Community-Based Research Commons^™

Embodying Rhythm Nation: Multimodal Hip Hop Dance As A Site For Adolescent Social-Emotional And Political Development, Lauren M. Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This exploratory study employed qualitative methodology, specifically values analysis, to learn more about how being involved within Hip hop dance communities positively relates to adolescent development. Adolescence was defined herein as ages 13-23. The study investigated Hip hop dance communities in terms of cultural expertise (i.e. novice, intermediate and advanced/expert) to look specifically at dance narratives (i.e. peak experience narratives and “I dance because” essays) and hip hop dance performances. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to (1) explore how adolescents use multimodal Hip hop dance discourse for social-emotional development and critical consciousness, and to (2) understand how values …

Towards Soulful And Sustainable Service: The Role Of Ethics In Global Service-Learning Programs Within Faith-Based Tertiary Institutions, Corrie Johnson

Capstone Collection

This research evaluates the practices of specified faith-based institutions within the field of undergraduate global service learning through the lens of each of the major themes in the Fair Trade Learning framework. These themes include equal partnership, mutual learning, cooperative and positive social change, economic equity, transparency, and sustainability. Initial survey outcomes present an overall picture of where these particular universities are at in regards to balancing student and community outcomes. Interview outcomes provide a more in-depth perspective of how mutual benefit for student participants and host communities is being considered within the global service-learning programs these programs facilitate. Some …

Proliferating A Culture Of Fear: Islam In A Post 9/11 America, Setareh Motamedi

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

The threat of terrorism perceived by the American public has been shaped by a series of traumatic events over the past decade. In the years following the attacks of September 11, 2001, fear of terrorism has extended beyond the threat of terrorist groups. Much of the American public considers not only terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, but the entire religion of Islam to be a security threat. In much of this security discourse, ideas of hatred, violence, and terror have become associated with Islam. This study explores that association, and aims to identify what motivates existing stereotypes. Drawing on research from …

In Conversation With Seth Pollack, Seth Pollack, Marshall Welch

Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE)

In November 2016, EPiCHE Editor Marshall J. Welch sat down with service-learning scholar and practitioner Seth Pollack. They explored how the spiritual and religious dimensions of Seth’s life have influenced his personal passions and academic career.

Seth Pollack is Professor of Service Learning, and the founding faculty director of the Service Learning Institute at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). For the past 17 years, Seth has provided overall leadership for the Service Learning Institute at CSUMB. In 2005, he received the Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service Learning, recognized as the nation’s outstanding faculty in the field of community …

In Our Time: Advancing Interfaith Studies Curricula At Catholic Colleges And Universities, Eboo Patel, Noah Silverman, Kristi Del Vecchio

Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE)

People who orient around religion differently are interacting with greater frequency than ever before. These interactions, especially in the context of college and university campuses, require young people to grapple with their own identities in ways that previous generations could more easily avoid. Conversations about religious diversity have become elevated at colleges and universities, which has led Drs. Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen to claim that religion is “no longer invisible” in the context of American higher education.

As an organization that works with hundreds of American colleges and universities every year, Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) believes that Catholic …

What Street Harassment Means, Madison Davis

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is exploratory research into how college-age women understand their experiences of street harassment. Street harassment is a normative experience for women living in patriarchal cultures, and is an intrusive experience faced regularly in public life. Women told their experiences as part of a narrative that changed over time as they aged from teens into college. Their experiences were not confined to the street, but experienced across public life, and women often carry the weight of harassment in silence. Women resign to the ongoing reality of harassment, and their experiences did not exist in a vacuum but a larger …

Playing With Others: The Community, Motivations, And Social Structures Of The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band, Sarah E. Wilson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore motivations for participation, how social structures influence the adult non-professional members of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band (HRCB), and identify the characteristics of community present in the band. The following questions framed the investigation within an interpretative phenomenological approach:

1. What motivates the band members to participate in the HRCB?
2. How do the institutional social structures influence the sense of belonging, development of social capital, and socialization of band members?
3. What characteristics of community are present within the HRCB?

