthropocene Among The Transition Network, Deanne M. Boisvert, Caroline Suransky

The Qualitative Report

For decades qualitative researchers have used grounded theory methodologies in their investigations. Although the grounded theory literature is extensive, less well documented are qualitative studies which incorporate complementary grounded theory approaches into their designs; or studies that validate the use of grounded theory strategies for applied research projects. This paper seeks to add to both margins of the grounded theory literature. First, it provides a detailed methodological account of how constructivist grounded theory and grounded theory situational analysis were used in a Ph.D. study exploring how ecologically concerned networks understand community resilience and respond to current and anticipated challenges of …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

Historic Downtown Streetscape Plan Price City, Utah, Patricia Beckert

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The idea of a small-town Main Street has profound meaning within the American culture that has prevailed for the past two centuries. Historically, Main Street serves as the beating heart of a community, a place where economic, social, cultural, and civic activities are centered (Francaviglia, 1996; Main Street America, n.d.). Since the beginning of the 19th century, many factors have led to the decline of Main Streets, and despite a variety of efforts from different stakeholders, that decline has only intensified in recent decades (Isenberg, 2008; Orvell, 2014 Howard, 2015). In 1980, after a three-year project conducted by the National …

Only 2000 Psi Of Bottom-Time Air: A Case Study Of Diveheart Participant Social Capital, Kirk J. Williams

Student Capstone Projects

Social capital development for many, but not all, is a relatively organic process, and as social creatures, people work together to reach collective goals. The defined interactions related to the practices of societal norms, taboos, and broad cultural acceptance are constructs of communal decisions lending deep credence to the value of any number of the social capital definitions. However, opportunities are not always readily available to individuals living with disabilities, so they can and do get left out to varied degrees. With unsurprising results, previous research relied on comparing survey data from individuals with and without disabilities to identify possible …

Dungeons & Dragons: Fractals Of The Human Self, Katie Anderson

Honors Theses

Dungeons & Dragons at its core is roleplay based storytelling, which implies the idea that the game is a work of fiction. While the world of Iad and the Free States of Tarvan does not exist on planet earth, the experiences and emotions felt by the players and their characters within the world are very much real. Players use extensions of themselves, their characters, to interact with the world around them, forging relationships and new lines of fate and destiny. Characters are fractals of their out of game personas, attached to one’s base personality and expanding outwards. The development of …

Perceptions Of Tourism And Quality Of Life: A Case Study In Savannah, Georgia, Marissa J. Renee

Honors College Theses

The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that Travel and Tourism accounted for 10.3% of the world economy in 2019 and ¼ of all net new jobs over the past five years. Savannah, Georgia has experienced huge growth in the last decade due to tourism, with visitor spending on lodging alone increasing from $466 million in 2009 to $1 billion in 2019. The current study examined differences in perceived impact of tourism on quality of life using established predictors of tourism sentiments. An online community survey was conducted in Chatham County, Georgia (N = 94) using the Tourism Quality of …

“Mira Cómo Tejemos”: La Construcción De Una Red Comunitaria Y La Educación Ambiental En La Organización Frente Insular De La Reserva Marina De Galápagos, Katie Draeger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El Frente Insular de la Reserva Marina de Galápagos (FIRMAG o Frente Insular) es una organización para la conservación comunitaria, ubicada en la isla de Santa Cruz. Para explorar el significado del trabajo comunitario de esta organización, este estudio examina dos elementos de la estructura organizativa: los valores y las fortalezas. Al analizar tanto las perspectivas de los líderes y miembros de FIRMAG como las observaciones sobre el trabajo mismo, los valores que buscan construir y servir la comunidad se revelan como 1) un rechazo a la institucionalidad/burocracia y 2) a los fondos extranjeros, 3) la educación ambiental comunitaria sin …

Youth Perceptions And Constructions Of Urban Space In Morocco, Hadwynne Gross

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Moroccan urban spaces are influenced by 800 years of history, and in particular, legacies of colonialism. This research seeks to examine urban space in Morocco through the lens of youth between the ages of 18 and 25 in the capital city of Rabat. Inspired by the book The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch, this research uses a variety of qualitative methods, namely a semi- structured interview and two mental mapping exercises, to explore how youth in Rabat perceive the city’s ability to both adhere to its historical roots and adapt to a rapidly changing world. Exploring urban geography …

The Age-Less Citizen: Cultivating A Civically Engaged K-12 Community Through The Use Of Service Learning, Chelsia I. Douglas Mpa

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

The Age-less Citizen will analyze evidence-based civic education studies and explore proactive student engagement strategies to build an individualized nonpartisan action plan for each school represented. From sending election reminders home by a kindergartener, to including local school board meetings on school newsletter and calendars, attendees will take away practical tips and tools to restore faith in the younger generation's ability to improve our democracy.

