Community-Based Research Commons^™

Introduction: Dignity's Special Issue On The Chab Dai Coalition's Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project, Leslie M. Tutty

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills

Masters Theses

Can acts of making carry the memories of our embeddedness within the world? This thesis explores how making things can nurture a sense of kinship that cuts across the organic and inorganic, erasing the distinction between living and dead, material and spiritual. Through handwork such as art-making, sewing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, and beyond, the burden of remembering and of archiving is shared across human and non-human bodies, cultivated through practices of making, and through the materials themselves. By recounting the stories of my family’s experience as Jewish immigrants in the United States, I aim to reveal how their domestic practices …

Barriers To Post-Secondary Success, Douglas Swanson, Najeana Henderson, Maritza Sloan

Dissertations

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and their impact on African-American students’ postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school education with regards to career preparedness.

Five factors are identified as major barriers for Latinx students to continue in a higher education system. A survey of former students from Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas, metroplex area identified 56 Latinx students that participated in an initial survey. This led to a …

Healthcare Of Indigenous Amazonian Peoples In Response To Covid-19: Marginality, Discrimination And Revaluation Of Ancestral Knowledge In Ucayali, Peru, Doreen Montag, Marco Barboza, Lizardo Cauper, Ivan Brehaut, Isaac Alva, Aoife Bennett, José Sanchez-Choy, Juan Pablo Sarmiento Barletti, Pilar Valenzuela, José Manuyama, Italo García Murayari, Miguel Guimaraes Vásquez, Celso Aguirre Panduro, Angela Giattino, Edwin Julio Palomino Cadenas, Rodrigo Lazo, Carlos A. Delgado, Alfonso Nino, Elaine C. Flores, Maria Amalia Pesantes, Juan Pablo Murillo, Luisa Elvira Belaunde, Sergio Recuenco, Robert Chuquimbalqui, Carol Zavaleta-Cortijo

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research

"Systematic and persistent discrimination against Indigenous Peoples translates into differential health outcomes when analysed through ethnicity and/or mother tongue.1 In Peru, morbidity and mortality rates among Indigenous Peoples for COVID-19 appear to confirm this.2 The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the historical structural violence against Indigenous Peoples that currently takes a disproportionate toll in the Peruvian Amazon. This equally applies to Indigenous Andean Peoples and Afro Peruvians. Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and those in initial contact are at highest health risk in this pandemic as they have no previous immunity against common infectious diseases, and lack access to public healthcare …

Community-Based Disaster Risk Management And Covid-19: How Local Ngos In Latin America Adapted To The Pandemic, Emily Pugh

CMC Senior Theses

The global COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges for communities across Latin America: lack of access to potable water and food, loss of jobs and lack of access to technology now needed for children to attend school. By interviewing different leaders of NGOs throughout the continent, I was able to find out how local NGOs were adapting their typical activities to help their communities face these new and worsening challenges. While the NGOs in this study do not primarily focus on disaster relief, each adapted their initiatives to deal with the current needs of the community they serve. Some were able …

Covid-19’S Impact On Climate Change Research And Institutional Resilience In Higher Education In Vermont And Tanzania, Stephanie Clement

Capstone Collection

The COVID-19 pandemic impacts all sectors of society. It is necessary to understand how higher education institutions (HEIs) react to, adapt to, and build resilience in the face of such a crisis. HEIs around the world shifted how they deliver education to their students and struggled to adapt to a changing economy. Yet, there is little information on how HEIs bolster their resilience to exogenous shocks, like the coronavirus. This study assesses how the COVID-19 crisis impacted institutional resilience and climate change research at four HEIs: the University of Vermont (UVM) and Vermont Law School (VLS) in Vermont, United States …

Cuban Immigrants’ Experience With Acculturation And How They Cope In The United States, Lourdes Araujo

Dissertations

Objective: This research examines how Cuban immigrants experience cope and adapt to the United States. Cuban immigration is associated with specific stressors related to the immigration experience and the necessary process of acculturation and assimilation. These major stressors can result in mental health concerns among Cuban immigrants; however, no studies have examined how acculturation may influence Cuban immigrants’ coping skills and resultant mental health concerns. This unique study is the first to examine the coping skills Cuban immigrants use during acculturation and the effects of these skills on Cuban immigrants’ mental health. Methods: Seventeen participants completed a semistructured interview and …

You’Re Happy And You Know It: Social-Cognitive And Environmental Factors’ Impact On Iraqi Student Satisfaction, Rachel Laribee Gresk

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding and identifying factors that contribute to student satisfaction is becoming more important in Iraq as competition for student enrollment among universities increases. It also can be extremely useful for educational institutions since it will help them pinpoint their strengths, assess areas for improvement, and ensure they maintain and attract students to their campus. Thus, to understand how to achieve positive student satisfaction, this study sought to identify the social-cognitive factors and institutional environmental influences that relate to student satisfaction in a private institution in Iraq, using social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as a framework.