Data was collected from long-term researcher observation and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with each participant. …

The Role Of Refugee Women Narratives In The U.S. Resettlement Process, Alys N. Sink

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Within resettlement scholarship, there exists a distinct absence of direct narratives by refugee women about their resettlement experiences within the United States. This absence of voice has even been noted by refugee women representatives during a 2013 UNHCR dialogue stating that: “We call for a model in which the State, the municipalities, NGOs and refugees work together to learn from each other, hear the voices from the grassroots and together develop comprehensive, coordinated and long-term responses” (Speaking for Ourselves: Hearing Refugee Voices, A Journey Towards Empowerment). This study delves into this absence of voice locally, investigating the ways in which …

Acculturation And Ethnic-Identification Of American Chinese Restaurant, Ting Shi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Immigration reform in 1965 enabled a large number of Chinese immigrants to settle in the United States. Chinese restaurants expanded quickly both quantitatively and geographically. This thesis researches the interactions between Chinese restaurant employers and employees and their customers. I focus on several Chinese restaurants in a mid-size Southeast U.S. city with a university and I analyze their methods for attracting culturally distinct groups of customers—local Americans and Chinese students or immigrants. I conducted participant observation in two Chinese restaurants and in-person interviews with 14 people from four restaurants whose roles are owners, managers, or servers. I found that Chinese …

The Old Deery Inn & Museum: An Ethnographic Case Study, Rebecca J. Proffitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses qualitative ethnographic research methods to present a case study that explores the multiplicity of meanings and representations that are attached to the Old Deery Inn & Museum in Blountville, Tennessee. Within the community, the Inn functions as a center for cultural memory, with the physical structure itself acting as an artifact that holds community identity. This community narrative contrasts with the official narrative used by tourism entities that markets the Inn as a part of the Appalachian region, situating the Inn within a complex and intricately constructed identity of place that is shaped by lived experiences as …

The Intersection Of Culture And Activism In The Filipino Community In Soma, Ericka J. Martynovych

Master's Theses

My research analyzes the intersection between culture and activism, through oral histories with participants and organizers of SoMa Pilipinas, the Filipino cultural heritage district in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco. I analyzed the impact of the establishment of the Filipino cultural heritage district on the Filipino community in the South of Market neighborhood. I examined what motivates members of this community to be politically active by organizing and attending protests and rallies, speaking at Planning Commission hearings at City Hall, attending planning meetings for SoMa Pilipinas, building relationships across organizations and fields, and providing resources for community …

Going With The Flow: Using Menstrual Education As A Tool For Empowering Post Pubescent Nepali Girls, Graceann L. Cadiz

Master's Theses

Global discourse and research evidence on the benefits of girl’s education show that prioritizing girl’s education is the most successful strategy of breaking the cycle of poverty, gender inequality, and overpopulation. Moreover, there is a growing interest in closing the gender gap in education, but there has been insufficient attention to the specific needs of girls experiencing menses or menarche within schooling environments. The beginning of menstruation represents a pivotal event in development of the adolescent girl but is under-recognized and deemed insignificant with a culture of silence present throughout the rest of their lives. While providing access to education …

Exploring Winery Operation As A Diversification Option For Native American Tribal Enterprises, Randi M. Combs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of tribal members regarding the strengths, challenges, and opportunities presented by tribal winery operation. Specifically, issues of business diversification, marketing, perceived barriers to success, potential benefits to the tribe, and the role of agriculture in the preservation of tribal heritage were considered. A modified mixed-methods exploratory sequential research model was used to collect and organize data in two phases. Phase 1 quantitative data was used to inform the development of a Phase 2 qualitative interview protocol. Phase 1 found a significant relationship between a higher income level and a lower …

Tierra En Revuelta: La Presencia De La Cosmovisión Indígena En Las Luchas De Resistencia En La Región De Qoyllurit’I \ Earth In Revolt: The Presence Of The Indigenous Worldview In The Struggles Of Resistance In The Region Of Qoyllurit'i, Maya Pace

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El Santuario del Señor de Qoyllurit’i ha sido un lugar sagrado desde la época pre-inca y hasta ahora es el sitio de una peregrinación grandísima cada año. En 2011 recibió el título de Patrimonio Inmaterial Cultural de UNESCO en reconocimiento de su importancia para el Perú. Es un ejemplo fuerte de la mezcla de catolicismo con la cosmovisión indígena—la peregrinación es para honorar este sitio de un milagro católico, pero la peregrinación también incorpora danzas tradicionales, la creencia indígena en la nieve sagrada y en los apus, y pagos a la tierra. Entonces las propuestas de concesiones mineras recientes han …

Developed Toast, Modern Laundry: Nepali Household Appliance Discourses, Maureen Mccord

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates discourses of modernity, globalization, class identity, and social change in Kathmandu, Nepal, through the lens of ten Nepali women’s purchase and usage of home appliances. Four weeks of ethnographic research sought to identify prevailing practices and attitudes toward household appliances in the city, situating them in broader discourses of globalization, modernity, class identity, and social change. The project is composed of participant observation in Nepali homes, including informal interviews, with project participants sourced from my own social network. My collaborators’ practices and opinions on appliances engage discourses of the developmentalist and modernizing South Asian state, fluid and …

