Matching Items (28)
Description
This study explores the responses of Arizona’s Refugee SupportNetwork (RSN) to the COVID-19 disaster, focusing on the role of both formal
and informal networks in shaping refugee access to services. Research
demonstrates that resilient refugee support systems must be informed by the
communities they serve. However, mainstream refugee resettlement programs
often need more flexibility to integrate local, community-based feedback into
their service delivery models, limiting the adaptability of formal support
networks during disasters. Through 17 expert interviews and 19 refugee
community interviews, analysis of disaster and COVID-19 policies, and social
infrastructure mapping this research explored how informal and formal
networks shifted to remote services and the lived experiences of refugees
navigating systemic barriers like digital literacy and institutional distrust. The
findings highlight that neither formal nor informal networks can effectively
operate in isolation; their integration is essential for addressing gaps in service
delivery and ensuring adaptable, inclusive support, particularly during crises
like the COVID-19 disaster. While formal networks, such as local resettlement
agencies (LRAs), were constrained by regulatory frameworks and rigid
workflows, community-based organizations (CBOs) were able to leverage
grassroots approaches and culturally responsive strategies to fill service gaps.
ContributorsReiswig, Clinton (Author) / Smith, Lindsay (Thesis advisor) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Um, Mee Young (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
This paper discusses the second phase of sustainability in the field of design and identifies the success factors of design innovation in the ethnic craft industry in northern Thailand. This study explored craftspeople’s capital, their means of developing it, and potential routes to sustainable development on the capital.
The literature review examines three topics: (1) ethnic identity and craft; (2) northern Thailand and hill tribes; and (3) design thinking, vulnerability, and resilience.
Empirical research was conducted with hill tribe craftspeople in northern Thailand. Seven types of capital—human, social, natural, physical, financial, cultural, and emotional capital—were identified through interviews and observation. Those types of capital indicated what the craftspeople wanted and needed.
The key findings were as follows: First, social capital has a close relationship with both human capital and emotional capital, indicating that for craftspeople, networks and membership ensure knowledge and increase connections with friends and family. Secondly, emotional capital is affected by financial capital. Financial capital refers to the monetary resources used to achieve craftspeople’s livelihood objectives. The craftspeople required high order volumes to earn to more money and thus improve their economic condition; they experienced more stress when order volumes were low. Third, financial capital is not related to social and cultural capital. Graphs implied certain relationship among them, with the reasons varying depending on the individual craftsperson’s environment. A high level of social and cultural capital does not affect low financial capital, and vice versa. Finally, cultural capital directly influences emotional capital because the happiness of hill tribe craftspeople is related to their identity and dignity as craftspeople.
The literature review examines three topics: (1) ethnic identity and craft; (2) northern Thailand and hill tribes; and (3) design thinking, vulnerability, and resilience.
Empirical research was conducted with hill tribe craftspeople in northern Thailand. Seven types of capital—human, social, natural, physical, financial, cultural, and emotional capital—were identified through interviews and observation. Those types of capital indicated what the craftspeople wanted and needed.
The key findings were as follows: First, social capital has a close relationship with both human capital and emotional capital, indicating that for craftspeople, networks and membership ensure knowledge and increase connections with friends and family. Secondly, emotional capital is affected by financial capital. Financial capital refers to the monetary resources used to achieve craftspeople’s livelihood objectives. The craftspeople required high order volumes to earn to more money and thus improve their economic condition; they experienced more stress when order volumes were low. Third, financial capital is not related to social and cultural capital. Graphs implied certain relationship among them, with the reasons varying depending on the individual craftsperson’s environment. A high level of social and cultural capital does not affect low financial capital, and vice versa. Finally, cultural capital directly influences emotional capital because the happiness of hill tribe craftspeople is related to their identity and dignity as craftspeople.
ContributorsLee, Hyojin (Author) / Takamura, John (Thesis advisor) / O’Neill, Gerald Daniel (Committee member) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Development is a compelling, but imprecise goal. Although the concept can motivate action and mobilize resources, fundamental questions about what it means to ‘develop’ and what actions are required to achieve that goal remain the subject of intense debate. Faced with this uncertainty, development actors can look to two sources of guidance: other disciplines, or the practice of development itself. This dissertation explores the origins of the theories which guide development action and argues that in order for development to deliver on its mandate it must reject supposedly universal theories borrowed from other disciplines (‘exogenous’ theories) and instead must develop contingent, local theories based in the on-the-ground experiences of those doing development (‘endogenous’ theories).
