8411 research outputs found
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Spatial Narratives: Women’s Roles, Agency, and the Evolving Concept of Womanhood in Contemporary Morocco
No full textThis study explores how young Moroccan women experience, interpret, and reshape spatial environments in contemporary Morocco, focusing on the capital of Rabat. Using a qualitative methodology that includes semi-structured interviews, anonymous surveys, participant observation, and photographic field notes, I examine how public and private spaces reflect and reinforce gendered expectations. Findings reveal that while women have increased visibility and public life, their presence is often conditional, structured by norms. Findings reveal that while women have increased visibility in public areas, their presence is often conditional, structured by norms that dictate how they should move, communicate, and appear. Across spaces like cafés, universities, streets, and homes, participants described navigating a shifting set of social expectations that simultaneously celebrate female independence and demand modesty and obedience. Despite these constraints, women employed subtle surveys of resistance and negotiation, claiming space through presence, companionship, and redefinition of womanhood. This study emphasizes the importance of contextual agency and shows how gender roles in Morocco are constantly renegotiated through everyday spatial practices
Bridging Cultures Beyond Borders: An Experiential Education Program for Exploring Third Places in Global and Local Contexts
Full text linkWhile experiential education has gained popularity in recent years, options for experiential education opportunities unrelated to an international internship or service-learning program are relatively limited. Furthermore, opportunities to learn through engaging with third places in both one’s home community and host community are quite limited. The following proposed program aims to fill this gap by focusing on immersion in third places in one’s home community and the host community of Madrid, Spain. This program is also designed to address the need for experiential education that goes beyond traditional structures, offering students the chance to engage deeply with their environments. It encompasses critical reflection through multiple modalities, and it has been designed so that students can learn through discovery, interaction, and self-exploration. Qualitative data gathered from interviews with professionals currently working in the field of experiential education inform the program’s design, including the role of reflection activities and third places in the program design, as well as potential benefits and challenges to implementing the program. The proposed program provides an innovative, concrete example of an immersive and engaging experiential education program which adds to the field of experiential education and can expand a provider’s program offerings.
Keywords: Experiential education, engaged learning, third places, critical reflectio
Digital Transformation in Jamaica\u27s Education Sector
No full textDigital transformation in Jamaica’s education sector, significantly spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, represented a seismic shift on this small Caribbean island I call home. This transformation was central to national education reform and involved multiple projects aimed at modernizing educational delivery, infrastructure, and the supporting ecosystem. This study explored the multifaceted implications of these initiatives through qualitative research conducted with ten key stakeholders, complemented by a review of publicly available materials. Interviewees included school administrators, Information Technology (IT) teachers, funding sponsors, representatives from national education bodies, and international development agencies engaged in domestic strategic efforts. Participants were recruited through cold calls, social networks, and email outreach. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews conducted through online conferencing. Key themes included socioeconomic disparities in digital access, digital literacy challenges among educators and students, funding constraints, physical and cybersecurity concerns, and fragmented coordination. Findings highlighted the current state and future possibilities for digital transformation in Jamaica’s education sector
Local Stakeholder Perspectives on Land-use Planning and Development in the Truckee-Tahoe Region of Northern California
No full textLand use decisions dictate land cover, maintaining a critical relationship to climate change mitigation efforts, natural landscape conservation, and development patterns. Land-use planning efforts guide land use decisions. Truckee, California is situated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains close to Lake Tahoe, an area with expansive natural resources and recreation opportunities. Development and land-use planning in the Truckee-Tahoe area are therefore closely tied to environmental goals. Through a series of in-depth interviews, this study catalogued concerns of and challenges faced by land use, planning, and development professionals in the Truckee-Tahoe area. Primary concerns recurring for these professionals include community character, environmental impact, housing, fire and hazards, development vision, longevity, and sprawl. While these concerns are often interrelated, each emerged as a distinct topic. Challenges identified by these professionals have been organized into five primary categories; governance, community participation, competing interests, funding and incentives, and intent vs. impact. These concerns and challenges provide a view of local planning and development processes in the Truckee-Tahoe area. While climate change mitigation efforts and natural ecosystem conservation may rely on land-use decisions, land-use decisions must first address the needs of the local community. Increased regional planning focused on climate change and conservation may serve as a useful tool to integrate these broader concerns into local plans. Regardless, in the Truckee-Tahoe area, a focus on the environment is persistent in both the opinions of local actors and in local planning documents; however, progress can be hindered by state laws and the presence of diverse interests