Power To The Period: The Role Of Menstruation In Nepal’S Formal Workplace, Johannah Mitchell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Within the greater context of Nepal, menstruation is a topic that has long-held significance as a taboo topic due to religious and cultural connotations. However, over the past five years, there has been a push in Nepali schools to acknowledge menstruation and menstrual hygiene management as legitimate aspects of health curriculums. This is a great step forward for the country, but also begs the question of whether this educational movement is being recognized in other areas of society, such as the formal workplace. Through discussion with various individuals- from government officers to healthcare employees- this research examines attitudes towards menstruation, …

Czech Artivism: The Function Of Activist Art In Czech Political Culture, Kristen Fontaine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research endeavors to explore the ways in which activist art functions within the context of the Czech Republic’s political culture. In a society where art had such a significant influence during the transition to democracy, the activist role of art is emphasized minimally in terms of contemporary culture. The main objective of exploring this function results in a threetiered methodology, utilizing secondary sources, direct observation, and interviews with activist artists themselves. The relevant scholarly literature discusses activist art both in the general sense, as well as within the context of post-communist countries. However, individual interviews with local activist artists …

Digital Diplomacy And Its Effect On International Relations, Bridget Verrekia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Digital technology has undoubtedly shaped the way in which the modern world works, going so far as to create a new form of diplomacy known as digital diplomacy. This paper seeks to explore the evolving nature of digital diplomacy and determine its effect on international relations. Four in-person interviews and 20 academic sources were used in order to assess the advantages and challenges that digital diplomacy presents. Acknowledging the way in which diplomats have been able to utilize social media to further the interests of their nations, this paper argues that digital diplomacy is a positive tool that can be …

Munnar Plantation Strike, 2015: A Case Study Of Keralan Female Tea Workers’ Fight For Justice, Shoshana Levy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the southern state of Kerala, tea leaf pickers are nearly all women. They work 14 hour days, six days a week, rain or shine. What’s more, they earn the lowest minimum daily wage of any sector in the state, bringing home a meager average of Rs. 231 a day. With women constituting more than half of the workforce on tea plantations across India it is becoming increasingly crucial to understand the challenged, yet integral role they play. Through a case study of the Munnar Plantation Strike of 2015 - a strike organized by the Pempilai Orumai women, against the …

From The Margins To The Frame: Social Identities And A “Pan-Pacific” Moana, Keara Sternberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates the implications of Pacific representation and regional identity in Disney’s film, Moana. It evaluates if the film successfully represented a broad range of Pacific cultures and peoples. It weaves together 20 secondary sources, 8 interviews and 56 surveys. The sample population involved college-aged students from universities throughout the Pacific along with academic professionals and involved members of the Oceanic Story Trust. Overall, the study found that Moana successfully captured a pan-Pacific identity on several indicators, while it also found dissenting reactions toward the film by some respondents on measures of cultural representation. To Pacific students, Moana appears …

“Todas Las Comunidades Tenemos Solo Un Espíritu:” Un Análisis Del Reciente Surgimiento En Activismo Político Y Social De Las Mujeres Indígenas De La Argentina Y El Discurso Sobre Si Existe Un “Feminismo Indígena.” / “All Of The Communities We Have One Spirit:” An Analysis Of The Recent Rise Of Political And Social Activism Of Indigenous Women In Argentina And The Discussion Of Whether An “Indigenous Feminism” Exists., Larissa Peltola

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En el siguiente trabajo, intento de presentar e identificar cuál es, en mi opinión, el movimiento social más reciente en la Argentina y estudiar el activismo de las mujeres Argentinas nativas, de comunidades indígenas y pueblos originarios[1] y las formas en que se encuentran participando en este movimiento social. El primer objetivo de este ensayo es identificar brevemente la manera en que las mujeres de estas comunidades han sido históricamente excluidas de las posiciones tradicionales de poder y las diversas formas de discriminación basadas en la raza, el género y el estatus socioeconómico. En segundo lugar, examinaré las formas …

La Resistencia Cultural A Través Del Teatro De Las Oprimidas Para La Cultivación De La Subjetividad De La Mujer En Un Contexto De Violencia De Género: Un Estudio De Caso Del Colectivo De Mujeres Osadía / Cultural Resistance And The Cultivation Of The Subjective Through Theatre Of The Oppressed For The Woman In A Context Of Gender Violence: A Case Study With Colectivo De Mujeres Osadía In Jose Leon Suarez, Province Of Buenos Aires, Lela Biggus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hay en este momento en la historia una ola de movimientos feministas barriendo la vida política de Buenos Aires. Movimientos como Ni Una Menos busca, en una variedad de métodos, para interrumpir el discurso destructivo de la cultura machista que produce la violencia de género y hace que el acto de femicidio, el asesinato de una mujer por su género, sea común.

