50107 research outputs found
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COVID-19: A Global Education Crisis or a Crisis of Global Education? A Critical Analysis of the COVID-19 Education Response
No full textCOVID-19 caused an educational crisis that, at its peak, left nearly 85 percent of the world’s learners out of school. In response, countries had to develop and roll out education responses to mitigate the academic, health, and social-emotional impacts of the pandemic. Global development and humanitarian actors—including UN agencies, donors, international NGOs, inter-agency networks and working groups, research institutions, and many others—developed policy and technical guidance to support these efforts. Having worked for several years on accelerated education within the development and humanitarian fields, I wrote several of these policy guidance documents and technical implementation toolkits about evidence-based practices to help learners catch up on missed learning. However, in the years that followed the pandemic, I embarked on a journey of reckoning with the colonial and racial entanglements of the development and humanitarian field, and my role in perpetuating those during COVID-19.
The purpose of this study was to critically examine the role of global actors—including myself—in education in developing and humanitarian contexts. I drew on Critical Cultural Political Economy of Education (CCPEE), postcolonial theory, and critical race theory to conduct a thematic analysis of discourses in 11 policy documents developed by different global education actors. I also took a critical autoethnographic approach to examine my role in perpetuating those discourses. In this thesis, I argue that the COVID-19 crisis offered an opportunity to rethink narratives and approaches in education, but that the discourses of the pandemic retrenched existing ideologies of coloniality and White supremacy. Recognizing this, I developed and illustrated a framework—based on the concept of reparations—to rethink my role in the global education space and embark on a journey of reckoning, building relationships, and repairing harms I have committed. I pose a challenge to other global education actors to undertake this journey with me, so that we can better achieve our shared aims of equitable, inclusive, and socially just education for all.Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.
To Safely Go Where Few Have Gone Before: A Systematic Literature Review of Space Tourism and Space Biomedicine
No full textThis study systematically examines the intersection of space tourism and space biomedicine to address the physical and mental risks faced by space tourists. It highlights critical challenges, including microgravity, radiation, and isolation, which are distinct from those experienced in traditional tourism. The research emphasizes the need for an integrated approach that combines biomedical and tourism perspectives to ensure the safety and well-being of space tourists. By conducting a comprehensive review following PRISMA guidelines, the study identifies key research gaps, including the lack of a cohesive framework and limited interdisciplinary engagement. The findings propose strategies to mitigate risks, establish safety standards, and support the sustainable development of the space tourism industry. This research contributes academically by offering a theoretical foundation for space tourism and space biomedicine studies and practically by suggesting policies and guidelines to improve the safety and experience of space tourists across various types of space travel scenarios
‘Touring’ informal green spaces in cities: a multispecies urban justice perspective
No full textWhile debates on urban sustainability, multispecies, and the role green spaces play in fostering urban resilience have been growing in the field of urban studies, tourism scholarship has mostly overlooked the nexus between multispecies sustainability and urban roaming. Recent advancements address issues such as wildlife equity, post-humanistic justice narratives, and the more-than-human turns in tourism. These developments provide a foundation to address the existing research gap on multispecies sustainability and justice in urban tourism. Notable, exploring IGS through urban roaming can shifts attention to more-than-human agents as rightful inhabitants of cities, fostering a more inclusive and just spaces for all. In line with the above reasoning, this study adopts an interdisciplinary, multispecies perspective to explore how urban roaming in IGS can support multispecies rights to the city. Specifically, we examine the potential of the 'art of noticing' and its capacity to transform how residents and visitors perceive and engage with more-than-human elements in urban environments. To further substantiate this argument, the study draws on visual and textual data collected from participants in 'The Walk,' conducted in 2023, and again in 2024 in the IGS of Kalmar, Sweden
Evaluating the Economic Impact of Athletes’ and Spectators’ Participation in an International Boxing Event: A Mixed Methods Study
No full textSports tourism is a dynamic, rapidly growing market segment and one of the fastest-growing segments in tourism. The purpose of this explanatory mixed method research study is to (a) assess the economic impact and return on investment of hosting sports events, specifically a boxing event; and (b) explore athletes' motivation for participating in, and spectators’ rationale for attending, the tournaments. The study will include a quantitative phase followed by qualitative phase. During the quantitative phase, data related to event athletes and spectators and lodging will be collected to assess the economic impact using the input-output model. In the qualitative phase, interview data will be collected to explain why the athletes and spectators chose to invest their time and money in the selected sporting event. The rationale for this approach is that the quantitative data and subsequent analysis will provide an understanding of the events' demographics, economic impact, and return on investment. The qualitative data will provide context as to what influenced athletes and spectators’ decision to participate in the event, and how or in what ways their event participation explain the economic impact and return on investment