This argument is demonstrated using the case of innovation theory in Guyana. Innovation and development are both popular ways to make sense of change and in recent decades they have become conflated, with innovation being presented as a near-universal fix for development problems. This discourse has taken root in Guyana, where the recent discovery of oil has made the questions of development increasingly urgent and the promise of innovation increasingly attractive. The argument proceeds in four phases:
Chapter one explores how and why certain theories become influential in development, then discusses the implications of doing development work based on ‘exogenous’ versus ‘endogenous’ theory. It then proposes four guidelines for the use of theory in development.
Chapter two traces how innovation came to become understood as a solution to development problems, and assesses whether and under what conditions it can be expected to contribute to development.
Chapter three turns to Guyana, and builds on interviews and participant observation to present an endogenous theory of innovation in Guyana. The chapter also explores the practical and methodological challenges of building such a theory.
Chapter four compares the endogenous theory of innovation presented in the previous chapter to several dominant exogenous theories, exploring the policy implications of each and demonstrating why the endogenous theory provides a superior source of guidance for development action in Guyana.
ContributorsBarton, Chris J (Author) / Crow, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Anderson, Derrick (Thesis advisor) / Grossman, Gary (Committee member) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Calhoun, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
In the Ecuadorian Constitution, universities, as part of the Science, Technology, Innovation, and Ancestral Knowledge System, must develop technologies and innovations that promote national production, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve quality of life. However, in their role as promoters of development through the generation and transfer of knowledge, universities worldwide have traditionally focused above all on innovations that benefit industries and the formal economic sector. Therefore, universities continue to be seen as elitist, as institutions that do not work for people with low incomes. This is problematic given that, as stated in the Constitution, universities in Ecuador, even private ones, are seen as public goods; therefore, they can receive resources from the state, civil society, and NGOs or tax exemptions. This research aims to evaluate Ecuadorian universities' approaches towards research, innovation, and development and identify what influences the decision-making, including environmental elements. This work adopts the theoretical perspective of neo-institutionalism that explains how the institutional environment affects how organizations work or tend to survive; in this case, it accommodates Ecuadorian universities. The methodological approach of this research uses a mixed design: First, it conducted a classical content analysis of university documents such as status, strategic plans, and regulations from the 62 existing Ecuadorian universities. The documents provided information on the adoption of development perspectives by Ecuadorian universities. Then, it uses thematic analysis of the responses of key informants from 12 universities, who were informants in-depth with a semi-structured interview; the results help to understand what influences the adoption of different development perspectives by Ecuadorian universities. Whereas Ecuadorian universities present a higher frequency of mentions of the mainstream development perspective, the Ecuadorian Constitution intends to favor outcomes desirable from a post-development perspective. Universities are thus confronted with the imperative to balance socially beneficial research with global trends such as the imperative for economically valuable and profitable research, as well as isomorphic pressures associated with the Constitution, whether mimetic or coercive.
ContributorsLopez Zurita, Hector Santiago (Author) / Parmentier, Mary Jane (Thesis advisor) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis advisor) / Dabars, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
Research shows that effective community development starts with local people. Mainstream academia, however, lacks literature documenting their perspectives as valuable sources of insight for an inclusive implementation. Rural Latin America provides a repository of ideas that can bridge the knowledge gap. This study focuses on exploring and articulating rural visions of community development in Paraguay, through 31 school leaders (principals, teachers, and students) seen as critical representatives of local interests due to their historical, cultural, and social roles. Vital for data collection were the iterative adjustments based on local feedback, yielding findings that reflect a community development approach uniquely contextualized around agents, assets, challenges, decisions, and actions. A number of innovative methodological tools emerged as an immediate contribution to future research: the ABCD (Actively Building Community) Framework, the Maximum Vox Populi (MVP) Strategy, and DeMoS (Drone-enhanced Modeling of Scenarios). As mid- to long-term contributions, the voices explored here provide scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and all stakeholders with profound lessons on designing sustainable community development founded on local wisdom instead of external imaginations.
