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Where the Thunder Dragon Lives: The Case of Human Capital Flight in Bhutan
No full textHuman capital flight (HCF) hinders developing economies striving to escape the middle-income trap by enhancing domestic institutions and improving living standards. Global development literature has focused on creating theoretical frameworks to understand and manage human capital flows. Recent iterations of the human capital flow paradigm have moved beyond the traditional 'brain gain' versus 'brain drain' dichotomy to emphasize the globalized nature of the reciprocity of knowledge and transfer of skill through human capital mobility, highlighting the concept of 'brain circulation.' This paper examines Bhutan's emerging HCF problem as a case study to illustrate these theoretical concepts. Bhutan's unique situation, characterized by self-imposed isolation and limited participation in global markets, provides an exceptional context for observing the interplay of brain gain, brain circulation, and brain drain. This study traces the evolution of Bhutan's planned development policies, particularly in the education sector, from the 1970s to the present. It identifies three phases of HCF in Bhutan: 1) the outsourcing of human capital through globalized education, 2) the outpacing of domestic baccalaureate institutions, and 3) the rise in expatriation. The continuum of HCF in Bhutan is influenced by economic, social, and individual-level factors. Therefore, this case study also includes insights from ten Bhutanese college-aged youth gathered through semi-structured interviews to elucidate the escalating trend of student and professional migration to Australia.International RelationsBachelors of Arts (BA
Cauldrons to Commerce: Examining Consumerism and Historic Witch Trial Tourism's Impacts on Modern Witchcraft Practitioners
No full textThe construction of the “witch” as an icon, a foe, or a label adopted by many people looking to reject traditional ideas of religion and obedience prevalent throughout popular culture in movies, books, TV shows, and Halloween. The purpose of this thesis is to examine what “witch tourism,” (tours, museum exhibits, and theatrical performances, and other forms of entertainment and tourism based on witch trials or modern witchcraft) and commercialization of witchcraft practices such as tarot readings and crystal shops, has on self-identified witches and their relationship to their religion/spirituality today. While works exist discussing witch trials and what modern witchcraft looks like today, this thesis looks to fill the gaps and understand the overlap of these two phenomena with firsthand accounts of self-identified witches or practitioners of other alternative religions/spiritualities who are often associated with witches. The majority of research for this project was conducted over the summer of 2023, when the researcher went to Salem, MA and Wethersfield, CT and surrounding areas to experience witch tourism firsthand and to interview practicing witches. Research was also conducted in Virginia, primarily in Williamsburg and Richmond. This anthropological study intends to shed light on contemporary witches’ opinions of witchcraft tourism and how if at all it has impacted their practices, what this tourism looks like, and how it came to be with the goal of better understanding how we view religion and consumerism with the example of an alternative spiritual movement.Religious StudiesBachelors of Arts (BA
An Evaluation Of A Parent-Child Reading Program In A Selected Elementary School In China
No full textParent-Child Reading Program (PRP) was an intervention program designed by Ms. Dai, who was a Chinese teacher at Future School in China, to promote reading literacy among elementary students. Program participants included the teacher in the PRP (Ms. Dai) and the parents of students who participated in the program. The goal of this program was to see if implementing the PRP results in improved student reading literacy through home-school cooperation at Future School in China. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine whether the PRP is being implemented with fidelity, whether parents’ efficacy in supporting their children’s literacy changes, and whether students’ reading performance improves following the reading program. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were designed based on the evaluation questions, and they include the use of a comparative group research design for reading score analysis. It was found that the PRP has benefited participants in parent-child reading, improving students’ reading literacy, increasing parents’ self-efficacy, and strengthening home-school relationships. It is recommended that the program continue in its current form with a few adjustments to enhance students’ reading literacy and seek out resources to educate parents about child development and teacher’s reading instruction. Meanwhile, school leaders and educational systems have great responsibility to ensure that students acquire the ability to read. They must be tuned into student data and constantly monitor progress to make necessary instructional, curricular, assessment, and program adjustments. The study’s findings can be used to help inform recommendations for the program’s continuance and adjustments.EducationDoctor of Education (Ed.D.