En mis investigaciones exploro cómo el Teatro del oprimido, una práctica teatral de Augusto Boal, puede transformarse en una experiencia de resistencia cultural y subjetivación de la mujer en un contexto de violencia de género. Yo pasé tiempo …

Un Rescate Incompleto: Los Éxitos Y Limitaciones Del Programa De Educación Intercultural Bilingüe Como Un Proyecto Anticolonialista / An Incomplete Rescue: The Successes And Limitations Of The Bilingual Intercultural Education Program As An Anticolonialist Project, Aviva Thal

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is an exploration of the Bilingual Intercultural Education Program (EIB) mandated in Chilean schools with a high density of indigenous students. It focusses on the implementation and impacts of EIB in Putre, a small town in the Arica and Parinacota region of Chile where the majority of the residents are Aymara. After gaining the region in the War of the Pacific at the end of the 19th century, the Chilean government waged a violent campaign of forced cultural assimilation known as “Chilenization” against the local Aymara people. The effects of the linguistic repression that occurred during this period …

“Que Rica...”: Sexualización Y Exotificación De Mujeres Migrantes Y Sus Experiencias Y Percepciones En El Centro Urbano De Santiago / "How Rich ...": Sexualization And Exotification Of Migrant Women And Their Experiences And Perceptions In The Urban Center Of Santiago, Alexandra Barton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration to Chile has been increasing every year since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship. The recent migration to Chile is feminized and centralized to the urban center of Santiago and surrounding areas. Current migrations trends in Chile are also including a wider range of immigrants, especially an increase of afro-latina women. These women tend to experience more discrimination, racism and sexism than the average Chilean woman. Previous studies and colonial theory demonstrate a history of the sexualization and exotification of migrant woman, especially in women of color due to the processes of colonization, euroization and racialization. Many migrant women …

Twenty Reasons To Publish In Dignity, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Smoking Selectivity Among Mexican Immigrants To The United States Using Binational Data, 1999–2012, Nancy L. Fleischer, Annie Ro, Georgiana Bostean

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Mexican immigrants have lower smoking rates than US-born Mexicans, which some scholars attribute to health selection—that individuals who migrate are healthier and have better health behaviors than their non-migrant counterparts. Few studies have examined smoking selectivity using binational data and none have assessed whether selectivity remains constant over time. This study combined binational data from the US and Mexico to examine: 1) the extent to which recent Mexican immigrants (< 10 years) in the US are selected with regard to cigarette smoking compared to non-migrants in Mexico, and 2) whether smoking selectivity varied between 2000 and 2012—a period of declining tobacco use in Mexico and the US. We combined repeated cross-sectional US data (n = 10.901) on adult (ages 20–64) Mexican immigrants and US-born Mexicans from the 1999/2000 and 2011/2012 National Health Interview Survey, and repeated cross-sectional Mexican data on non-migrants (n …

Little Manila Visualization Software Program, Josh Salyers, Danielle Thomasson, Kyle Sabbatino, Jamie Culilap, Sarah Kuo, Ronnie Sanchez, Hannah Tvergyak

Little Manila Visualization Software Program

This 3d simulation is built using gaming software. The graphics quality and download time can vary significantly based on the specification of the computer running this program.

Instructions:Click on the Download button and save the .zip file to your computer. It will begin to download. (This can take a while initially). Once the file has downloaded, unzip the folder and click on the .exe file to play the game.

Version: The current version is only compatible with Windows operating system.

Recovery From Design, Cassandra J. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

Bye Bye Binary: Exploring Non-Binary Youths' Experiences Of Mental Health, Discrimination, And Community Belongingness, Ellis Furman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In recent years, there has been an increase in research focusing on the impacts of social exclusion and discrimination on the mental health of transgender populations. Despite this, few studies have focused on the experiences of gender non-conforming, or “non-binary” individuals. This community-based participatory research (CBPR) study (N = 10) used the arts-informed method of body mapping, individual interviews, and group discussions to examine non-binary young peoples’ experiences of discrimination in relation to mental health. Participants consisted young people (ages 16-25) living in Waterloo, Ontario. A visual analysis, thematic analysis, and member-checking session were employed to analyze collected data. …

Different Names For Bullying, Marco Poggio

Capstones

“There's all different forms of bullying,” says Steven Gray, a Lakota rancher and former law enforcement officer living in South Dakota. In this look into Gray’s life, we learn about two instances of bullying: the psychological and physical harassment that pushed his son, Tanner Thomas Gray, to commit suicide at age 12; And the controversial construction of an oil pipeline in an ancient tribal land that belongs to the Lakota people by rights of a treaty signed in 1851, which Gray sees as an institutional abuse infringing on the sovereignty of his people. Gray is involved in the movement that …