Towards Closing the Consumer Intention- Behaviour Gap in a Sustainable Tourism Consumption Context
No full textAs consumers become more aware of the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their travel behaviour, both their actions and those of the travel and tourism industry are shifting towards more sustainable practices (Skift.com, 2024; Viglia & Acuti, 2023). However, despite consumers expressing positive attitudes and intentions to act sustainably when consuming touristic products, these declarations do not always translate into actual behaviours (Khan et al., 2024; Viglia & Acuti, 2023). The intention-behaviour gap (IBG) is defined as the inconsistency or mismatch between what individuals intend to do (based on their attitudes, beliefs, and conscious decisions) and what they end up doing in practice, namely their behaviours (Nieto-García et al., 2023). This phenomenon presents a significant challenge for marketers and tourism industry stakeholders. Achieving sustainability in tourism requires commitment from both the providers of tourism and hospitality experiences (such as hotels, airlines, and destination authorities) and also from consumers. For example, this includes consumers' willingness to adjust their behaviours, such as recycling, conserving energy and water, and avoiding destinations suffering from over-tourism (Viglia & Acuti, 2023). This year 1 PhD paper therefore proposes a research agenda which examines consumer perspectives on their role as sustainable tourism consumers specifically focusing on their perceptions of the intention - behaviour gap phenomenon
EVALUATING SOIL HEALTH THROUGH NEMATODE ECOLOGY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOIL NEMATODE POPULATIONS IN CONVENTIONAL, ORGANIC, AND BIODYNAMIC VINEYARDS.
No full textSoil nematodes occupy multiple trophic levels within the soil food web and are increasingly recognized as sensitive bioindicators of soil health and ecosystem function;
however, their use in perennial systems such as viticulture remains underutilized. This study evaluated the effects of conventional, organic, and biodynamic vineyard
management practices on nematode community structure, soil food web stability, and biological resilience across 17 vineyards in Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. In
total, 28,602 nematodes were manually extracted, identified, and assigned to 21 distinct families spanning bacterivores, fungivores, herbivores, omnivores, and predators. Soil
food web indices, including the Maturity Index (MI) and Plant-Parasitic Index (PPI), were calculated to assess ecological conditions. Results showed that organic and
biodynamic systems consistently supported higher MI values and more balanced PPI scores compared to conventional systems, indicating greater soil stability and reduced
disturbance. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) identified organic fungicide use as a positive predictor of MI, while synthetic insecticides and mowing practices were
associated with reductions in PPI, suggesting management-driven shifts in nematode functional composition. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) further differentiated
nematode community patterns based on management type and vineyard age, revealing a successional trajectory toward greater food web complexity in older sites that were
organically and biodynamically managed. Methodological rigor was maintained through the reprocessing and cross-validation of 10% of samples, ensuring high taxonomic
consistency and data reliability. The scale and depth of this work represent one of the most comprehensive nematode-based assessments of vineyard soil health in the
northeastern United States. These findings highlight the critical role of ecological management in fostering soil biological diversity and resilience. Moreover, they
demonstrate that nematode community analysis provides a cost-effective and ecologically meaningful tool for monitoring soil health and informing sustainable agricultural
practices in vineyard systems.Master of Science (M.S.)2026-05-1
STRUCTURAL CONTROL OF EDGEWISE VIBRATIONS IN LARGE WIND TURBINE BLADES
No full textWind is now a major source of renewable energy, and will be a key solution for pressing issues such as global warming and the increasing global need for energy. The current trend in wind turbine technology is towards larger rotors with longer blades in order to capture more energy. A consequence of turbine upscaling, however, is increased flexibility and more susceptibility to external loads, especially in the blades. These slender elements experience two primary modes of vibration, flapwise and edgewise. Though the flapwise mode is highly damped, the edgewise mode has negligible damping and may lead to aeroelastic stability problems, increased structural fatigue and decreased reliability. Therefore, strategies and technologies for load shedding and mitigation of undesirable structural vibration in wind turbine blades are critical. Many researchers have investigated solutions to overcome this challenge by implementing various control methodologies, with structural control methods being one such approach. This thesis investigates the application of passive structural controllers, namely tuned mass-spring-dampers (TMDs), to reduce blade loads. While TMDs have been extensively studied for other purposes, research remains relatively limited on their application to wind turbines, particularly for the improvement of blade performance in the edgewise direction. The TMD design for blade installation is based on well-established structural control techniques. The performance and tradeoffs of the proposed design are investigated by calculating lifetime fatigue damage, percentiles and maxima. Optimistic results are obtained when TMDs are mounted in the blades of a modern wind turbine, reducing edgewise loads and displacements primarily at high wind speeds.Fulbright Foreign Student ProgramMaster of Science (M.S.)2025-11-1
