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You & Me, Them & We: International Students Making Meaning(s) of Ethnic and Racial Identities at West Mountains College
Get PDFArguing that higher education institutions (HEIs) and academia rely on racist and Western-centric narratives to inhibit international students from constructing their own complex meanings of identity, this study explores how 11 international students at West Mountains College made sense and created meanings of racial and ethnic identity during their sojourn in the United States. This study focuses on students’ experiences at the college and at the Washington State Students of Color Conference, whose workshops and student-centered approach encouraged participants to explore and interrogate their ethnic and racial identities and those of their peers. Investigating these critical experiences through a focus group, one-on-one interviews, and a public presentation, I find that participants construct racial and ethnic identities that conform to, contest, and/or transform the dominant Western narrative. Regardless of their orientation towards this narrative, participants’ sense of self and understanding of others deepened and diversified as a result of their sojourn. Developing interpersonal, intrapersonal, and intercultural skills along the way, participants offer new narratives of self and other that encourage self-determination and self-expression and allow for plural identities. I, along with my participants, suggest that HEIs must account for and celebrate these new narratives as a means of improving intercultural dialogue between international students and the campus at large. I see this dialogue as tantamount to the exchange of people, knowledge, and ideas that is the heart of international education.
Keywords: ethnic identity development, racial identity development, international student identity development, higher education administratio
The Power of Discomfort in Learning Abroad
Get PDFCurrently, the majority of students who study abroad do so through short-term programs. In fact, in 2015 over 60% of students who studied abroad chose short-term programs lasting eight weeks or less (IIE, 2016). It has long been the belief that study abroad has the potential to be a life-changing and transformative experience, not just academically but also for personal growth and development. Many professionals agree that the students who go abroad on short-term study abroad programs are significantly less likely to experience meaningful learning outside of the subject matter they are studying, and are less likely to experience personal growth (Hoffa & DePaul, 2010). This Independent Practitioner Inquiry Capstone (IPIC) paper examines the relationship between short-term study abroad programs and student personal growth and learning through the experiences of eight Experiment in International Living (herein referred to as “The Experiment”) alumni. Evidence from this study indicates that the key to growth and learning is discomfort, and that while the word often has negative connotations in our society, the potential results derived from moments of discomfort are largely positive and meaningful. The research of this paper is rooted in experiential education, transformational education, psychosocial development, identity theory, and narrative inquiry. This project aims to shed light on the potential for short-term study abroad to still be an experience of personal growth in spite of the program’s duration, and what we as practitioners can do to encourage moments of learning
Residential Life Curriculum: Wyoming Seminary
Get PDFThis course linked capstone will focus on creating a residential life curriculum that is student centered, increases cultural competencies, and strengthens the community of the Wyoming Seminary Upper School. Many boarding schools have accepted international students into their schools to respond to a growing revenue need while simultaneously adding to a school’s diversity. The shift in student demographics has created a secondary level international education sector without many people specializing in this arena. Additionally, there has been a push to increase residential life resources in schools to help increase student support. With the drive for additional support and a growing international community within US boarding schools, Wyoming Seminary strives to design a residential life curriculum that serves the international and domestic student populations while simultaneously providing students with the social and emotional needs that they are not getting from their parents
Reiki and Healing Touch: Implications for Trauma Healing
Get PDFThis research explores implications for trauma healing through the energy therapies Reiki and Healing Touch. This is explored through the perspectives of women living in Tacoma, Washington who receive Reiki and/or Healing Touch and are also practitioners of Reiki and/or Healing Touch. In recent decades trauma healing has proved to be a holistic endeavor, and as the practice of energy therapies such as Reiki and Healing Touch are becoming more mainstream and even accepted in the medical community, these therapies boast a myriad of physical and psychological benefits that include trauma healing. A phenomenological approach is taken to explore this relationship while using a triangulation of methods to collect data, which include: interviews, artistic expression, and participant observation. Data collected is then transcribed, coded, themed, and interpreted through a trauma healing framework to explore implications for trauma healing, women, and community building
¿Dónde está Santiago Maldonado? El uso del retrato y el activismo artístico para exigir la \u27 aparición con vida \u27 de los desapariciones forzadas en Argentina / ¿Dónde está Santiago Maldonado? The use of portraiture and artistic activism to demand for the ‘ aparición con vida ’ of the forcibly disappeared in Argentina