ContributorsAguilera Ramirez, Augusto Ariel (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis advisor) / Dutta, Uttara (Thesis advisor) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
Widespread human rights abuses have been documented in global fisheries, prompting governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and businesses to reconsider human rights as a key tenet of seafood sustainability. New and existing approaches are aiming to integrate human and labor rights into sustainability initiatives. These efforts encompass the development of new tools for conducting human rights due diligence and the modification of market-based approaches like third-party certifications, fishery improvement projects, and buyer sourcing commitments to include criteria for social responsibility. It is critical to evaluate these approaches to better understand their efficacy and areas in need of improvement. This dissertation explores how approaches for seafood sustainability are being adapted to protect and respect human rights of fishers and fishworkers. First, I examine the efficacy of a recognized human rights risk assessment tool: the Social Responsibility Assessment Tool for the Seafood Sector (SRA). Through a preliminary assessment of human rights risk in Guyana’s artisanal fishery, I determined that the SRA is an effective approach to identify visible and potential risk, though it must be supplemented with engagement with fishers and fishworkers through interviews. Next, I evaluated labor conditions in the shrimp and groundfish fishery of the Guianas-Brazil Shelf using a novel evaluative framework for decent work. I uncovered cross-jurisdictional challenges including trafficking and limited worker representation. My evaluative framework enabled a holistic analysis of decent work, identifying linked concerns such as widespread illegal fishing and threats to food security. Finally, I conducted an analysis of market-based approaches that include criteria for social responsibility. Interviews with experts highlight that market-based approaches, particularly fishery improvement projects, hold great potential as strategies to improve human rights in fisheries. However, concerns around market-based approaches include a lack of strong enforcement mechanisms, limited worker representation, and the voluntary nature of initiatives hinder effective change on the ground. Overall, my research suggests that efforts to improve human rights in fisheries are nascent and need further development. By encouraging mandatory due diligence, improved worker representation, and stricter accountability, interventions can more effectively address risks and ensure rights of fishers and fishworkers are protected and respected.
ContributorsLout, Gabrielle E (Author) / Vogel, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Finkbeiner, Elena (Committee member) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The governance of natural resources often gets implicitly or explicitly shaped by the knowledge systems that are invoked for making decisions. These knowledge systems reflect the underlying notions of how human-nature relationships are conceived and operationalized by different stakeholders in the governance system. Conflicts in the science-policy interface in environmental governance arise when specific conceptions of nature dominate over other ways of knowing, when stakeholders with representing different knowledge systems have disproportionate degrees of influence in policymaking spaces, or when certain stakeholders are deracinated from their resources and long-held knowledge traditions. This dissertation examines the epistemic conflicts that exist in the Indian forestry that have led to a situation of policy stalemate in the governance system and continue to perpetuate colonial systems of scientific forestry and marginalize local knowledge traditions. To do so, this dissertation analyzes three datasets to understand the extent and consequences of this conflict in the forestry sciences in Indian academia. First, scientific discourses on the Indian Forest Rights Act are examined to understand the normative and epistemic practices that lead to differences in perspectives and scientific positions on forest governance. Second, the forest policy literature is analyzed using bibliometrics techniques to identify the intellectual and social silos in forestry sciences in India. Third, interview data from Indian forest scientists is analyzed to understand the inequalities within the science-policy interface in Indian forestry and how these perpetuate colonial legacies of forestry science. This dissertation concludes with recommendations and future pathways for knowledge integration and policy deliberations to make more decolonial, inclusive, and sustainable policies in Indian forestry.
ContributorsBisht, Vanya (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis advisor) / Fisher, Erik (Thesis advisor) / Berbés-Blázquez, Marta (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
ABSTRACTEffective policy development will be critical to address educational challenges within the Global South. To accelerate economic, political, and social goals, the Global South is under increasing pressure to mimic policy development from other countries. In 2016, the Liberian Ministry of Education leveraged policy transfer to address systemic primary education challenges. Originally known as Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL) and later renamed the Liberian Education Advancement Program (LEAP), the education policy outsourced the management of primary schools through a public private partnership inclusive of eight organizations. As part of the pilot, 185 schools were randomly selected in the policy pilot; 93 operating under the new public private partnership and 92 remaining under government operations. However, the sample schools did not represent the country. Rather, LEAP schools were selected based on infrastructure standards, proximity to major roads, and cell phone capabilities.