Paraíso perdido: narrativas de exilio venezolano
No full textResumen: Este proyecto explora las diversas dimensiones del exilio venezolano en el contexto del gobierno chavista, una de las más grandes crisis humanitarias en la historia moderna de las Américas, aunque poco discutida en países como los Estados Unidos. Busca comprender las múltiples facetas del sufrimiento humano en el siglo XXI a través del análisis de las experiencias de los exiliados venezolanos en crónicas sobre sus procesos migratorios publicadas en Florecer lejos de casa. Testimonios de la diáspora venezolana (2018). El marco teórico del proyecto se basa en la perspectiva filosófica del exilio y las experiencias de tiempo, conciencia y espacio en varios autores y trabajos representativos como los de Eduardo Carrasco (2022), Matías Silva Rojas, Julio Armijo Nuñez y Gonzalo Nuñez (2015), José Solanes (1993) y María Zambrano (1991). El capítulo uno, centrado en el tiempo y su relación con el exilio, analiza la crónica "Adentro y afuera" de Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, una venezolana que reside en Estados Unidos. El capítulo dos, enfocado en el espacio y su conexión con el exilio, analiza la crónica "Pero el infierno nunca escapa de nosotros" de Salvador Passalacqua, quien vive en Bogotá. Finalmente, el capítulo tres, que vuelve al tema del tiempo esta vez junto con la crisis de identidad causada por el exilio, analiza el ensayo "Libertad" de Jefferson Díaz, un escritor venezolano afro-indígena que ahora reside en Quito. Abstract: This project explores the diverse dimensions of Venezuelan exile in the context of the Chavista government, one of the largest humanitarian crises in the modern history of the Americas yet under-discussed in countries like the United States. It seeks to comprehend the multiple facets of human suffering in the 21st century through analyzing the experiences of Venezuelan exiles in chronicles about their migratory processes published in Florecer lejos de casa. Testimonios de la diáspora venezolana (2018). The theoretical framework of the project is based on the philosophical perspective of exile and experiences of time, consciousness, and space in various representative authors and works, such as those by Eduardo Carrasco (2022), Matías Silva Rojas, Julio Armijo Nuñez, and Gonzalo Nuñez (2015), José Solanes (1993), and María Zambrano (1991). Chapter one, focused on time and its relation to exile, analyzes the chronicle "Adentro y afuera" by Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, a Venezuelan who has resided in the United States. Chapter two, centered on space and its connection with exile, examines the chronicle "Pero el infierno nunca escapa de nosotros" by Salvador Passalacqua, who lives in Bogotá, Colombia. Finally, chapter three, which revisits the theme of time, this time along with the identity crisis caused by exile, analyzes the essay "Libertad" by Jefferson Díaz, a Venezuelan Afro-Indigenous writer who now resides in Quito, Ecuador.Modern Languages and LiteraturesBachelors of Arts (BA
A Spectral Return: Non-Metaphorical Ghosts, Monsters, And Hauntology
No full textUses of hauntology within academic scholarship are peculiarly metaphorical and British. This project aims to combat the overabundance of such readings to create more breadth in academic discourse on the spectral. This project does not seek to replace metaphorical or British renderings of hauntology, but to exist alongside it as overreliance on a particular formulation creates detrimental limits and barriers to scholastic innovation. The first essay examines the ghosts of Theodore “Wes” Wesley and Samuel Isaac Bailey within Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery (2018-2023) and The Sheridan Tapes (2020-present). Examining these category-defying ghosts which exhibit mass, warmth, and breath through Rosi Braidotti’s sustainable nomadic ethics, monster theory, and biopolitical theories of sovereignty and community/immunity, this work offers five theses for a newer and more expansive vision of spectrality inclusive of metaphorical and non-metaphorical readings. The second essay examines the peculiarly British nature of hauntological horror scholarship, attributing it largely to the influence of Mark Fisher’s white and European renderings of haunting and cultural time in the twenty-first century. This project reviews Fisherian hauntology to ultimately conclude that a fixation on British public media and shallow engagements of ghosts drives Fisher’s white and English universalism. Reversing this formulation and borrowing from other areas of Fisher’s work this project offers a rendering of an American hauntology attuned to racial history, landscape, and folk culture to encourage the emergence of other national hauntologies. The project concludes by applying the theses to three folktales featuring a Cap Haitian Zombie, a blood-red river in southwestern Virginia, and black devil dogs.American StudiesMaster of Arts (M.A.