No full textThe dissemination of portraiture of the forcibly disappeared in Argentina represents a key strategy of visual protest within Argentina’s human rights movement, and an effective tool for ‘collective memory construction’ of the forcibly disappeared. Its history of use spans from the last dictatorship, to protests of forced disappearances in modern Argentina’s democracy. Following the disappearance of a young artisan, Santiago Maldonado, from a ‘route cut’ he participated in on August 1st, 2017, alongside the Mapuche community of Pu Lof, in protest of the Italian multinational clothing manufacturer Benetton’s control of their ancestral lands, a massive dissemination of his portrait was realized, filling much of Argentina’s public space with his gaze. This intervention of artistic activism was one of the largest in Argentina’s recent history, and focused international attention on the persistence of state violence in modern Argentina. The disappearance of Maldonado catalyzed the circulation of his image worldwide alongside the question: ¿Dónde está Santiago Maldonado
Community Perception of the HIV Vaccine in Western Kenya: Acceptability, Potential Behavior Changes, and Views on Compulsory Vaccination
Get PDFHuman Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) suppresses the immune system by attacking T cells, leading to the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV affects over 30 million people around the world and 1.6 million people in Kenya. On August 18, 1987, the FDA sanctioned the first human testing of a candidate vaccine for HIV. Currently, multiple HIV vaccines—projected to be on the market in five to ten years—are being tested for efficacy and safety. The goal of this study was to explore opinions related to the HIV vaccine so that there is a guide for future policy development in Western Kenya. This study included a survey and focus groups taken from a convenience sample at various locations within Kisumu in Kisumu County and Sidindi in Siaya County. The study found that most participants would get vaccinated if the HIV vaccine became available (87.7%), and the majority of participants support a compulsory vaccination campaign for children (81.18%)
Community Management and Governance of COMATSA-Sud New Protected Area (Ambalamanasy II Commune)
Get PDFCommunity-based natural resource management is an increasingly more popular choice for governments to delegate power back to local communities to conserve the resources they rely on. In Madagascar, where much of the rural population provides for their livelihoods by using natural resources, this governance structure, in cooperation with delegated manager for assistance, presents an opportunity for economic development in cooperation with conservation efforts. This paper aims to better understand the role of community, NGO, and governmental actors in creating and executing community management structures. Through Participatory Rural Analysis and structured and semi-structured interviews, it explores what management transfers look like in practice in the Andapa basin of COMATSA-Sud New Protected Area in November 2017. An evaluation of public perceptions and understandings of existing associations and laws as well as their implementation overall reveals how multi-faceted the issue is. With the framework of good governance principles for protected areas (legitimacy and voice, direction, performance, accountability, and fairness), this paper concludes that communities need more resources, benefits, and autonomy to carry out comanagement effectively
Survey of Invasive Lantana camara at Makirovana-Tsihomanaomby Forest Complex
Get PDFLantana camara is a shrub known globally as an invasive pest that grows primarily in degraded areas. The species is known to exist at Makirovana-Tsihomanaomby, a forest complex in northeastern Madagascar with 167 endemic species of flora and fauna, several of which are on the IUCN Red List. The complex, specifically Tsihomanaomby forest, is used as a resource for the three rural communes that live on its outskirts, meaning that it experiences much human activity. The objective of this study was to survey the population of L. camara at two sites: one just outside of the Tsihomanaomby forest and one 100 km into the forest. The survey was completed with 5 transects at each site, in addition to PCQ and understory analysis of certain L. camara individuals in order to asses associations with other plant species. L. camara was more abundant at the degraded site than at the site inside the forest, where it was found exclusively on vanilla plantations and along walking paths. Other analyses showed multiple species growing in association with L. camara. While further studies are required to investigate the effects of L. camara on other species at this complex, a viable plan for the species’ current management is to harvest it for economic gain
Las Consecuencias de la Propuesta No + AFP Una investigación de sus impactos en las pensiones, el mercado laboral y el sistema financiero / The Consequences of the Proposal No + AFP An investigation of its impacts on pensions, the labor market and the financial system
No full textThis investigation will analyze the consequences of the proposal set forth by the leaders of the social movement “No + AFP” to structurally change the Chilean pension system. First, it will explore the historical context that led to the current system and has caused startlingly low pensions for almost 40 years. Then, it will explain the fundamental adjustments that the organization “No + AFP” suggests with regards to obligatory contributions, administration and distribution of social security. Finally, it will analyze the impact that the proposed changes will have on the Chilean economy, specifically with respect to the development of the pensions themselves, the labor market and the financial system.
