Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Optimism In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are the most positive about their current situation as they’ve been in all 20 years of this study. Just over one-half (53%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (the highest proportion in all 20 years of this study, tied in 2008). This is up slightly from 50 percent last year. And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future is the most optimistic in all 20 years of this study. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (48%) believe they will be better off ten years from now (the highest of all …

The Deborah M. Olsen Public Service Internship: The Colombian Refugee Project, Paulina Rodriguez

Examples of Student Work

In this essay, Paulina Rodriguez reflects on her seven months in South America interning with the Colombian Refugee Project in Quito, Ecuador.

Studying The Effect Of Sea-Level Rise On Infrastructure And Construction, Michelle Flanagan

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization that aims to provide the public with relevant and reliable information on climate change, developed an interactive application called the Risk Finder tool that launched in October of 2013. This tool collects data from several federal agencies, including NOAA, FEMA, and the EPA, and allows users to research sea-level rise and climate change in their specific state. In an effort to provide a user-friendly platform, Dan Rizza at Climate Central tasked an introductory Technical and Scientific writing course at Old Dominion University with conducting usability testing on the Risk Finder tool. Usability testing is …

Climate Change And Infrastructural Damage, Macey Vansavage

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

With the assistance of ENGL 231C students at Old Dominion University, Dr. Daniel Richards and Mrs. Megan McKittrick led this study testing the usability of Climate Central’s Risk Finder tool. The study was conducted as a client-based, service learning project for a Technical and Scientific writing course, serving client Dan Rizza at Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization. The study serves as a way for local collegiate students to be able to gain knowledge about the execution of faculty-level research. The Risk Finder tool allows users to view the potential effects of sea level rise on their area. The tool …

A Forward To The Special Issue On Neoliberalism In Education The Long Road To Redemption: Critical Pedagogy And The Struggle For The Future, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Peter McLaren introduces a special issue of Texas Education Review focused on Neoliberalism in Education by advocating for critical pedagogy in the face of the challenges and harms wrought by American capitalism, politics, and "economic exploitation, racism, homophobia, sexism, imperialism, the coloniality of power and White supremacy".

Bits Of Belonging: Information Technology, Water, And Neoliberal Governance In India, Simanti Dasgupta

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

India’s global success in the Information Technology industry has also prompted the growth of neoliberalism and the re-emergence of the middle class in contemporary urban areas, such as Bangalore. BITS of Belonging shows that this economic shift produces new forms of social inequality while reinforcing older ones. The study investigates this economic disparity by looking at IT and water privatization to explain how these otherwise unrelated domains correspond to our thinking about citizenship, governance, and belonging.

The ethnographic study in this book shows how work and human processes in the IT industry intertwine to meet the market stipulations of the …

Leadership For Social Change: Illuminating The Life Of Dr. Helen Caldicott, Leah Hanes

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is a biographical study of the life of Dr. Helen Caldicott that details her life and work over the years from 1997 to 2014. The history of her significant role in the end of the Cold War and her influence in public opinion regarding nuclear power and nuclear arms has been well-documented through many books, films, and articles as well as her own autobiography up to this twenty-year-period. My study will help to fill the gap in her most recent life. In particular, I will explore the impact of her activism on society and her personal life in …

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …

Out-Brief Slides: Citizen Engagement, Federal Emergency Management Agency

December 2, 2014: Hampton Roads Climate Preparedness and Resilience Exercise Series

No abstract provided.

Promoción De La Salud En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires: Un Estudio Sobre El Trabajo De Los Promotores De Salud Y Las Percepciones De Su Rol En La Comunidad. / Health Promotion In The City Of Buenos Aires: A Study Of The Work Of Community Health Workers And Perceptions Of Their Role In The Community, Elizabeth Sherwin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contextual information: At the global level, inequities exist with respect to access and quality of healthcare. Primary Health Care is a strategy to respond to these inequities. It adopts an integral concept of health that includes no only illness but also the wellbeing of a person affected by many environmental factors. It is a strategy that aims to improve access to medical care and health information through health promotion and has the goal of giving the population more control over their health. Community health workers, people from the same neighborhood in which they work promoting health, are recognized on the …

