Community-Based Research Commons^™

"Queering" Age-Friendly New York City, Austin G. Oswald

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background and aims: The global population is aging and becoming more culturally diverse. As such, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers are expected to think critically about strategies to improve the quality of life of people as they age. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Age-Friendly Cities movement to improve the well-being and meaningful engagement of older adults living in the community. New York City (NYC) was the first city in the world to be designated “age-friendly” by the WHO, and is possibly viewed as a model for other cities to emulate. Few empirical studies have examined the age-friendly …

Ginanaandawi'idizomin: Anishinaabe Intergenerational Healing Models Of Resistance, Zoe V. Allen

American Studies Honors Projects

Since the early 2000s, the opioid epidemic has had a devastating sweep across Indian Country. The White Earth nation declared the epidemic as a public health emergency back in 2011. Since then White Earth has developed community-based harm reduction and culturally grounded models of intervention for substance use disorder that continue to influence Native Nations across the U.S. This project centers on Anishinaabe approaches to the ongoing opioid public health crisis but also elaborates on Anishinaabe forms of healing and resistance. My primary method was conducting oral histories with White Earth community youth workers and advocates. My research project asks: …

The Spatial Associations Between Crime And Economy In Chicago 2015-2020, Hongtao Huang

Honors Capstones

The severity of the crime is often the most intuitive reflection of whether a region is safe and the top factor for the public when evaluating a region. Economist's list of the safest cities in seven major North American cities, Chicago was ranked at six, just above Dallas. Chicago scored the lowest in personal security, which is closely tied to the crime. Against the backdrop of higher unemployment and prices, this study is interested in how property-based crimes are related to the economic decline in Chicago geographically. The study used the heterogeneity analysis tool Geodetector to investigate the correlation between …

A Story Of The Social Life Of Yulupa Cohousing, Kayla Ho

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This capstone is a study of the lived social experience of one cohousing community. Cohousing communities are designed with the intention of fostering a community with a mixture of privately-owned units and publicly shared spaces and responsibilities. The study is conducted at a significant point in American history: these communities are a fast-growing phenomenon in the United States yet they remain unknown and/or unattainable to many Americans.

Qualitative information from the community’s current residents is gathered by using research tools of interviewing and photography. Interviews were completed virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photographs were created during a three-day visit …

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Indians In The Archives: A History Of Native Americans, Pakachoag Hill And Holy Cross, 1674-1973, Jack Hynick

Of Life and History

Native people are conspicuously absent from the official and popular history of the College of the Holy Cross. Extant records from the Holy Cross archives, the American Antiquarian Society, and digitized reports from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are filled with references to Native people at Holy Cross and the surrounding Worcester area. By addressing the history of the land, the experiences of Native people on Pakachoag Hill, the roles played by Holy Cross community members in settler colonialism, and the use of Native imagery, this paper hopes to correct a blinding omission in the story of the College.

The Latin American Tragedy: A Qualitative Research Of How Culture, Media, And Gender Roles Lead To Femicide, Vanessa Gonzalez

Honors College Theses

This study aims to analyze how Latin American cultural values and popular media perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes that can subsequently contribute to the growing femicide rates happening across the region. Although violence against women is a global issue, Latin American femicide is characterized by cultural, systemic, and political factors that not only allow it to thrive but make it unique in a global context as it relates to the discussion around violence against women. Adherence to honor culture, gender-based stereotypes like that of machismo and marianismo, along with the overt sexualization of Latin women in popular media, create a domino …

Contextualizing The 2019 “Chile Despertó” Movement: The Impact Of Historical Relational Processes On Mobilization And Repression, Tanya Leon

International Studies (MA) Theses

To expand our theoretical and empirical understanding of mobilization and repression in Latin America, this thesis asks three critical questions. Are economic indicators sufficient predictors of social movement emergence in Latin America? What other factors contribute to large-scale mobilization in Latin America? How do government’s respond to large-scale Latin American social movements? Specifically, when, and why do democratic governments choose to employ repression against social movements? Accordingly, I construct a quantitative model to test the correlation between rise in protest and worsened economic conditions. I apply it to a comprehensive dataset of political events in multiple South American countries throughout …

Equity + Catalyst Framework Guide, Naomi M. Silas

Masters Projects

There has been a shift in society, in light of Covid-19 and the global pandemic, more people have begun to recognize the structural and institutional injustices that exist in this country. Social innovation allows collaboration between people from different sectors, disciplines, industries, and backgrounds; in order to create sustainable change to complex social issues. Design thinking is an iterative process used in business to create innovation and products; it’s also used for social impact.