It will conclude that, while there are strong elements of the proposal that ought to be considered, the model that “No + AFP” proposes is unviable in the long run due to demographic shifts in the Chilean population, as well as its potential impact on the financial system. A transition in the pension system must include the long-term growth and support of the financial system of the current system, as well as the greater contributions and guaranteed minimums that have been proposed by the group “No + AFP.
Carbon Sequestration in the Cloud Forest: A Comparative Evaluation of Aboveground Biomass Carbon Stock Potential in the Río Guajalito Reserve
Get PDFAs carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to rise at a rapid rate, it is necessary to understand how forests can both contribute to CO2 levels but also stop them from rising. Carbon sequestration levels in tropical montane cloud forests are a relatively understudied topic. Gathering carbon stock levels is the first step necessary to start a REDD+ project. Carbon stock levels can be studied on a global, regional or local level. This study used the University of Oxford/ Global Ecosystems Monitoring Network (GEM) methodology to examine carbon sequestration levels of aboveground biomass, specifically ground litter, large branches and trees, in three different types of forest in the Río Guajalito Reserve. Ground litter and large branches were collected in order to calculate biomass from primary forest, a secondary forest from 1983 and a secondary forest from 2001. Tree biomass was calculated using an allometric equation. It was assumed that 50% of the biomass was carbon. The secondary forest from 1983 had the highest amount of carbon stock, 49.96 t C ha-1, while the primary forest had the second highest, 34.4 t C ha-1 and the secondary forest from 2001 had the lowest amount of carbon, 29.53 t C ha-1. The secondary forest from 1983 also had the highest biomass measurement, 99.91 t ha-1, signifying that of the three types of forests studied, it was the most productive, as biomass is a measure of the forest’s efficiency to fix energy in all components of the ecosystem. A brief examination into REDD+ in Ecuador and how Río Guajalito would compare as a potential site was also completed.
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Mientras los niveles de dióxido de carbono en la atmósfera suben rápidos, es necesario entender cómo los bosques pueden contribuir a los niveles de CO2 pero también bajarlos. Los niveles de la secuestración de carbono en los bosques nublados es un tópico poco estudiado. Colectar los niveles de carbono es la primera medida necesaria para empezar un proyecto de REDD+. Puede estudiar los stocks de carbono en un nivel global, regional o paisaje. Este estudio usó la metodología de University of Oxford/ Global Ecosystems Monitoring Network (GEM) para examinar los stocks de carbono de biomasa, específicamente la necromasa, ramas grandes y arboles en tres tipos de bosque diferente en la Reserva Río Guajalito. La necromasa y ramas grandes fueron colectados para que pueda calcular la biomasa del bosque primario, un bosque secundario de 1983 y un bosque secundario de 2001. La biomasa de los arboles fue calculada usando una ecuación allometric. Se asumió que 50% de la biomasa fue el carbono. El bosque secundario de 1983 tuvo el mayor cantidad de carbono, 49.96 t C ha-1, mientras el bosque primario tuvo la cantidad segunda mas alta de carbono, 34.3 t C ha-1 y el bosque secundario de 2001 tuvo la menor cantidad, 29.53 t C ha-1. El bosque secundario de 1983 también tuvo la medida más alta de biomasa, 99.91 t ha-1, la que significa que de los tres bosques, era el más productivo de todos porque la biomasa es una medida de la eficiencia del bosque para usar la energía de todos componentes del ecosistema. Una examinación breve de REDD+ en el Ecuador y cómo Río Guajalito compararía como un sitio de REDD+ fue completado al final