The study found that the …

Perceptions Of Human Security Among Islamic School Students, Parents And Teachers In Southern Thailand’S Subnational Conflict Zone, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Mahsoom Sateemae, Suhaimee Sateemae, Sareeha Tayongmat, Stacey Hoffman, Mark Dekraai

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Since 2004, close to 7,000 people have died in Thailand’s domestic insurgency in its three Muslim-majority southern provinces, one of the longest-running, low-intensity conflicts in Southeast Asia. This study assesses perceptions of human security threats in the area among a sample of students, their parents, and teachers of Islamic private schools (n = 427, n = 331, n = 51, respectively), and how they relate to perceptions of government actors and other community institutions. Questionnaire items were drawn from the World Values Survey Wave 6. Focus groups and interviews were also conducted to deepen our understanding of conflict related dynamics.

La Mera Verdad: Exploring Immigrant Latino Fatherhood, Jessica Martinez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the current experiences of immigrant Latino fathers and their families in Southern California, and to examine the barriers and facilitators that impacted their paternal involvement. The literature suggests that father-absence diminishes the ability of a child to thrive in life and yet immigrant Latino fathers are more at risk of all the factors that lead to father-absence, such as poverty and other added stressors. Likewise, these fathers have been noted to experience a lack of fathering in their childhood, which speaks on generational trauma creating the father wound …

“You Feel Like You Belong Nowhere”: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence And Social Identity In Post-Genocide Rwanda, Myriam Denov, Laura Eramian, Meaghan C. Shevell

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Globally, the systematic use of sexual violence in modern warfare has resulted in the birth of thousands of children. Research has begun to focus on this often invisible group and the obstacles they face, including stigma, discrimination and exclusion based on their birth origins. Although sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide has been documented on a massive scale, little research has focused on the relational dynamics between mothers who experienced genocide rape and the children they bore. This paper explores the post-genocide realities of these two under-explored populations, revealing two key tensions in relation to identity-building and belonging. Drawing upon …

How Do Farmers Experience Agroecology In Rural Communities Of Northern Ecuador?, Neil Michael Ayala Ayala

Latin American Studies ETDs

Agroecology, a concept in continuous evolution embraces science, practice and sociopolitical aspects. Its meaning is gaining space of debate and global interest as an alternative for building sustainable food systems and resilient communities, not only from the environmental perspective, but from all the dimensions of sustainability. The Andes region is recognized for its agrodiversity and for its history of agricultural activity; nevertheless, the effects of unsustainable agricultural practices inspired in the principles of the so called “Green Revolution” are evident. Conventional agriculture has decreased the capacity of resilience of the agroecosystems and their associated communities. Agroecology is often perceived as …

Found In The World: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of How Place Influences The Growing Formation Of One’S Identity, Sydney Atkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper incorporates both background information on place, human identity, and the African term Ubuntu, as well as personal stories from interviewees, to attempt to understand how both the physical location as well as human relationships aid in the growing formation of one’s identity. The stories synthesized in this paper come from individuals living in Cato Manor, as well as my own personal experiences living in Colorado, Louisiana, and South Africa. I conducted six interviews with participants ranging in age and gender. I asked them to share their stories with me when answering questions about their personal relationship to Cato …

Livestock-Wildlife Dynamics And Subsequent Human Responses In Marginalized Communities Within Mexico’S Nationally Protected Areas, Deanna Seil

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Entering the planet’s sixth mass-extinction, monitoring biodiversity and the factors which affect it is of the utmost importance. This study on the interaction of humans and their livestock with wildlife, and the impact of this interaction on wildlife conservation, took place in Santiago Coatepec, located within the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. Wildlife interactions with livestock may depend upon species, season, ecological characteristics of the area, and livestock management practices. Using camera traps, field data, and interview data, I quantified livestock impact on wildlife behavior and community beliefs. Over two years, camera traps at 18 stations recorded 709 wildlife videos …

The Role Of Food And Culinary Customs In The Homing Process For Syrian Migrants In California, Sally Baho

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This interdisciplinary thesis explores the foodways of six Syrian migrant families, both immigrants and refugees, in California and the role that culinary customs play in their homing process. The homing process is the dynamic way in which people create home according to their life circumstances: food, eating, and culinary customs after migration in this case. Home is not only the place where people live, but also, where they come from and how they feel comfortable; home is both a physical space and an abstract concept. Home, and the various definitions of home, are mapped out in this project because understanding …

Apanola Atolan Pah Mollo At The Margin: Power, Development, And Ngo-State Relationship In West Timor, Indonesia, Yuda Rasyadian