Moving Forward: Beyond the Schoolhouse to Engaged Partnerships
No full textWorkplace shortages are a top concern for schools in times of calm and even more troubling in times of stress. Burnout is especially widespread in stressful situations of disrupted learning, trauma, and discord (e.g., Diliberti & Schwartz, 2022; Thomas et al., 2019). In the wake of the pandemic, educators struggled to deal with the stressors on their own (IES, 2022). It became clear that schools could no longer work in isolation. Moving forward in the wake of the pandemic required an intentional shift in purpose from isolated classrooms to interconnected partnerships with families and communities. In the path to recovery, educators rediscovered the value of shifting beyond the schoolhouse to engage in partnerships with the greater community. Lessons learned indicate that schools were more likely to make the shift to partnerships happen when they welcomed the wisdom of families, embraced external supports, and collaborated to expand local community resources for healing and recovery.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors
Feminist Realizations of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Contemporary Science Fiction
No full textModern science fiction has seen an increase in reproductive fiction, particularly feminist reproductive fiction, but this has not always been the case. Science fiction has been called “a traditionally masculine territory” (Booker 337), which its social and academic history can attest to. Previous scholarship on science fiction has centered the work of a few key male authors, and ignored, with the exception of figures like Atwood, Le Guin, and Butler, large swaths of science fiction by feminist authors like Judith Merril. Within the source material itself, most previous explorations of reproduction have centered male perspectives, highlighting reproduction as a broad social phenomena and the origin of male main characters, often depicted in relation to technology as a source of repression and detachment from the natural world. These works may also discuss infertility or mass extinction as major issues in future worlds, but ultimately fail to account for the individual lives of pregnant people associated with these broader trends and problems. If one considers the idea that “social science fiction has the potential to become a cultural epistemology” (Gerlach and Hamilton 164), the absence of feminist perspectives on these subjects in science fiction canon and scholarship becomes a glaring social issue as well as an intellectual one. In order to address this gap in scholarship, this paper seeks to explore four examples of contemporary feminist science fiction, The Growing Season, The Echo Wife, Dreams Before the Start of Time, and The Mother Code, that engage with the subject of reproduction in order to evaluate how these works develop feminist thought, present potential futures, and provide insights into the modern feminist project through their projection of political realities into fictional landscapes.EnglishBachelors of Arts (BA
Perceptions of relational mobility and loneliness among American university students before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textThis study tracks change in measures of relational mobility and loneliness collected between 2018 and 2023. The timing of these studies allows us to explore potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on relational mobility and loneliness. Previous research has demonstrated differences in relational mobility in countries around the world (Thomson et al., 2018; Yuki & Schug, 2012), but little research has explored within-culture variation; demonstrating within-culture change would support the ability of the relational mobility scale to assess variation in socio-ecological environments. In these studies, we examine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ease at which people are able to meet, choose, and leave relationships in two countries, whether loneliness increased during the pandemic, and how changes in perceptions of societal relational mobility compare to people’s perceptions of their personal relational mobility. Our results indicate that both relational mobility and personal mobility showed significant decreases during the pandemic. Relational mobility and personal relational mobility began to recover post-pandemic. Additionally, personal mobility rebound post-pandemic may have been faster than rebound in perceptions of societal relational mobility, while loneliness increased during the pandemic and did not show significant recovery. Our results validate the relational mobility scale as a measurement of social opportunities.PsychologyBachelors of Science (BS
A Qualitative Study Of Experiences Of Counseling Graduate Students With Chronic Mental Illness
Get PDFThis dissertation explored the lived experiences of counseling graduate students living with a diagnosis of a chronic mental illness. Despite the prevalence of mental illness among graduate students, limited research has explored their unique experiences, particularly within counselor education. This study employed Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as an approach to explore this lived experience. By focusing on their personal narratives, this research shed light on the strengths and challenges of these students while navigating their academic and professional journeys. Central to this investigation was Bandura's self-efficacy theory, which provided a lens through which to understand how these students perceive their ability to succeed. Data from 8 participants was collected through in-depth interviews, which evoked rich, detailed accounts of their experiences. The study contributes to the existing literature by offering a nuanced understanding of the intersection between chronic mental illness and counselor education, potentially informing inclusive practices in the field. While the overarching research question was about the lived experiences of counseling graduate students living with a diagnosis of chronic mental illness, semi-structured interview questions were developed to explore students' experiences of stigma, support systems, and the impact of their diagnosis on their self-efficacy beliefs. The findings revealed a complex interplay of factors that shape and shaped these students' experiences, including faculty support, stigma, self-stigma, and viewing their CMI as a clinical strength.EducationDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.
Accessibility and Inclusivity in Marine Science Education: A Suite of Collaborative Marine Science Lesson Plans
No full textExcerpt from capstone: "Marine science education is oftentimes sparse in formal education. This is due to a myriad of factors, including but not limited to: minimal state marine science curricula standards, geographic restraints, and lack of resources. This problem is not just unique to marine science, either. In 2018, it was found that only two states required environmental science in secondary education, with just eight requiring general earth and space science (American Geosciences Institute 2018). To further this disparity, marine science curricula are often focused on upper grade levels, with most marine science curricula being focused on the 10th grade and above (Figure 1)..."Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceMaster of Arts (M.A.