The goal of the Equity + Catalyst Framework is to bridge concepts that include design thinking, and embodiment, as well as lived experiences and community care …

La Cultura Familiar: Una Exploración De Herencia Y Memoria A Través De Comida, Alexandria Pizzino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación explora las conexiones entre la comida, la memoria, y la cultura familiar. La investigación duró cuatro semanas, y fue completada a través de entrevistas orales y de demostración con cuatros personas. Cada entrevistade pudo escoger una receta principal de su familia y contar una narrativa sobre las memorias asociadas con esta comida para contribuir a la formación de un libro de cocina y memoria. Las entrevistades eran representantes de las zonas sur y centro de Chile, de ciudades y zonas rurales. Incluyó la participación de tres mujeres y un hombre. Cada entrevistade tenía una manera única de usar …

Understanding The Benefits Of Latino Giving Circles: An Emancipatory Research Study, Adriana Loson-Ceballos

Dissertations

This dissertation shows how Latino giving circle members understand their philanthropy and how participation affects their well-being, civic engagement, and philanthropic activities by focusing on giving circles’ composition, members’ goals, and perceived benefits. I used an emancipatory research paradigm with Latino-focused critical race theory, LatCrit, to study the Latino Giving Circle Network (LGCN). A survey was used for data collection, and research platicas were employed in the survey’s analysis; both were selected and designed centering Latinos to overcome challenges in researching Latinos.

Demographic findings reveal a range of Latino experiences. Sixty-six percent reported Mexican ancestry, compared to 83% of California …

Tell Me Your Story: Evaluating Health And Human Flourishing In Congregations In Disadvantaged Neighborhoods, Isaac Voss

Essays

No abstract provided.

Promoting Labour Migrant Health Equity Through Action On The Structural Determinants: A Systematic Review, Mireille Evagora-Campbell, Aysha Zahidie, Kent Buse, Fauziah Rabbani, Sarah Hawkes

Community Health Sciences

Background: Labour migrants, who represent over sixty per cent of international migrants globally, frequently have poorer health status than the population of host countries. These health inequities are determined in a large part by structural drivers including political, commercial, economic, normative and social factors, including living and working conditions. Achieving health equity for migrant workers requires structural-level interventions to address these determinants.
Methods: We undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature designed to answer the question "what is the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to address the structural determinants of health for labour migrants?" using the Ovid Medline electronic …

Feed The Little Children Evaluative Research Report: Somebody Cares, Anne Poelina, Vennessa Poelina, Ian Perdrisat, Sandra Wooltorton, John Guenther

Nulungu Reports

The purpose of the report is to investigate the social, cultural and health impacts on Broome children and families who are supported through Feed the Little Children Inc. (FTLC) bi-weekly food relief program, and to try to determine what the optimum level of support should be. Researchers have taken an Indigenist research approach, which means that Aboriginal ways, values and goals support research implementation. The research framework focused on the lived experience of the FTLC users and data was collected via conversations with FTLC users’ aunties, grandparents, and long-term Broome residents. The report concludes that Broome children would benefit from …

Ambiguous Appalachianness: A Linguistic And Perceptual Investigation Into Arc-Labeled Pennsylvania Counties, Crissandra J. George

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

The Appalachian Regional Commission (2022) designates 52 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties as Appalachia, excluding only the southeast portion of the state. Matthew Ferrence, in Appalachia North, states that his "home is sometimes called Appalachia, sometimes Rust Belt, other times Midwest, even though very few who live there would accept any of those labels as correct" (xi). This ambiguous and fluid identity is due to the shaping, forming, and changing of Pennsylvania’s role within society from a founding colony to a thriving state with industry, unselfishly spoiling others, to the grounds of converging identities (Ferrence xi). This ambiguous identity makes …

Community Interventions To The Food Insecurity Crisis Inuit Currently Face In Nunangat, Alyssia R. Getschow

Honors Theses

Inuit living in Nunangat, a northern territory in Canada, are facing unprecedented rates of food insecurity. The increasing impacts of anthropogenic climate change are rapidly changing the Arctic landscape in Nunangat, posing challenges to Inuit hunters who hunt and live completely self-sufficient off of the land. This lack of access to country foods and the impacts these conditions are having on Inuit communities are forcing Inuit to consider aid propositions from the Canadian government. Due to a long history of conflict with white settlers during the colonization of Canada, there is a feeling of distrust and cultural distaste between Canada …

The Resiliency And Thriving Of Underrepresented Agricultural Educators: A National Mixed Methods Study, Caleb Michael Hickman

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Gay men in agricultural education do not have comprehensive support within the agricultural education profession. When gay men decide to become agriculture educators, they often keep their identity private. This national mixed methods study aims to seek if gay agriculture educators are resilient and thrive in rural communities. The thriving elements of spiritual influence, personal competence, peer support, and family cohesion were surveyed and analyzed using a resiliency lens. Findings include gay male agricultural educators thriving in a heteronormative profession. Recommendations include ensuring LGBTQIA+ teachers have a voice in agricultural education.