This research creates a new conceptual framework related to education borrowing, incorporating existing theories and new concepts into a single explanatory mixed-methods case study design. It aims to examine stakeholders in the education borrowing process, factors influencing the adoption of LEAP, and the process of establishing policy transfer. The research also explores whether differences exist in education access, the availability of information and communication technologies, and education quality between LEAP and non-LEAP schools.
The quantitative component of the research includes secondary data analysis, through semi-structured interviews with 19 participants with direct knowledge and experience related to LEAP. The quantitative approach utilizes Pearson’s Chi-Square Test for Independence, Fisher’s Exact Test, and independent sample t-tests. The qualitative component of the research employs Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic framework to analyze the process components of policy transfer.
The findings suggest improvements in some elements of education, support existing research on education borrowing, and notes persistent challenges in these areas and the cultivation of new obstacles due to LEAP. Through the addition of new conceptual and contextual research, the study contributes new knowledge to global development and intersecting disciplines regarding how countries like Liberia navigate the successes and challenges of education borrowing. Keywords: Global South, Liberia, policy transfer, education borrowing, and primary education
ContributorsKaloostian, Damita (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis advisor) / Chhetri, Netra (Committee member) / Pippin, James (Committee member) / Hanson-DeFusco, Jessi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The crafting of cultural goods and ethnic arts have been stable means for making a living within many Indigenous communities throughout the world. In order to understand how crafting can be an avenue towards sustainable entrepreneurship, an analysis of the relationships between Indigenous crafting, Indigenous community life, sustainable agency, Indigenous concepts of wellbeing, and sustainable entrepreneurship is needed. Through three-papers focused on an extensive literature review (aggregate to all three papers) and ethnographic field research (semi-structured interviews, verbal surveys, and ethnographic observation) this dissertation examines how the act of Indigenous crafting as carried out by individuals within families and by families within Indigenous communities, link with social relationships, making a living, gender roles, and cultural identity and how these aspects of community life intersect with sustainable forms of agency, Indigenous concepts of wellbeing, and small-scale social entrepreneurial activities in the context of Indigenous crafting in a bid to indigenize the concept of sustainable entrepreneurship. This dissertation proposes a series of conceptual frameworks that depict the discussed linkages between Indigenous crafting, Indigenous community life, sustainable forms of agency, sustainable livelihood, and Indigenous concepts of wellbeing, in the context of sustainable entrepreneurship along with the relevant literature associated with each element in the frameworks. This dissertation draws from a qualitative ethnographic study on Mazahua artisans and their communities in Mexico in an attempt to understand and expand sustainable entrepreneurship from Euro-Western perspectives to Indigenous perspectives in order to better apply SE concepts in the development of an Indigenous fashion goods venture called Vitu™. This Indigenous venture, through the Indigenized sustainable entrepreneurship concept of Adaptive-Transformative Agency, will more deeply address justice, equity, and inclusion for Indigenous peoples and their communities pursuing community development through entrepreneurial activities.
ContributorsTakamura, John Hiroomi (Author) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Thesis advisor) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Thesis advisor) / Chhetri, Nalini (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Fashion is individual in its expression. It is also universal. Fashion is a cumulation of different influences and different interpretations. We currently live in a climate divided by race, culture, gender, and so much more. It is so difficult to find common ground on a global platform. Something that stands alone is fashion. Fashion is influenced by so many aspects. Of these, aspects that I am interested in are culture and sustainability. When combined with culture, fashion can anchor and have a root to the generations that came before us. When combined with sustainability, we have an anchor to the planet that we share with everyone. The result of fashion is always the same, beautiful art. I want people to see the beauty not only in the art itself, but the differences and similarities that such art provides. We all come from the same world but have different ways of expressing that world. My goal is to show people that they need to acknowledge the differences but can choose to see the similarities of each culture. Additionally, I redesign garments that capture an emotion and a story. Making each piece individual yet serving a greater purpose sustainability wise. I envision the principle of sustainable fashion to be the basis of each piece of clothing. Therefore, for my creative project I am constructing five art pieces representing five cultures that has had a significant influence on my life and personal style. These cultures are those of UAE, Germany, Nepal, Mexico, and Spain. Each of these garments are made from recycled fabric and clothing donated by family and friends. My objective is to display sustainable fashion that has deep cultural influence. Every piece has a story and an emotion attached as well to create a connection with the clothing itself.
ContributorsKreiser, Samantha Miren (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis director) / Ellis, Naomi (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05