The Social Dimensions of Aquaculture: Food Sovereignty and Indigenous Rights in Ketchikan, Alaska
No full textThis research project asks how the growing commercial aquaculture industry in Ketchikan, Alaska, functions to alleviate or exacerbate local food insecurity; reinforce or undermine food sovereignty among Indigenous communities, and enhance or restrict community participation in the control of marine resources. Global initiatives have responded to food insecurity through agricultural inputs and technology to create higher yields; however, conventional agricultural production has contributed to and is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. To address higher demands for food, government agencies and development experts have looked towards Blue Growth and aquaculture as a solution for food insecurity and environmental concerns. While aquaculture is often promoted as a tool for combatting food insecurity and enhancing climate resilience, its expansion in Alaska has been largely state-driven, raising concerns about who benefits and who is excluded. This study employs a qualitative approach, integrating literature reviews and seven semi-structured interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members. Data suggests that food insecurity in Ketchikan stems not from local resource scarcity, but rather from high costs of imported food, limited local infrastructure, and regulatory barriers to harvesting. Participants voiced both excitement for the industry and concerns about rapid growth, fearing that commercialization could burden local subsistence harvesters and alter access to traditional foods and spaces. This study contributes to broader debates about the social dimensions of blue growth and argues that aquaculture can support food justice only if it incorporates community-based management and is culturally and ecologically relevant
How Effective is Hawaiʻs\u27s Sunscreen Ban? Tourism Impact on the Health of Kauaʻi\u27s Coral Reefs
No full textThis study seeks to determine whether the level of human-impact, and in particular sunscreen use, influences the health of coral reefs on the island of Kauaʻi. Six paired sites in different regions of Kauaʻi were identified, each having a human-impacted site and an isolated counterpart site. By obtaining quantitative data on the coral reef at each site using 25-meter video transects, the overall health of the reef was assessed by measuring live coral cover, coral species abundance, prevalence of coral bleaching, and fish abundance. The level of human-impact in the form of number of people present and type of sunscreen used was obtained through structured interviews with beachgoers. One site (Nōmilu, isolated, West) was unable to be surveyed so two pairs of study sites were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the percentage of live coral cover between the human-impacted and isolated sites; there was significantly higher live coral cover at Anini (human-impacted, North) and Prince Kuhio (isolated, South) when compared with their counterpart paired study sites. Only at Prince Kuhio were sun protection choices fully reef-safe (defined as using mineral sunscreen or no sunscreen). All other sites had between 15% - 33% of beachgoers using sunscreen with banned chemical UV filters (oxybenzone and/or octinoxate). Residents of Kauaʻi not only chose reef-safe sun protection significantly more than visitors to the island but also tended to have stronger opinions on the use of reef-safe sunscreen in the Archipelago. The prevalence of visitors without knowledge of the harm their non reef-safe sun protection choices could cause to coral reefs is concerning and an issue which must be addressed. The correlations found in this study showing that there is both chemical sunscreen use and coral degradation at Anini as well as “reef-safe” sun protection use and healthier coral at Prince Kuhio shows that further research is needed to assess the level of damage to corals that chemical sunscreens are causing in Kauaʻi. It is recommended to continue this research with water sampling to determine concentration of UV filters in Kauaʻi’s waters It is also recommended to commence visitor education and sunscreen checkpoints at the Lihue airport to raise awareness of the harm chemical sunscreens with oxybenzone and/or octinoxate cause to coral reefs and decrease as much as possible the chemical sunscreens brought by visitors to the island
Reflections on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement