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines how power operates within the NGOs and how NGOs’ agenda interacts with local forces that transform local civic life and their relationship with the state. Using critical ethnography as an approach and methodology, this study investigates the relationship between the agenda that was developed by an NGO-like institution named the UGM and the Mollonese’s local politics that in turn affected the NGO-state relationship in West Timor. This study uses ethnographic data from two separate fieldworks in the district of North Mollo, Timor Island. The first was conducted from January 2016 to January 2017, the second was from …

Feminist Action Against Pornography In Japan: Unexpected Success In An Unlikely Place, Caroline Norma, Seiya Morita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In late 2016 a feminist movement against problems of commercial sexual exploitation, and especially issues of coerced pornography filming, arose in Japan. This article describes the history of this movement as it mobilized to combat human rights violations perpetrated by the country’s pornographers. The movement’s success came not spontaneously or haphazardly; in fact, it was orchestrated earlier over a full decade-and-a-half by activists who persevered in researching and highlighting pornography’s harms in a civil environment of hostility, isolation and social derision, even among progressive groups and individuals. The Anti-Pornography and Prostitution Research Group (APP) was particularly prominent in this history. …

Queen Nanny, A Case Study For Cultural Heritage Tourism: The Archaeology Of Memory And Identity, Lacy Risner

Liberal Arts Capstones

This research project is intended to provide a foundation of knowledge of the Maroon culture in Jamaica, through the legends of one of their most prominent founders, Queen Nanny, as an aid for those who want to educate themselves before approaching community leaders about tourism development. Documentation of Queen Nanny’s life is contested and shrouded in mystery. Yet, that is part of what makes her memory so powerful. The various roles that Queen Nanny is associated with feature her adamant pursuit of an independent life for herself and her Maroons. Whether she is catching bullets or teaching the Maroons how …

“People Come And Go But We Don’T See Anything”: How Might Social Research Contribute To Social Change?, Nathan Andrews, Sylvia Bawa

The Qualitative Report

In different fields of study, scholars interested in making a positive difference in the lives of their research communities insist on engaging policy makers and activists in their work. Paulo Freire, one of the most widely known public intellectuals, asserts that praxis enables critical thought, awareness and collaborative action for emancipation for oppressed groups. Within this framework, our contribution aims to provoke thinking on the need for accountability to research subjects in development research through an emphasis on producing policy-focused and change-driven, as opposed to purely theoretically oriented, knowledge. The overarching argument is that research should, in fact, be conscious …

Learning Together To Heal: Toward An Integrated Practice Of Transpersonal Psychology, Experiential Learning, And Neuroscience For Collective Healing, Tatsushi Arai, Jean Bosco Niyonzima

Peace and Conflict Studies

This essay brings together complementary insights from transpersonal psychology, experiential learning, and neuroscience to develop an integrated framework of psychosocial healing in societies affected by conflict and trauma. While transpersonal psychology examines the spiritual and transcendental aspects of psychosocial wellbeing, research on experiential learning examines how people learn from direct experience. Recognizing that both are useful for psychosocial healing, the first part of the essay explores how the two sets of activities can complement each other. Of particular interest is the role of transpersonal exercises such as yoga and meditation, as well as the purposeful use of experiential learning techniques …

Escuchando Y Enseñando: Un Proyecto De Investigación-Acción Participativa Sobre El Tema De Radio Con Los Estudiantes Del Centro Calpulli, Delaney Zuver

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto de investigación-acción participativa examina mis experiencias produciendo radio con los estudiantes de Centro Calpulli en Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca. Durante un período de cinco semanas, participé en diez sesiones donde mis suposiciones sobre mi papel como una participante en la organización fue desafiado. A través de reflexiones y un análisis de mis notas de campo, pude entender que al utilizar pedagogías liberadoras y una alfabetización mediática como la define Hoeschsmann y Poyntz (2012), podría equilibrar muchas de las suposiciones de la organización y los principios de investigación-acción. Basado en mi experiencia y análisis, ofrezco sugerencias a la organización …

Church Of The Scattered: Navigating Cultural Identity In The Protestant Churches Of Senegal, Joy Kirkland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Senegal is a country renowned for its peaceful religious pluralism in the midst of turmoil and demographic change in neighboring West African nations. Though the vast majority of the population adheres to Sufi Islam, they seem to live in peace and cooperation with the prominent Catholic minority. Wedged between these well-established groups, Protestantism struggles to distinguish itself. Protestant missions have been planted in Senegal for over a century, but the church remains small with almost no cultural presence, and up to 80% of its members are non-Senegalese. This paper will present some preliminary basic research about this oft-ignored community in …

Factors In Refugee Resilience Building During Humanitarian Response, Rachel Starner

