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Tourism and the Vrankrijk as a Safe(r) Space
Get PDFThis is a practicum-based study on the impact of tourism on the creation and maintenance of a safe(r) space at the Vrankrijk. The Vrankrijk is a former squat and current volunteer-run community center and café, which hosts WTF Wednesday, a weekly safe(r) queer night of a voku dinner and performances. This research explores the current definitions of safe space as applied to the Vrankrijk. The study’s main focus is the impact of tourism on the Vrankrijk as a safe(r) space.
The study finds its roots in four experiential interviews with members of the community including a visiting band member whose group performed on WTF Wednesday and three regular bar and voku volunteers. Interview subjects spoke about their experiences with tourism at the Vrankrijk with consistent emphasis on the lack of impact they typically feel due to the safe(r) space building policies in place such as a strict door policy. he study finds that the Vrankrijk fosters a safe(r) space through a strict door policy which largely mitigates the negative implications of tourism. Additionally, interview subjects detailed the positive and negative attitudes they felt toward tourists who sometimes do enter the space. As a practicum based ISP, this research involves hands on volunteer work in the kitchen and cleaning the space on Wednesdays at the Vrankrijk.
This research is important for anyone studying safe spaces or queer identity within the Dutch context
Advantages & Challenges: An Assessment of SUNY Oneonta\u27s Current Approach to International Student Services
Get PDFThe decision to become an international student is a choice that is as challenging as it is rewarding, and is one that I am familiar with from both a professional and personal standpoint. Per a recent Open Doors’ account, 1,043,839 students from around the world have made the decision to study in the United States in 2016. These individuals make up 9% of New York State’s student population, and 10.1% of the State University of New York system (SUNY, 2016). Currently SUNY Oneonta is host to 56 of these international students, whom I was excited to work with through my practicum at SUNY Oneonta’s Office of International Education (OIE).
Fostering intercultural relationships, gaining a new perspective and broadening one’s world view are among the many benefits that are valued as an international student, yet encounters with cultural, academic and social barriers present challenges that can lead to confusion or isolation. As a result of my work and experience with this practicum, and interactions with the international students who are supported through the OIE and other campus resources, I have concluded that SUNY Oneonta greatly values these individuals.
There are many offices, programs and support systems that are designed to benefit international students on campus and I hypothesized that these specialized resources are readily available to this population, but I question the frequency in which they are used. To test this observation, I designed a study that would help me understand how international students felt they were being supported. I submitted a voluntary and anonymous survey for international students to comment on what they consider to be both beneficial and challenging aspects of life at SUNY Oneonta for the month of September 2017. Upon analysis of responses, I realized the data verified my initial observations but also made me aware of the larger context of international observation and how campus policy plays a role in international student satisfaction.
As SUNY Oneonta continues to make great strides toward Strategic Plan goals, introducing and applying definite internationalization policy that promote greater global integration on campus would not only benefit international students but domestic students as well. The purpose of this capstone is to better understand the methods that SUNY Oneonta employs as a host to create a satisfactory experience for their international students through resources and advising, and propose policies that can augment these efforts while facilitating progression towards greater internationalization on campus
Women Who Surf in Morocco
Get PDFIn 1960, the first wave of Europeans and Americans found their way to the now bustling Taghazout Bay. From Essaouira to Agadir, expatriates lived out of vans and/or inside the houses of the Amazigh villagers. Many of these expatriates made Morocco their home from upwards of ten to fifteen years, even giving birth to children in these rural villages. The American and Europeans shared with the locals and vice versa, bartering food, skills, athletics, language, and friendship. Naturally, as surfing became a popular pastime among hippies in the United States in the 1960s, the expatriates began to bring early models of surfboards and wetsuits to the villages of Taghazout Bay in 1975. In the forty-five years hence, Taghazout Bay has changed drastically. In the last fifteen years, the number of surf schools has skyrocketed from around five to eighty-two. This research acknowledges that many of these surf schools are run by English and Australian companies and entrepreneurs, that extreme development due to tourism has overtaken the area, and that explicit measures must be taken by the community to prevent the exploitation of the coastline and the people who live their. In talking to surf associations/NGOs and local business owners, the study explores the measures being taken to augment the community development, which arguably, has been overlooked in comparison to tourist infrastructure. Free and accessible opportunities for exercise and play is essential to community. Sport keeps people healthy and happy and help to solidify identity and place within a group. Taghazout bay is world renowned for surf, therefore the local youth should be given fair access to the sport. The waters are crowded with European tourists and twenty-something Moroccan men who instruct them. In addition, very few Moroccan women can be found in the waves on any given day. Although Morocco has famous female surf champions, it is difficult to find women out for a casual shred or employed as an instructor. This study also aims to give female Moroccan surfers and skaters voice. Their stories of first surf/skate, their group dynamics, perceived identity and source of support or lack thereof will be recorded
Training the Masses: Cultural Competency Training: ethics and practices of sharing training designs for others to facilitate: Reflections and Recommendations
Get PDFThis course-linked capstone will focus on the ethics and practices of sharing training designs for others to facilitate. It will look closely at my own experience in sharing cultural competency training designs with others within my organization to facilitate. It will focus on the design itself, but more in-depth on the process of sharing designs and healthy collaboration among facilitators and design creators. My experience took place at City Year Boston where over 260 volunteers enter into our AmeriCorps program to work in Boston Public Schools.