Understanding The Needs Of Migrants From Bhutan In Perth, Sonam Pelden, Sangay Wangchuk, Tshewang Rinzin, Pelden Chejor, Dago Tshering

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Bhutanese migrants in Perth have increased manifold in the last decade with numbers estimated at around 12000 in 2022. Almost ninety-nine per cent of these Bhutanese migrants come on student visas. Research has indicated that migration move is typically driven by hope and a search for better futures. Consequently, there is an increase in the community activities and complexities experienced by the Bhutanese migrants in Perth as they seek to build a new home in a new country. There is little information about the needs of Bhutanese migrants in Australia other than the literature on Bhutanese refugees in Australia. Thus, …

Archiving Feminist Truth In Trump’S Wake Of Lies, Julie Shayne

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This article is about an assignment I do in one of my Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies social movement classes. I revised the assignment the first time teaching the class after Trump lost the 2020 election. For the assignment, students work in groups to research local feminist and gender justice organizations and deposit all of their original materials – recordings, photos, flyers, etc. – into a digital, open access archive I co-created several years ago with librarians and staff on my campus. In 2021 I had my students do the “post-Trump” edition where they researched local organizations about how their …

Spiritual Intelligence: The Next Intelligence Tool For Conflict Resolution Practitioners?, Peter Tokar

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Spiritual intelligence is currently being utilized with positive results in many professional communities, yet it is practically unknown within the conflict resolution and peacebuilding communities, at least by name. Recent national polls have demonstrated a high percentages of Americans still embrace a spiritual dimension to their humanity. Although church attendance has been on the decline for the past couple decades, polls show that even the Millennial Generation and GenZ are still interested in spirituality, though in a non-ecclesiastically organized way. Although significant sensitivities remain in society and culture concerning the separation of church and state, literally millions of Americans …

Learning To Be Gay: Narrative Socialization Of Young Indonesian Homosexuals, Amika Wardana

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The increasing religious conservatism within Indonesian society has propelled the growth of hatred and vigilantism targeting sexual minorities—which are seen as committing an unforgiven sin—especially towards LGBTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender). This study addresses the processes that these minorities experience in order to express their sexual identities and forge social relationships with fellow same-sex queers. In specific, this study focuses on the ways young gays begin to understand and develop their sexual identity amidst a largely hostile social environment. By utilizing social media, these young gays have built digital communities for socialising with fellow gay people, as well as …

“No Matter Where You’Re From, We’Re Glad You’Re Our Neighbor”: Enacting Justice Initiatives And Community Formation In Faith-Based Organizations, Jenna M. Smith

Senior Independent Study Theses

Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) in the United States offer a variety of services and influence social dynamics within their communities, specifically in northeast Ohio. Churches, service agencies, and ministries often pursue immigration advocacy initiatives and ground their work in religious doctrine, using frameworks such as ‘hospitality’ and ‘welcoming the stranger’ to motivate their own initiatives and connect with uninvolved or antagonistic populations. Due to current climates of political polarization and dehumanizing rhetoric in immigration dialogues, this study seeks to analyze the ways in which religious actors define and enact community and explore the contributions of the groups in which they serve. …

Refugee Homes And The Right To Property: Sunk Costs And Networked Mobility, Jordan Hayes

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

For refugees outside their state of origin, access to humanitarian protection can come at the cost of the right to own a home. Following Anneke Smit’s scholarship on the possible contradictions between humanitarian protection and property rights, this paper explores the case of refugee homes built in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by Syrian asylum seekers. Interviews with Syrian refugees collected in Iraq from 2018-2019 reveal the paradoxical situation faced by refugees who invest time, expertise, memory, hope, and money in a house—yet do not own it. While non-citizens in the KRI rarely have the chance to secure legal …

An Intergenerational Photo Exploration Of Self Care Actions In Self-Identifying Strong Black Women, Vanessa Patrice Goodar

