Place and Environment Commons^™

Tennessee Promise And Two-Year Community College Retention And Graduation In Rural Appalachia, Tammy Dycus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to explore the relationship between the implementation of the Tennessee Promise scholarship program and the two-year Tennessee community college retention rates and graduation rates of first-time, full-time Tennessee students from rural Appalachian counties. Results from this study may help higher education stake-holders better understand the features of Tennessee Promise that are influencing an increase in community college retention and graduation rates for Tennessee students from rural Appalachian counties. The theoretical framework that guided this research was the social capital framework. Data including use of Tennessee Promise, county of origin, retention, and graduation …

Socio-Economic Resilience Of Natural Resource Dependent Communities, Gabrielle Sherman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resilience is described as the ability of a system to absorb shocks and stressors while retaining functionality. Within the context of communities, shocks may consist of disruptive events such as recession, natural disaster, local losses of industry, and social unrest. Resilience therefore is the ability of a community to continuously support human well-being in the aftermath of such an event. Although it is observable that certain communities perform this function better than others following a shock, no exact measurement of resilience exists. Instead, its presence is implied through the measurement of proxies known to contribute to socio-economic condition as well …

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores cities as urban ecologies of communication in which crises emerge and are given significance within the dialogic relations cultivated among public actors attempting to make a living, together, within the shared historical-cultural contexts of everyday life. To describe cities as urban ecologies of communication is to describe them in terms of urban communication and its interdisciplinary foundations in the study of rhetoric, philosophy, planning, policy, architecture, sociology, geography, and media. The first chapter introduces the challenges of urban risk and crisis management within the complex ecologies of communication constituted by cities and reviews how ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ …

Disparate Sense Of Exclusion Between Young People Of Color Living Within Variable Social Infrastructures., James M. Joyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I analyzed transcripts of listening sessions with youth/young adults of color in 2021-2022 for the purpose of addressing local racial inequity during COVID-19. I used inductive coding methods and found three themes on sense of exclusion to be most salient. These themes related to racial exclusion, exclusion of social infrastructures in the community, exclusion of young people of color by people working in schools and other public settings, and exclusion or disconnection of young people of color from opportunities for building community. I show how these themes vary across some dimensions of the local social infrastructure, and I discuss implications …

Outdoor Pursuits And Outdoor Learning At Rural Maine Schools: A Positive Outlier Approach, Lauren E. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the barriers and facilitators to outdoor learning and outdoor pursuits (OPs) in some of the most rural isolated K-12 schools in Maine. The purpose was to understand why some of these schools incorporate a lot of OPs and outdoor learning into their curriculum while other schools do not. Outdoor pursuits and outdoor learning in school settings are worthy of study because they provide students with opportunities to increase physical activity, benefit from time in nature, and make important connections to local culture (Lim et al., 2017; Schafft, 2016; Trembley et al., 2015).

This study employed a comparative …

The Perspective Of Riverkeepers And Environmental Groups On Poor Water Quality In Georgia, Jacob A. Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Riverkeepers and environmental groups currently face the complex task of defending watersheds. In Georgia, these efforts are complicated by the vast geographical and racial diversity within the state. This study examined the riverkeepers and environmental groups need to improve advocacy abilities to defend communities they serve from poor water quality, what communities in Georgia are being impacted by poor water quality, what disconnects exist between riverkeepers, environmental groups, and governmental agencies, and how COVID-19 has challenged the riverkeepers and environmental groups. Using qualitative interviews with eleven riverkeepers and environmentalists, the findings suggest that collaboration with riverkeepers, enforcement of current policy, …

Climate Care: Pathways For Coastal Community Resilience, Jessica Reilly-Moman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change increasingly impacts coasts worldwide. The ability of coastal ecosystems and the human communities who are part of them to absorb disturbance and maintain function or transform, or resilience, is of critical importance to managing these impacts. However, to date, climate resilience largely has focused on biophysical impacts and technocratic solutions, while issues of social and environmental justice and human well-being become more acute and entrenched. Consequently, I ask: How can coastal communities cope with climate change? To answer this question, I leverage traditional, emergent, and novel social research methods in Mexico, Central America, and Maine. Using ethnography, interviews, …