Full text linkThe 1998 Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA), is considered a milestone for brokering peace and moving forward past the period known as the “Troubles” that plagued Northern Ireland for three decades (1961-1994). An overwhelming majority: 71 percent of the electorate in Northern Ireland (81 percent voter turnout) voted yes to the question, “Do you support the Agreement reached in the Multi-Party Talks?” giving the B/GFA and the subsequent legally binding British-Irish Agreement (BIA) strong public support. Since its signing, the B/GFA has been implemented in part. A key component, forming a Northern Ireland Assembly and devolving government from Westminster, has lacked continuity and effectiveness. The Agreement called for a cross-community selection of the Assembly, where unionists and republicans would form the Executive. The party with the most votes would hold the position of “First Minister,” and the party with the most votes representing the other community would fill the “Deputy First Minister” role. Both ministers had to be in place to install a government; however, over the past 25 years, there have been many instances where either one or the other party has refused to form a government, leaving Northern Ireland without a locally elected government. Additionally, the referendum vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (Brexit) has significantly strained the B/GFA. This article will overview and assess the 25+ years of the B/GFA in Northern Ireland, devolution, and the Northern Ireland Assembly. It will then explain some of the issues that surged after Brexit, particularly those that conflict with the statutes set out in the B/GFA. Understanding the issues that concern each of the communities helps contextualize the impasse that has surged in Northern Ireland over the Northern Ireland Protocol and the changing relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit. it analyzes how the structures in Northern Ireland have changed since 1998
Art and Craft: The Interconnectedness of Artisans and Fine Arts in Post-Colonial Morocco
No full textThe purpose of this study is to explore the relationship and overlap between fine arts and traditional crafts in Morocco. The central questions of this study are: how do museums represent, or fail to represent, Moroccan art? What role have traditional crafts, in particular textiles, played in the creation of a modern Moroccan artistic identity, and where do craftspeople see themselves in the canon of Moroccan art? How has colonialism shaped craft, art, and the relationship between them? How do tradition and modernity interact and coexist in art spaces? The study was conducted in Marrakech, Tangiers, and Fes. It consists of a thorough literature review, with special focus on the work of Hamid Irbough; an analysis of art museums visited by the author; a description of several sites that serve as case studies in the creation and sale of Moroccan crafts; and interviews with both fine artists and textile artisans about the research questions. The study concludes that traditional crafts and contemporary arts in Morocco interact and sustain one another, and often overlap in their definitions. It demonstrates the importance of recognizing innovation in traditional crafts, and traditional influences in fine arts. It restates the effects of colonialism and industrialization on Morocco’s artisans, and recognizes the adaptation and evolution their crafts have undergone to survive
Strategies of Animal Rescue Organizations in Agadir, Morocco: Addressing Cultural, Biological, and Government Challenges
No full textAnimal rescue organizations in Agadir, Morocco, play a critical role in confronting the intersecting challenges of stray animal overpopulation, zoonotic disease risks, and insufficient government support. This research examines how these organizations respond to cultural perspectives, public health concerns, and state-endorsed culling policies through a combination of field observation, social media analysis, and interviews. Focusing on two major NGOs (Non- Government Organizations) including Sunshine Animal Refuge Agadir (SARA) and Morocco Animal Aid (MAA), the study compares their outreach strategies, operational transparency, and organizational effectiveness. Findings reveal that while SARA offers a structured, humane model centered on TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) and community education, MAA has raised significant concerns related to site mismanagement, staff departures, lack of legal compliance, and potential misuse of donations. This contrast highlights the broader systemic issues facing animal welfare in Morocco and underscores the need for ethical, well-regulated, and collaborative approaches that integrate public health, cultural awareness, and institutional accountability
The Healing Power and Commodification of Gnawa Music and Black Identity in Southern Morocco
No full textThis project explores the contemporary role of Gnawa music in Morocco through an ethnographic study in the village of Khamlia in the Southeast region of Morocco. Gnawa people are known for their spiritual traditions, specifically their musical rituals. The Gnawa have used music as a tool for healing, remembrance, and expression. This research investigates how Gnawa music is practiced today and how it functions as a form of commodification and racialized tourism. The study draws from both field observations and heavy literature analysis in various fields including research in colonial trauma, Black identity in Morocco, and clinical applications of music therapy. This study finds that while daily performances are tailored to tourists and often reduce centuries of complex and painful histories, sacred ceremonies remain protected and continue to serve their original purpose of healing the community. This paper argues that Gnawa music exists at a point of tension in today’s world as the Gnawa must negotiate portions of their identity for survival due to pressures of the tourist economy in the Sahara Desert