Pathways To Sustainability: Industry, Development, Business, Agriculture, Economy, And Politics, Andreas Hernandez, Pablo Arias-Benavides, Dayana C.M. Machada, Ousmane Pame, Alice Main, Per Moller

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In this chapter we examine six compelling on-the-ground experiences, which are demonstrating pathways to sustainability, resilience and regeneration. Each case opens a pathway to sustainability in a key sphere of human activity: industry, development, business, agriculture, economy and politics. These experiences are creating new social imaginaries embodied in the practical forms of new politics and economics aimed at profound democratizations of human life, and towards a creative realignment of humans with the rest of the web of life. These social imaginaries are both open and encompassing. They are open in the sense that they can be filled with new possibilities …

City Flags And The Politics Of Urban Revitalization: The Case Of Syracuse, Ny, Grace Risinger

Honors Theses

People tend to care about flags, but are not aware that their city has a flag. A recent wave of flag redesigns has been happening in the United States since a 2015 TED Talk was posted widely criticizing city flags. This subject prompted my professor, Daniel Alvord, to ask for a research assistant for his project to understand this phenomenon. For my thesis, I focus on a specific flag redesign initiative in Syracuse, NY, through an ethnographic case study. By applying previous urban sociological literature to my focus on flag redesigns, I can connect the Syracuse community member’s increased civic …

Trolley Line Trail Creative Placemaking Plan, Courtland Caldwell

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The Trolley Line Trail is a planned multi-use trail along the historic Richmond-to-Ashland Trolley corridor. The purpose of this plan is to identify potential creative placemaking locations and installations to highlight the trolley's unique past and present. This plan sets forth a vision for creative placemaking by gathering community feedback, analyzing properties along the Trolley Line Trail, and making recommendations for placemaking and public art. Ultimately, the recommendations laid out in this plan aim to preserve and acknowledge the community's unique identity while creating a safe, accessible experience for all users.

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2023 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

Nasis 2023: Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey Questionnaire, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

Children As Design Visionaries, Learners, And Socio-Political Wayfinders: Mapping The Layers, Hierarchies, And Rhythms Of A School Community, Natalie R. Davis, Roni Barsoum

Occasional Paper Series

Despite the seemingly intractable problems of public schooling, we (as researchers and dreamers) remain encouraged by the persistent efforts to reconfigure and reimagine the sociopolitical landscape of schools. We begin this essay by recognizing the work of individuals bravely and imperfectly expanding notions of what schools could and should be. We stand in solidarity with the innovators sowing, designing, and reaching toward more just social futures, dreaming of schools for children that are not so distant from the paradise Butler (2001) describes (Figure 1). This liberatory dreamwork coincides with long histories of communal ingenuity (Vossoughi et al., 2016), resistance against …

Social Isolation, Third Places, And Precarious Employment Circumstances: A Scoping Review, Debbie Laliberte Rudman, Rebecca M. Aldrich

Occupational Therapy Publications

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of The Economy And Employment In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy L. Meyer, Steven A. Schulz, Amanda Tupper

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans believe most of the listed economic items will become worse or much worse over the next 12 months when asked in May and June. Almost nine in ten think the following will become worse: inflation, gasoline or diesel fuel prices, grocery prices, and interest rates. In fact, at least four in ten rural Nebraskans believe the following items will become much worse in the next 12 months: gasoline or diesel fuel prices, inflation, grocery prices, and healthcare costs. The two items that had less than one-half believing they would become worse or much worse during the next …

“Hadithi Ya Matunda”: The Informal Fruit Economy On Unguja Island: A Study Of The Livelihoods Of Smallholder Producers, Intermediaries, And Sellers, Daisy Kettle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the story of fruit on Unguja Island. It illuminates the livelihoods of farmers, intermediaries, and sellers and each of their roles in the island’s fruit commodity chain. Linkages between these actors are known to play increasingly important roles in agricultural economies across the world due to their ability to create “multiplier effects” through networks of non-farm income opportunities (Wineman, 2020). Through interviews with 19 Zanzibaris who work in this trade network, I learned about the intricacies of these networks. My data revealed that the fruit flow chain on Unguja creates a network of extensive backward and forward economic …

How Spirituality Intensifies Sustainability: A Case Study Of Ananda Valley In Northern Portugal, Mia Handler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The religious affiliations of citizens in the West are currently shifting away from the fundamentalist, traditional structures of the past towards more alternative spiritualities. Furthermore, as a result of the climate crisis, ecovillages are becoming increasingly popular. Ecovillages are intentional, “sustainable” communities that seek to reduce consumption, live in harmony with nature, and create strong social bonds. They are characterized by varying levels of spiritual involvement (Greenberg, 2014, p. 274). As such, the objective of this paper is to study the relationship between spirituality and environmentally-friendly practices and attitudes, using the ecovillage Ananda Valley – an Ananda Marga Master Unit …

Sustainability And Connection To Place: Land Stewardship Through Local Icelandic Women-Run Businesses, Hazel Deharpporte

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Iceland is one of the leading countries in gender equality, but women are still underrepresented in the field of entrepreneurship. Women have unique approaches to land stewardship, and there is evidence that they are more likely than men to act sustainably. The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between sustainability and connection to place in women-run, local businesses. I interviewed six women who run a wide range of businesses in the towns of Ísafjörður and Djúpivogur. From these interviews, I found that while the women did not necessarily think that running a business was more difficult as …

Effects Of Social Distance And Stigma On Reduction In Loneliness: A Social Discounting Pricedure, Abby J. Lemaster

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Abby J. LeMaster on September 30, 2022.