Capstone Collection

If countries hosting refugees want to build resiliency and reduce dependency on foreign relief, humanitarian response and local development need to be addressed simultaneously, and collaboration at all levels of stakeholders needs to take place in planning and decision making. Additionally, innovation and strong leadership are strong factors in creating and leading new ideas as funding and world leadership dynamics change, especially with traditional leaders such as the US and the UN losing influence. Observations made at the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda as well as existing document analysis reflect these traits by active efforts of camp administrators and humanitarian …

Assessing Louisiana State University College Of Agriculture Faculty Members' Cultural Intelligence And Kenyan Workshop Participants' Knowledge And Attitude Towards International Development Projects, Cristina Cossich

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main objective of this dissertation was to assess Louisiana State University College of Agriculture Faculty Members' Cultural Intelligence and Kenyan Workshop Participants' Knowledge and Attitude towards International Development Projects. The study examines key aspects that contribute to the implementation of international development projects: describing the landscape of what is known about international development projects in Kenya; assessing perceptions of faculty members of a southern United States land-grant university who are in charge of the development and implementation of international development projects; and evaluation of program impacts on selected local participants of a project in Kenya.

The overall findings of …

Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Nigerian women and children have been trafficked to Italy over the last 30 years for commercial sexual exploitation with an alarming increase in the past three years. The Central Mediterranean Route that runs from West African countries to Italy is rife with organized crime gangs that have created a highly successful trafficking operation. As part of the recruitment process, the Nigerian mafia and its operatives exploit victims by subjecting them to a traditional religious juju oath ceremony, which is an extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them in debt bondage. This study explores the psychological effects of …

Dilemma And Knowledge - Book Review Of Re-Imagining Utopias: Theory And Method For Educational Research In Post-Socialist Contexts, Jessica Zychowicz

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

The Caged Bird Still Sings: The Poetics Of Peace, Sofia Diane Skavdahl

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although poetry has been used as a method of peacemaking since Homer’s Iliad, little research, theory, or analysis has been done evaluating precisely what role poetry holds in the realms of peacemaking and conflict resolution. Poetry, along with other arts-based practices of peacemaking, is beneficial because of its ability to encourage personal autonomy and emotional communication, while offering an open and creative space to heal from violent conflict. In terms of the arts, poetry is especially unique because it holds the ability to transform relationships between adversaries and the relationship with the self. This paper seeks to analyze both the …

Cultural Heritage Preservation In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation Or Relocation: Barbuda As A Case Study, Martha B. Lerski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study introduces an arts camp methodology of engaging communities in identifying their key cultural heritage features, thus serving as a meta study. It presents original research based on field studies on the climate-vulnerable Caribbean island of Barbuda during 2017 and 2018. Its Valued Cultural Elements survey, enabling precise identification of key tangible and intangible art forms and biocultural practices, may serve as a basis for further studies. Such approaches may facilitate future research or planning as climate-vulnerable communities harness Local or Indigenous Knowledge for purposes of biocultural heritage preservation, or towards adaptation or relocation. I report on findings …

Living In Gang-Controlled Neighborhoods: Impacts On Electoral And Nonelectoral Participation In El Salvador, Abby Córdova

Political Science Faculty Publications

Gangs’ territorial control affects the lives of residents in thousands of neighborhoods across Latin America, particularly in northern Central American countries. I argue that gang dominance constrains the ability of neighborhood residents to mobilize politically and consequently resist gang violence through institutionalized channels. Living in gang-controlled neighborhoods results in fewer incentives and opportunities to make political elites accountable for one’s personal safety. Even residents who have already experienced crime firsthand are discouraged from turning to politics as a strategy to change the status quo. My theoretical insights identify mechanisms through which gangs’ neighborhood control affects nonelectoral and electoral participation. To …

Hábitos Sobre El Autocuidado En Salud Bucodental En La Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires (Caba): Estudio De Caso En Los Alumnos De Una Escuela Primaria Pública En Caballito / Habits About Self-Care In Oral Health In The Autonomous City Of Buenos Aires (Caba): Case Study Of Students In A Public Elementary School In Caballito, Franklin Zhang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Información contextual: Las enfermedades bucodentales son unas de las enfermedades no transmisibles (ENT) y una de las cargas más grandes del mundo. Según la Organización Mundial de la Salud, entre el 60% y 90% de los escolares de todo el mundo tienen caries dentales, siendo una enfermedad extremadamente prevalente en el nivel primario. Además de visitas al odontólogo para chequeos de rutina, es importante prevenir esta la caries dental con una integración entre salud y educación y desarrollar hábitos saludables. El objetivo del siguiente trabajo es explorar los conocimientos sobre el autocuidado de la salud bucodental en los alumnos de …