It’S Not All Aces: The Role Of Negative Parental Influences And Criminal Thinking In Juvenile Offending Behaviors, Branna Humphrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and criminal thinking in causing criminal behavior has been explored extensively in criminal justice research. Based on the concepts of ACEs and the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Scale, the negative parental influences and criminal thinking styles of 1,354 juvenile offenders were examined to establish that negative parental influences and criminal thinking are separately associated with juvenile problem and offending behavior, and that criminal thinking mediates the relationship between negative parental influences and juvenile problem and offending behavior. Analyses showed support for criminal thinking as a pathway from negative parental influences to juvenile …

The Interaction Of Adversity, Hope, Social Support, And Academic Resilience In Emerging Appalachian Adults, Daniel Joseph Gottron Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The negative impact of adverse childhood experiences on both short-term and long-term wellbeing has been repeatedly validated across multiple populations. While adverse childhood experiences have been thoroughly researched in many contexts, this is not the case for Appalachia, which has often been relegated to the fringe of scholarly research, resulting in an overall lack of research on Appalachia. Further lacking is research into how protective factors might be utilized to help overcome adversity. While some recent research on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, hope, and resilience has been conducted, it too has been limited to select populations. It is …

Understanding South Dakota Farmers’ Intentions To And Adoption Of Conservation Practices: An Examination Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Edem Avemegah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conservation agriculture practice is a sustainable farming method based on three principle: crop diversification, minimal soil disturbance or movement and permanent or semi-permanent of soil cover. Government and stakeholders within the agricultural sector in the United States are promoting conservation farming practices but limited voluntary adoption still exists among producers at the farm level. This research study investigated the factors that influence the adoption of conservation practices among producers in the eastern and central parts of South Dakota (SD). A modified theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used as a framework alongside socioeconomic and demographic indicators to understand farmers’ current …

Effective Design Features For The Management Of Behavioral Health Patients In General Emergency Departments Of Hospitals, Rheena Ware Luchansky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated nursing staff members perspectives of their existing Emergency Department (ED) and their ability to care appropriately for behavioral health patients within the environment. The study involved three rural hospitals in eastern Texas that may not always have the proper resources to care effectively for this vulnerable patient population. The researcher administered a paper-based survey utilizing a Likert-scale response system to nursing staff across all facilities and received participation from 56 respondents. Survey questions were designed to investigate the current ED environment and identify design features available to assist with caring for behavioral health patients. Data gathered revealed …

Social-Ecological Heterogeneity Shapes Resilience Of Small-Scale Fisheries: An Interdisciplinary Analysis Of The Mexican Chocolate Clam Fishery In Loreto, Mexico, Kara E. Pellowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

All benefits provided by natural systems are embedded within coupled social-ecological systems (SESs). Fisheries are clear examples of SESs: through fishing, humans affect ecosystem structure and functioning, and in turn, receive benefits, including sustenance, employment, and cultural value. Resilience, the ability to maintain structure and function in the face of change, is key to sustaining the social and ecological components of fisheries-related SESs and their interactions. Many factors contribute to resilience, including heterogeneity. By identifying heterogeneity in these complex systems, we are better able to understand the capacity of fishery-related SESs to adapt to change, and contribute to management that …

Connecting Youth To Public Lands Through The Social Change Model Of Leadership Development: The Yosemite Leadership Program, Amanda J. Dworak Rowland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the success and outcome of the Yosemite Leadership Program (YLP) through its foundation in the Social Change Model of Leadership Development. There are research studies of collegiate programming and the Social Change Model (SCM); however, a literature review uncovered the limited amounts of research around leadership programming connecting collegiate students to their gateway public lands sites. The goal of this research was to identify how the SCM could be used to implement methods and practices of leadership development with college students in partnership with a public lands agency. The specific leadership development themes that were explored …

Acoustic Ecology And Sound Mapping The University Of Central Florida Main Campus, Robert Clarke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Acoustic Ecology and Sound Mapping the University of Central Florida Main Campus" explores the intersection of place and space, sound studies and acoustic ecology, visualization, and archives. The end result consists of a collection of "soundwalk" and stationary recordings conducted from 2016-2019 at the University of Central Florida (UCF) main campus in Orlando presented as an online Sound Map. This archive previously did not exist and provides a snapshot of the various sounds heard throughout the campus as well as a starting point and context for future research into this still-emerging field of acoustic ecology and sound studies. While the …