El Modelo Médico, El Capitalismo Y La Acción Pública: Un Estudio Sobre Discapacidad Y Empleo En La Argentina / The Medical Model, Capitalism And Public Action:A Study Of Disability And Employment In Argentina, Zoe Zakin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

People with disabilities are one of the largest “minority” groups in the world, accounting for approximately 15% of the global population. They are still, however, denied most of their basic rights in countries around the world. While movements have been made around access to education, transportation, and health systems, people with disabilities are still culturally thought of as incapable of being able to work. By being characterized this way, people with disabilities are denied a most basic human right. In Argentina, there has been greater effort in recent years to provide services for people with disabilities, which are a growing …

Torch (November 2014), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Successful Communities: What Is Desired And What Is Present In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are looking for many things in a community. The characteristics of a community that most believe are absolutely essential include social dimensions (sense of personal safety), economic dimensions (jobs/economic opportunities), some basic services (a quality school system, available medical services, affordable housing, quality housing and well maintained infrastructure) and environmental dimensions (a clean and attractive natural environment).

Unfortunately, when asked if these characteristics are present in their current community, some of these areas are lacking. One of the more extreme cases involves jobs/economic opportunities. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents say these are absolutely essential in order for them …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

From Intent To Effect: Richmond, Virginia, And The Protracted Struggle For Voting Rights, 1965–1977, Julian Maxwell Hayter

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Twelve years after the ratification of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 [VRA], Richmond, Virginia elected a historic majority black city council. The 5-4 majority quickly appointed an African American lawyer named Henry Marsh, III to the mayoralty. Marsh, a nationally celebrated civil rights litigator, was not only the city’s first black mayor, but the council election of 1977 was also Richmond’s first since 1970. In 1972, a federal district court used the VRA’s preclearance clause in Section 5 to place a moratorium on council contests. This moratorium lasted until the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice determined whether …

A Disjointed Effort: An Analysis Of Government And Non-Governmental Actors’ Coordination Of Reintegration Programs In Northern Uganda, Nicole Compton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project was designed to investigate the extent to which the reintegration process for those returning from the LRA has been coordinated and facilitated by the Government of Uganda and NGOs at the present time. This was done through examining current government initiatives, NGO initiatives, and the current coordination between the two sectors. Special emphasis was given to the role of the Government of Uganda specified in the Ugandan Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan. This study discovered that the Government of Uganda has neglected to take a leadership role on the issue of reintegration. Rehabilitation and reintegration of those …

Informal Transportation In Uganda: A Case Study Of The Boda Boda, Bradley Raynor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, the closest mode of transport to mass transit that citizens have access to is the 14-seater taxis which fill the streets of Kampala, create traffic jams, and are unable to fulfill the transportation needs of the city’s growing population. In response, motorcycle taxis, called Boda Bodas, which are able to navigate traffic jams, access remote locations where taxis don’t go, and deliver passengers to their destinations in a timely manner, filled the gap in public transportation. Unfortunately, while many riders have organized themselves in associations, the industry remains largely unregulated by the Kampala …

Torch (September 2014), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Crime And Safety In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans are not worried or not very worried about either crime in their community or about personally being a victim of crime. However, persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to be worried or very worried about crime. Furthermore, most persons living in or near communities with populations less than 10,000 are not worried or not very worried about crime in their community.

Trust also remains high in the rural areas. Most rural Nebraskans say they count on their neighbors to watch their property while they are …

Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community as friendly, trusting and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans also say it would be difficult to leave their community. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

Differences of opinion exist by the size of their community. Residents of smaller communities are more likely than residents of larger communities to rate their community favorably on its social dimensions. However, residents of larger communities are more likely than residents of smaller communities to say their community has changed …

Help-Yourself City: Market-Driven Planning And D.I.Y. Responses In Making The “Neoliberal” Streetscape, Gordon Douglas