Relationship-centered engagement bridges the divide between science and management, and enhances climate adaptation
No full textThe rapid pace of climate change demands changes in management practices. Despite abundant climate adaptation research, the implementation of climate adaptation can lag in the management space. In the present article, we argue that relationship-centered engagement—establishing and maintaining relationships among researchers and natural resource managers—is critical for bridging the research–management gap. We evaluated researcher–manager partnerships within the US Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and identified three cultural shifts that institutions, funders, researchers, and managers could adopt to boost the odds of trans- lating findings into action: acknowledging and supporting the central role of relationships in creating and implementing actionable science, lengthening funding timelines to better support establishing and maintaining relationships, and aligning institutional rewards to support relationship building. A renewed focus on relationships can lead to more diverse and effective partnerships that bridge knowledge to practice and hasten adaptation to climate change
Chinese Allegory: Speaking Otherwise in Non-Modern Literary Networks
No full textThis dissertation reinvents the concept of allegory to facilitate a discussion that legitimizes Chinese allegory as a discursive device mediating between Western and Chinese intellectual traditions. I argue that modern literary critics have difficulty accepting the hybridity of Chinese allegory because the discursive framework of modernity limits how they can talk about the relationship between China and allegory. To accept Chinese allegory, critics shift their attention from the Western genre of allegory to the conditions of writing and reading allegorically. I adapt the term “allegory” to discuss the necessity of speaking otherwise because words are inadequate to carry meanings across discursive, linguistic, and cultural frameworks. Reflecting on the institutional restraints of modern criticism, critics can seek an alternative way of talking about literature by becoming assemblers of non-modern literary networks in which people, things, words, and meanings are entangled in chained cultural processes. I trace fragments of Chinese silk in and across Chinese and Western intellectual discourses to demonstrate how to assemble non-modern literary networks where critics can speak about Chinese allegory to envision Allegoria, which addresses the Other by illustrating the world’s interconnectedness.Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.
Trustworthy Time Architecture for the Network Edge
No full textThe timing stack is a crucial component of modern digital infrastructure. Cyber-physical systems (CPS) depend on precise timing to perform basic functions such as task scheduling and establishing causality between events, as well as to support critical services like sensor fusion, which drives autonomous vehicles, radars, and mixed reality applications. However, the conventional timing stack utilized in CPS is susceptible to attacks by malicious entities. Recent research has demonstrated that a malicious agent with privileged execution capabilities can manipulate a target system's time by altering the local clock using standardized time APIs such as Linux's adjtime. Additionally, many attacks target time synchronization services such as NTP, where an attacker may interfere with synchronization traffic from a target system, injecting random delays to significantly degrade time accuracy.
In this dissertation, I introduce a design for a trustworthy, resource-efficient, and extensible timing stack for CPS at the network edge. In evaluating my thesis statement, I make contributions that enable secure time synchronization between edge systems and trusted local timekeeping in the presence of malicious agents. To achieve trusted local timekeeping, I introduce processor clocks, which leverage security primitives provided by Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) available in modern System-on-Chips (SoCs). These clocks operate in two modes to balance security and performance: the passive mode offers high accuracy but at a higher cost, while the active mode achieves lower accuracy with reduced resource consumption. Additionally, I develop a virtual clock for local timekeeping at virtualized edge servers, where complexities introduced by virtualization lead to the suboptimal performance of processor clocks. This virtual clock provides trusted counter and timer interrupt abstractions to multiple operating systems sharing the same physical hardware, even under the management of an untrusted hypervisor or other virtualization software. Additionally, I have developed two innovative types of sensor clocks to synchronize time across edge devices. The first, a passive sensing-based clock, leverages common ambient events observed by co-located devices for synchronization. The second, an active sensing-based clock, broadcasts timing signals modulated over various sensing signals into the environment, which neighboring CPS can detect and use to extract time information.This research is supported by NSF grants 2237485 and 2230143.Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.