Speaking From Places: A Phenomenological Deconstructive Study Of Children’S Places, Child-Centric Methods, And Politics., Sugandh Dixit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation adopts an innovative phenomenological and deconstructive methodology to create a child-centric research process sensitive to facilitating, integrating, and representing children’s voices in designing their school playground. The study developed and employed two novel child-centric methods, an Embedded Walk and a Communal Child-Map Project in order to integrate parents’ and children’s experiences of the school spaces the authorities planned to renovate. Both methods reveal and complicate the socio-political dynamics that structure children’s, parents’, and researchers’ stances towards children’s places and worlds. During the Embedded Walk, children led their parents through their play spaces and they collaboratively documented the childrens’ …

“You Can’T Put A Price On Something That’S Not For Sale”: Eminent Domain In St. Paul, Virginia (1970 - 1985), Evan Couch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The St. Paul Redevelopment Project was unique and touted as the first-of-its-kind to feature cooperation from all three levels of government. Several government agencies helped St. Paul accomplish an “impossible dream,” spending an estimated thirty million dollars to rechannel the Clinch River in the 1970s and 1980s. The small town of 1,000 residentsrelocated 100 families from South St. Paul to carry out the project, much to the dismay of many of the residents. A primary factor in enforcing the power of eminent domain in the St. Paul Redevelopment Project was the idea of “progress,” a commonality of many redevelopment projects. …

“The Problem With The Haitians Is Their Language”: Language As Color-Blind Racism, Ruthie Wienk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores the mechanisms of exclusion and oppression of a Haitian population in a rural community in South West Florida. The analytical approach taken is an analysis of the social field and habitus as dispositions and embodied culture. Language has been identified as a tool to marginalize the population in the general social order. Through this process, language operates as a form of color-blind racism which justifies the exclusion of the Haitian community but is insufficient in explaining their overall social outcomes. Qualitative data were collected for this project in the form of unstructured interviews, focus groups, photographs of …

Moving Mountains : A Study Examining Long-Term Impacts Of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining On Mortality In The Appalachian Region Using Geographic Information Sciences Techniques., James Howard Kent Pugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last hundred years, the Appalachian region has been dominated by the coal industry. It has also been and currently is one of the unhealthiest regions in the United States. Recent scholarship has examined the relationship between coal mining and health and mortality rates in the Appalachian region. The first study incorporates air quality and pollution data to examine if coal mining counties have higher levels of pollution and if this pollution contributes to mortality disadvantage. In the second study, I construct a population-based coal-exposure measure to better evaluate the relationship between coal mining and health I find that …

Governing The Urban Water Commons : Essays On Collaborative Policy Networks In A Polycentric Ecology Of Urban Water Policy Games., Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Governing social-ecological systems, such as the urban water commons, is a multi-scale and multi-sector (polycentric) human-environment process. This dissertation interrogates this process by situating itself within the Ecology of Games Framework by Norton Long (and updated by Mark Lubell) and the literature on polycentric governance by the Bloomington School of Political Economy. The dissertation’s three essays 1) offer both theoretical and methodological means to enact polycentric public economies within the ecology of games framework, and 2) explicate the conditions under which interoganizational collaboration is fostered within a polycentric ecology of policy games in governing the Middle Rio Grande urban watershed. …

Grassroots Diplomacy And Vernacular Law: The Discourse Of Food Sovereignty In Maine, John Welton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the discourse of food sovereignty in Maine, a coalition of small-scale farmers, consumers, and citizens building an alternative food system based on a distributed form of production, processing, selling, purchasing, and consumption. This distribution occurs at the municipal level through the enactment of ordinances. Using critical-rhetorical field methods, I argue that the discourse of food sovereignty in Maine develops a ‘constitutive’ rhetoric that composes rural society through affective relationships. Advocates engage the industrial food system to both expose its systemic bias against small-scale farming and construct their own discourse of belonging. Based upon agrarian values such as …

Social Identities And Meanings In Correctional Work, Caitlin C. Botelho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on correctional officers’ values and perceptions of their workplace, the people they work with and for, and members of the general public. Although prior research has investigated correctional staff members’ feelings about their occupation, far fewer studies have implemented a comprehensive qualitative, microsociological approach. The author conducted 20 in-depth interviews with current and former correctional officers (COs) in public-supported facilities. Additional data were collected through two public Facebook pages designated for COs and citizens interested in the criminal justice system. The study offers insights about the significance of COs’ feelings about their work and how the correctional …