Dissertations

The current study sought to expand upon the Giscombé Superwoman Schema (2010) specifically exploring the role of vulnerability resistance and help obligation as potential barriers to changing comprehensive self-care health commitments in self-identifying Strong Black Women (SBW). The Superwoman Schema characteristics of vulnerability resistance and help obligation along with socio-economic factors of income, religious affiliation and marital status were assessed in the project using a visual-ethnography approach to Photo Voice methods and five intergenerational focus groups of SBW's born between 1946 and 2002. The collective self-care knowledge of these eighteen participants was analyzed using a participatory action research discussion framework …

Cbos As A Tool For Sustainable Community Development: The Case In Kapchorwa, Annie Manges

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to assess the ability of Community Based Organizations, or CBOs, in the Kapchorwa District of Uganda to create long-term and sustainable community development that meets the needs of their community. To provide the necessary context for the study, I conducted a literature review of poverty in Uganda, theory in sustainable and community development, the connection of CBOs to sustainable community development, challenges and strengths for CBOs, and the general context of the structure of and the regulations for a CBO in Uganda.

The participants in the research were members of CBOs in the Kapchorwa …

The Constructing Of “Chinese-Ness”: The Culinary Identity Of Chinese Restaurants In Gettysburg, Pa., Lureann A. Semple

Student Publications

General Tso’s Chicken. Egg Rolls. Fried Rice. Fortune Cookies. Since the creation of Chop Suey in 1849, Chinese restaurants have not only displayed one of the most fascinating ethnic cuisines in the US but also become a commonly recognizable cultural symbol for Chinese-ness in the American “melting pot." Then what kind of “Chinese-ness” is presented and how is it constructed by these restaurants? Does its Otherness prevent it from fitting into mainstream American society or does its Americanization make this identity less ‘authentic’? By taking the Chinese restaurants in Gettysburg, PA, as a case study, this research studies the construction …

Spatial Disparities: The Role Of Nativity In Neighborhood Exposure To Alcohol And Tobacco Retailers, Georgiana Bostean, Luis A. Sánchez, Jason A. Douglas

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Studies of retail environment, one of the social determinants of health, document racial/ethnic disparities in exposure to alcohol and tobacco (A and T) retailers, but have largely overlooked nativity. We examined associations between A and T retailer density and rates of foreign-born Latinx and foreign-born Asian residents in California census tracts (N = 7888), using spatial regressions and controlling for population and ecological confounders (e.g., population density, zoning, residential instability, urbanicity). Socio-demographic data came from the American Community Survey (2012–2016); census tract density of A and T retailers came from geocoded addresses from state license data for off-sale alcohol distributors …

Desde El Fuego Que En Mí Arde: Performance, Literatura Y Cine Afro-Latinoamericano Producidos Por Mujeres Afrodescendientes En Perú, Cuba Y Brasil (1960–2000), Elena Ekatherina Chavez Goycochea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines different films, literary, and performance art pieces created by contemporary afro-descendant women from Peru, Cuba, and Brazil after the sixties with emphasis on the most relevant works of Conceição Evaristo, Sara Gómez, Victoria Santa Cruz, and Lucía Charún-Illescas. I focus my research on the crucial role these artists played in the cultural identity formation of Latin America when inserting ‘race’ as a category of socio-political analysis and cultural production. How did their films, performances, and texts challenge national narratives and imaginaries after 1960? Although in the sixties, women improved their civil rights in different countries, the ‘mujer …

Using Visual Storytelling To Design Solutions-Based Approaches To Homelessness, Peggy Peattie

Dissertations

Despite millions of dollars spent over several decades on assistance programs, the nation’s homeless population has increased for the last four years in a row. The number of people reporting as homeless for the first time doubled in San Diego between June 2019 and June 2020. Trying to impose a one-size-fits-all model of care on a population comprised of unique individuals has resulted in many homeless opting for the street rather than subjugating themselves to rules they feel do not treat them with respect and dignity. Yet, the perspectives of homeless individuals are excluded from decision-making dialogue around policies and …

Puhi In The Tree And Other Stories: Unlocking The Metaphor In Native And Indigenous Hawaiian Storytelling, Renuka M. De Silva, Joshua E. Hunter

The Qualitative Report

Human beings live and tell stories for many reasons, and it is a way to not only understand one another but to give a time and place to events and experiences. Therefore, a narrational approach within the context of this research offers a frame of reference and a way to reflect during the entire process of gathering data and writing. This study examines the importance of storytelling among Native (Kānaka ‘Ōiwi) and Indigenous (Kānaka Maoli) women of Hawai ̒ i and their interconnectedness to land and spirituality through accessing [k]new knowledge. The main focus of this article is to illustrate …