For this capstone I will focus on one project in particular that I developed: a four-day curriculum called Community Days. I designed the curriculum, which was then facilitated by other staff members to AmeriCorps members. This paper will focus on my own reflection on the design as well as an analysis of the design sharing process. I will delve into the complexities of true collaboration among facilitators and creators, as well as the logistics of training large groups. A heavy theme woven continuously through this paper will be the understanding of communication and how complex it is when working on teams within a larger organization. Each section of the paper will start with my experience followed by analysis and reflection, moving towards larger macro-applications of the learning
The Power of Prayer
Get PDFIf words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer
An Analysis of Vermont Academy\u27s Internationalization Effort
Get PDFWhile the concept of delivering global education has become a popular trend among American universities and colleges, American secondary schools, particularly independent schools, are also making global educational opportunities available to their students. Vermont Academy, a 141-year-old independent, coeducational, college preparatory and boarding high school in Saxtons River, Vermont, does not have a formal, comprehensive and well-articulated internationalization plan even though various international components have been existing on campus for years. The International Student Program, trimester abroad programs and several global partnerships are some examples of the current internationalization initiatives at Vermont Academy.
The American Council on Education’s CIGE Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement (CIGE) Model for Comprehensive Internationalization serves as a guideline to both secondary and higher educations in the U.S. The model has six components, including articulated institutional commitment; administrative leadership, structure, and staffing; curriculum, cocurriculum, and planning outcomes; faculty policies and practices; student mobility; and collaboration and partnerships (American Council on Education, 2016). This Capstone’s goal is to use the CIGE Model for Comprehensive Internationalization as a main guideline to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of VA’s current state of internationalization. The Capstone recognizes the existence of several internationalization components such as student mobility, international student support and established global partnerships at VA. Meanwhile, it recommends that Vermont Academy should include more global commitment into its mission statement; create a global academic curriculum; continue to support and refine its existing trimester-abroad programs; support faculty-student collaboration on short-term global travel; promote more diversity among the faculty and students; and develop alternative funding sources to support future internationalization efforts. These recommendations would help further internationalizes VA in order to educate students with global competency that suits the needs and challenges presented in the 21st Century
Increasing Equity through B Corp Certification in the Coffee Commodity Supply Chain
Get PDFThe coffee industry is a cornerstone of Nicaragua’s economy. Coffee production shapes communities and is a major factor in the development of the country. Coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua are often Fairtrade and Organic certified, yet their farmers continue to struggle to secure stable livelihoods. In this inquiry, I sought to understand whether becoming a Certified B Corp and interacting with the B Corp network could improve farmer livelihoods for production cooperatives. B Corp Certification seeks to redefine success in business with the unifying goal of creating a more inclusive economy. B Corps, for-profit businesses which have passed the rigorous B Impact Assessment, are certified by the nonprofit B Lab. B Corp certification may increase access to the market through the B Corp network and may thereby increase farmers’ incomes. B Corp Certification may also be a means to redistribute value in the commodity’s supply chain. Most importantly, the B Corp movement could promote sustainable change in the coffee value chain by joining like-minded companies in the global north and south. I argue that B Corp certification within the coffee industry could help to redistribute value in the supply chain by working within the B Corp network and will ultimately improve the livelihoods of farmers
Assessing the Influence of Career-Linked Experiential Opportunities on the F-1 Undergraduate Student Enrollment Decision-Making Process
Get PDFInternational mobility efforts in the United States have garnered increased attention and funding in recent years, with such government-led initiatives as Generation Study Abroad and 100,000 Strong driving up inbound and outbound student numbers. Recent inbound mobility reports from the Institute of International Education show double-digit percentage increases in international student enrollment. Other countries also experiencing an influx of international students continue to research these trends to shape their own education strategies. Research conducted by the International Education Association of Australia points specifically to hands-on professional experience and enhanced employability as key factors important to Australia’s international student population. As strategies take shape around the globe and U.S. institutions scramble to attract prospective international students, many questions arise: What do these students value in an institution? What are their perceptions of career-linked experiential education in the United States? How do career-linked experiential opportunities factor into the enrollment decision-making process of international students in the U.S. context? What are the implications for international student support strategies? Are elements of Australia’s national inbound mobility strategy worth importing? This study sets out to begin this conversation by focusing on the perspectives of current and former F-1 undergraduate students.
Keywords: internships, co-operative education, F-1 students, work-integrated learning, international student enrollment, practicum, school choic
Culture and classroom management
No full textHow do different cultures manage classroom environments? This workshop gives the participants the chance to explore this question with video, hands-on exercises, and group discussion
Cultural Connections in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Get PDFIn an effort to see if there is tension among the various cultures in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this paper examines the social relationships among five cultural groups. The author investigates the nature of the interaction among the Anglo, Hispanic, Hispanic immigrant, Native American, and Tibetan cultures by use of a survey which shows locations where participants sped time, who they interact with, and the purpose of the contact. Participants were questioned concerning their perceptions of cultural borders and interaction among the different cultures. The survey and feedback suggest that tension arises from cultural insensitivity and socioeconomic differences