Heritage Tourism In Washington County, Tennessee: Linking Place, Placelessness, And Preservation, Chad F. Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the formation of spatial theory and the linkage between space and place and their relationship with historic preservation and heritage tourism. First, this thesis analyzes the terms space and place, and how scholars define each term. Second, this thesis focuses on the concept of placelessness. Third, this thesis examines historic preservation as a strategy to help alleviate placelessness and as a crucial link to heritage tourism. This thesis also will use regional examples of preservation and tourism as exemplified by the preservation efforts of private organizations, citizens, and government officials in Jonesborough,Johnson City, and Washington County,Tennessee. This …

A Phenomenological Study Of Anticipated Intimacy And Sexual Expression Needs Of Aging Male And Female Baby Boomers., Charles Shawn Oak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the phenomenon of how heterosexual Baby Boomers define and understand intimacy, sexual expression, along expectations and desires relating to their respective expressions across the lifespan through their individual experiences and reflections. A set of guiding questions were used in a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative research design. Data was gathered from thirteen subjects (n=13) using the Rappaport Time Line (RTL) that was used to develop individualized semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews that were professionally transcribed. These were coded to identify emergent themes. Results of the study provided insight into the phenomenon of how heterosexual …

End Use Packaging: A Survey Of Customer Perception Of Recycling And Environmental Impact Of Packaging Materials, Whitney Chelsea Lamb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies have shown that traditional food packaging for the fast food industry leach toxic chemicals into the food products. Some of these toxins are known endocrine disruptors, which results in reproductive issues as well as hormone imbalances. Alternatives to traditional food packaging have been addressed with special attention to bioactive, biopolymers, and biodegradable packaging in addition to active and intelligent packaging. The hypothesis states that customers will have high demand for more environmentally sustainable fast food packaging, while the alternative hypothesis states that demand will not be high enough to financially support the costly introduction of more environmental packaging products. …

The Acculturation Of Sudanese Refugees In Maryville Tennessee: Has Self-Sufficiency Been Achieved?., Caitlin Ts Teaster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2000, a small group of refugees from Sudan were sponsored by three local churches in Maryville, Tennessee. The churches worked with the Bridge Organization in order to orchestrate the refugees' departure from Africa to Maryville. At the time of their sponsorship, it was believed that the Sudanese population in Maryville would be self-sufficient within two years of arrival. This study uses one-on-one, open-ended interviews and a paper-pencil questionnaire with the Sudanese population and a focus group with the American sponsors to assess the extent that the Sudanese refugee population in Maryville has become self-sufficient. While individual success depends on …

Environmental Determinism: Broken Paradigm Or Viable Perspective?., Gerald L. Hardin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research was to examine the issue of environmental determinism. It was an ideology that was prevalent throughout the early decades of the 20^th century that held that the natural environment was responsible for virtually all human development. It helped bring the study of geography into the venue of postsecondary education, where it was viewed as a tool for study of human activities. It was a new science inspired by Darwinism that viewed human adaptation to the natural environment as critical to socialization.

Relying on historical sources, the purpose of the study was to reveal how environmental determinism became …

Life And Debt For Etsu Graduate Students., Laura Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through in-depth interviews with 21 participants, this thesis investigates how graduate students at East Tennessee State University feel about their finances. Although all adults, by necessity, have everyday money concerns, this study explores the unique experiences that post-baccalaureate students have with debt, how they talk about it, and what meanings they attach to student loans in their daily lives. This study is novel in that little research to date has examined how graduate students' perceptions of adulthood are connected to their financial situations and their stage in life. For example, saving money is important to this population mainly because it …

An Examination Of The Prison Environment: An Analysis Of Inmate Concerns Across Eight Environmental Dimensions., Andrew Ryan Bradford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was undertaken to better understand inmate concerns of the prison environment across 8 dimensions. The 8 dimensions examined in this study were activity, emotional feedback, freedom, privacy, safety, social, structure, and support. To determine the importance of these dimensions among inmates, secondary data were used in an attempt to replicate and validate the findings from Wright's (1985) study which used a prison environment inventory instrument to assess inmate concerns. The secondary data consisted of an inmate sample of 1,054 taken from 30 prisons of minimum, medium, maximum and close security across the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. …