On the Frontlines of Change: A discursive approach to understanding real and envisioned climate adaptation pathways of drought-affected primary producers in NSW

The most severe drought on record continues to devastate rural communities and primary producers across most of South-Eastern Australia; signalling current adaptive responses are failing to keep up with the rate of change in climatic conditions. As the first line of resistance or participation in new climate adaptation and mitigation policies, primary producers on small-scale farms can be considered consequential actors in driving transformational change. Despite the dire implications of inaction for Australia’s agricultural industries, there is a paucity of research into the socio-political dimensions underlying decision-making in climate adaptation planning at the farm-level. Noting that the livestock industry is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, a significant contributor to Australia’s share of releasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and possesses the potential to transform vast landscapes into a great ‘carbon sink’, this research endeavours to provide a more in-depth understanding of the discourses that influence responses to climate change at the farm-level in one of Australia’s defining industries. In-depth guided interviews with 16 graziers across drought-afflicted areas of North-Western New South Wales constitute the scope of this research. A discursive analysis of interview data provided insights into the limitations of current hegemonic discourses and mainstream agricultural adaptation and mitigation strategies. Nonetheless, interview data enabled identification of sites of resistance; where alternative discourses and novel framing practices can be seen as opportunities for facilitating transformative change within the livestock industry and agricultural sector more broadly

Exploiting Non-Western Women in Media Representations

Media representations and advertisements serve as visual mediums through which cultural values are projected and reinforced. Western capitalism relies on Eurocentric media representations that exploit perceived differences of non-white and non-western cultures to sell western products. This paper analyzes recent advertisements from Kellogg’s and Suit Supply as examples of media representations that employ Eurocentric perspectives of non-western cultures to uphold white masculinist and colonial power structures. Therefore, I suggest that the non- western cultures in the Kellogg’s and Suit Supply advertisements exist within a western capitalist vacuum. This way of consuming and representing serves to reinforce western ways of knowing as superior and natural

The Misogyny of Psychology: A Tribute to Women Often Overlooked

Although the remarkable achievements of these twelve women may seem of concern to only a small group of feminist scholars, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about equal representation of diverse identities, especially within the branches of science which historically refused to give due credit to individuals other than straight, white men. For this reason, we must be able to recognize and react quickly to social issues, otherwise we run the risk of perpetuating oppression of certain minority groups for the remote future. Under those circumstances, we must work toward positive change by doing away with such inequities and injustices or else we become part of the problem

The Role of Community Outreach Programs in Partnership with the University of Mississippi in Combating Food Insecurity in the Oxford/Lafayette Area

Grow Club is a community outreach programming effort that was formed in Oxford, Mississippi in the fall of 2020 by University of Mississippi undergraduate students. The program works towards bringing community members as well as university students and staff together in attempts at alleviating many stressors felt by local community members living in poverty. This written work aims to offer a breakdown of how this program began and the steps taken to recognize a community need, formulate solutions, and work with the community to offer resources

Captikwł and The Laws of Nature; The Syilx People\u27s Ethical and Cultural Connection with Mother Earth

In this paper, I explore how the Syilx\u27s oral history (captikwł) shapes their identity and ethics through their understanding and respect for mother earth. I analyzed the captikwł of the Syilx and their discourses about life; drawing on their orature (written oral history) to demonstrate that because oral history is an important aspect of Syilx culture, the Syilx people of the British Columbia and Washington region have learned to survive for centuries due to how they relate to their lands. The anthology of the Syilx captikwł are reviewed in the paper to gain a better understanding of how this collection of stories inspire an environmental ethical philosophy and justice that is deeply rooted in their identity as indigenous people and practiced across generation

How to Support Students in Reading for Meaning

This research explores how to support students in reading for meaning. The purpose of my research was to learn more about how to help students read for meaning and to provide the skills and strategies necessary to support reading for meaning. Further, this research reviews the impact strategies have as a means for comprehension of the text. Data were collected for this study over a four-week period in the form of semi-structured interviews, student artifacts, observations, audio recordings, and field notes. Data were analyzed to determine the most effective ways that students were able to read for meaning

Improving medication compliance with mentally disabled outpatients: a thesis ...

The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of combining medication packaging, verbal and graphical feedback, and pill count probes on increasing medication compliance. Eight chronic adult outpatients were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) a regimen card medication packaging system, and (b) a 7- day baggie medication packaging system. A staggered group treatment design was used to ascertain whether either of the two special packaging systems was effective relative to baseline and reversal conditions (using the standard medication vial) in increasing medication compliance behavior among both over-and undercompliant outpatients. Results indicated that the use of the special packaging of medication in combination with the behavioral techniques of verbal and graphical feedback aided in improving compliance in 4 out of 8 noncompliant outpatients

Square Pegs Community Arts on Campus

My capstone project started with a qualitative research study exploring the value of music through the voices of Autistic adults, for without their voices—whether verbal, non-verbal, or verbally limited—it is difficult to know what the value of music is in their lives. The inclusion and leadership of Neurodivergent Black, Indigenous, and students of color (BIPOC) in the UWT Neurodiverse community is one focus of this project; the other is to provide a community space for all Neurodivergent students at UWT to feel welcome and safe, create art, and support each other. Square Pegs Community Arts on Campus is built on the premise that engaging in the co-creation of any art form improves quality of life. Regarding community, one of the most damaging campaigns of the COVID-19 pandemic has been social distancing. Many Neurodivergent BIPOC students have experienced loneliness, anxiety, depression, and exclusion from the white Neurodivergent community, who also experience the same mental health issues, due to fewer opportunities for creative social engagement. My capstone seeks to build a new student alliance on the UWT campus. Connections between all Neurodivergent students and their allies will be nurtured through a diverse array of arts activities, and engage a trauma informed care approach to peer support. BIPOC Neurodivergent student leadership positions will be supported through monthly stipends

Factors Associated with Academic Stimulant Misuse in a College Setting

The purpose of this study was to further understand and explore the motivations behind college students’ misuse of stimulants in an academic setting, in order to develop means to combat its growing popularity. We hypothesized that students would be more likely to misuse stimulants if 1) they perceive SM to be safe, 2) they perceive SM to be ethical, 3) they are more extrinsically motivated in an academic setting, 4) they perceive their academic environments to be competitive, and 5) they perceive SM to be normative. Participants (n = 172) were undergraduate students at a small, Christian, liberal arts university in Southern California. Participants were recruited from an online research participation management system that included students enrolled in a foundational psychology course. The online survey was anonymous and took approximately 15 minutes to complete. The survey questionnaires were administered online in the following order: The Demographic Form, the Academic Motivation Scale, the Perceived Campus Competitiveness scale, the Stimulant Use Questionnaire, the Modified Perception of Prescription Misuse Among Peers scale, the Perception of Safety of Stimulants scale, the Perceptions of Adderall Ethicality scale, and the Validity Question. Descriptive statistics evaluated attitudes and perceptions of SM safety, commonality, and ethicality. Only 43.6% of participants viewed alcohol to be safer than SM. While only 10.5% of participants reported lifetime SM, 61.6% of students perceived less than half, about half, or more than half of students to misuse stimulants during finals week. Finally, only 35.4% of students actually viewed SM as academic dishonesty