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

Since the 1970s, the consequences of global economic restructuring and the rise of free-market “neoliberal” ideologies in governance have been visible in most every arena of social life, but are perhaps nowhere more visible than in urban space. The humble bus stop, a basic element of local transit service, is today often turned over in large part to private advertising interests and in the process has become both an indicator of neglect and a symbol of the commodification of public space. This paper examines such physical manifestations of neoliberal planning policy in the urban streetscape – spatial neglect and inequality …

An Interpretive Plan Guide For Wilderness Park In Lincoln, Nebraska, Rachel J. Ward

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Wilderness Park, located in Lancaster County, Nebraska, is a public park of unique ecological and historical value to the city of Lincoln and to the surrounding region. The natural and historical features of the park present an opportunity to communicate environmental and historical topics that are relevant on local, national, and global levels, as well as inspire a lively sense of pride in the community. The problem is that many topics relevant to Wilderness Park are not currently being interpreted at the park, and that there are relatively few interpretive resources available to park visitors.

The purpose of this project …

6 Myths About The Future Of Small Towns, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Covered myths about the future of small towns.

Featured:

Nenzel, Nebraska • Located in the Sandhills • Population 13 (2014) • Competed for a grant to build a new community center and heritage museum • Public buildings are supposed to last 50 years

Wray, Colorado • Located on Highway 34 across the Nebraska border • Once a major thoroughfare but today only local traffic • New hospital, modern K 12 school, raised money for a recreation center • Won a National Civic League All America City Award, the first rural community to be honored

Creative Economies: Using Arts To Revitalize Post-Industrial Cities And Towns In Massachusetts, Anna Price

Honors College Theses

During my senior year in the Honors College at UMass Boston, I became involved in the yearlong Creative and Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program. During this program, I interned alongside other UMass Boston students at a local creative non-profit organization, providing the staff with assistance as they worked towards achieving their goals. This internship was funded by the Creative Economy Fund (CE Fund) from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office. My involvement in this program sparked an interest in pursuing an Honors thesis investigating the CE Fund and how the awarded projects are benefitted by that fund.

After looking through all …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Community Resilience: Developing The American Red Cross International Services Department In The New Hampshire Region, Sarah Romac

Capstone Collection

Disaster management and humanitarian aid organizations have had to reevaluate how communities and individuals can better adapt and prepare for future disaster events. One concept organizations are incorporating into their overall framework is strengthening community resilience. Increasing a community’s resilience level increases its ability to cope with the changes that affect it. Creating awareness of the vulnerabilities in an area, addressing these vulnerabilities with preparedness training, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable changes made over the long-term can develop a community’s adaptive capacity to be more resilient.

For my practicum, I was given the opportunity to be the International Services …

Book Review. Somin, Ilya, Democracy And Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government Is Smarter, Steve Sanders

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Lived Experience: From Fresh Insights To Effective Action, Lisa Deangelis, Maureen A. Scully, Andrea Wight

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The 34 fellows in the 2014 Emerging Leaders Program worked with community partners to generate the theme, “Learning from Lived Experience: From fresh insights to effective action." Each year, the projects draw upon a theme or lesson from the prior year. Last year and this year, fellows saw how the lived experiences of both their stakeholders and themselves generated nuanced and appropriate approaches to problem-solving. The fellows worked with six community partners, giving their time and professional skills to understand how to frame complex social challenges, engage new partners and resources, and sharpen strategic plans. They conducted surveys, interviews, open …

Torch (June 2014), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Learning By Giving: The Youth Homelessness Initiative, Camille Gross, Christina Mccourt, Molly Nash, Eleanor Powell

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

As part of the Colby Undergraduate Student Philanthropist (CUSP) foundation, funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation, we are collaborating with United Way of Mid-Maine to write a 10,000 grant allocated over a three-year period in support of United Way of Mid-Maines Youth Homelessness Initiative. This program would provide homeless or at-risk for homelessness youth ages in junior and high school (grades 5 through 12) in northern Kennebec, Somerset, and western Waldo counties with the basic needs they require in order to stay in school and ultimately earn a high school diploma.During the 2011-12 pilot project of the Youth Homelessness …