The Capstone Paper is written by students in the SIT Graduate Institute Master of Arts degree programs. Capstones reassess theoretical knowledge in light of professional experience in the form of a final research paper, incorporating both classroom knowledge and practicum based experience.
The full-text of papers written prior to July 2011 in the Capstone Collection are limited to SIT and other World Learning faculty, staff, students, and alumni. If you are not affiliated with SIT or World Learning and want access to these papers contact your local library and ask about requesting the hard copy on interlibrary loan. Full-text papers written after July 2011 are openly accessible to the public.
Due to copyright restrictions some papers are not available full-text electronically. World Learning affiliated students and staff can check these papers out of the library or, if you are off-campus, request them via interlibrary loan
Submissions from 2008
Beyond Mass Action: A Study Of Collective Organizing Among Liberian Women Using Feminist Movement Perspectives, Korto Williams
The Effectiveness And Development Sustainability Of NGOs’ Approach To Modernizing Ecological Issues: A Case Study Of The Sustainable Colorado Water Caucus’ Initiatives, I Made Anom Wiranata
Submissions from 2007
Development Or Disintegration: A Social Impact Focus Of Ecotourism In Costa Rica, Mandy Aaberg
Faith in International Development – an Islamic Perspective, Shodi Abdulvasiev
Advocacy in Myanmar: Planning for Save the Children, Khin Mar Aung
Socially Engaged Spirituality: Spiritual Motivation For Social Change In Delegations To The Bajo Lempa Region Of El Salvador, Michelle Balek
Profitable Sustainability: The Future of the Millennium Business, Vikas Budakoti
Bridging Microenterprise Development with Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction: Coping With Mission Drift in Ghana, John Eliot Burg
The World Exists in a Mustard Seed: Grassroots Resistance in the Quest for Food Sovereignty, Rachel Fesler-Schnitzer
UNICEF And The Convention On The Rights Of The Child: Improving Healthcare for Ghana’s Children, Lisa Michelle Fiala
Sustainable Cambodia: A Grass-Roots Approach To Monitoring And Evaluation, Leah Hall
Food Insecurity and Household Coping Strategies: Implications for Effective Food Security and Development Policy in Ethiopia, Mulugeta Lolamo Handino
Challenging the Root Causes of Hunger and Poverty: Christian Action in the Field of Development, Emily Hardin
Confronting Corporate Development: Anti-Mining Advocacy in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Jessica Harper
The Russian Dacha: The Importance of the Dacha Tradition tn Russia’s Local Food System, Erica Hart
Exploring the Dynamic Influence of Youth Organizations Within the Development Sector of Palestine, Amy Hunt
Accountability: A Comparative Analysis of Non-Profit and For-Profit Accountability to USAID, Kevin McLaughlin
A Reflection on Healthcare Reform Policy Analysis: The Catamount Healthcare, an Initiative Healthcare Plan to Cover the Uninsured in Vermont, Quynh Chi Nguyen
Sustainable Tourism In An Ancient City: An Examination Of Ecotourism Operators In Chiang Mai, Thailand, Carey Andrew Northrop
Foreign Aid and Democracy Building in Africa: New England Community Members Perspective on the Use of Foreign Aid as a Tool for Promoting Democracy in Developing Nations, Dimitri Obolensky
Partnering at the Local Level: A Liberian NGO Struggling for Partnership Funding, Kelly O'Rourke
Partnering at the Local Level: Bridging the Disconnect; Planned Project Approaches and Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, Kris H. Ozar
Is an association a good model of development for the Bashimbi pygmies in the Democratic Republic of Congo?, Naruth Phadungchai
The Israeli Wall: Critical Examination of its Impact on the Role of the Palestinian NGOs, Yaser Qaisi
An Analysis Of Two Community Development Initiatives From The Perspective Of Graves’ Emergent Cyclical Theory Of Human Systems Development, Rebecca J. Reiber
Perceptions and attitudes of a Maasai community in southern Kenya regarding predator-damage compensation, wildlife conservation and the predators that prey on their livestock, Shari L. Rodriguez
Youth Volunteerism And Social Capital, Lori Rothstein
A Nuclear Free Vermont: Moving Towards Closure, Chad Simmons
Assessing Readiness for Community Currency in a Sri Lankan Context, Nancy Tuller
At The Verandah Of Mecca: Cultural Consequences Of Humanitarian Intervention, A Case Study Of Tsunami Relief In Ceh, Indonesia, Abigail Wilson
Submissions from 2006
Enhancing Disaster Recovery Coordination Between Government Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations: Findings and Lessons from Sri Lanka, Candice T. Abinanti
The Adirondack forest worker : surviving in a changing timber industry, Michelle Bashaw
The Impact of Training Programs on Women’s Lives in Tsunami Devastated Community in Kalutura District, Sri Lanka, Ruah Basker
Challenges for poor people's participation in the poverty reduction program in Ben Tre province of Vietnam, Tran Thanh Binh
Is Kitchen Design At Sarvodaya’s Damniyamgama ‘Eco-Village’ An Appropriate Model For Household Energy Use?, Peter Buley
Community Dependency and NGO Programming: An Examination in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka, Belle Cantor
Religious leaders as mediators : a necessary progression, Andrew Cook
Child trafficking in Togo, West Africa : how to understand a culturally accepted practice, Amanda M. Day
Power relations in St Lucian agriculture, “the good, the bad and the ugly”, Peter E. Dillon
How Can Sustainable Solid Waste Management be Achieved in Sri Lanka? An Inquiry into the Role of Education and Awareness Building through Grassroots Efforts, Dana L. Eceberger
What teaching philosophies are currently applied at the Pioneer School and do they meet the expectations of parents and the principal?, Arleigh Giroux
Voices of the Internally Displaced: Tsunami Aftermath in Sri Lanka, Michele A. Green
What roles do faith-based organizations play in African American community development?, David Horton
Sarvodaya’s Peace Action Plan In Action: A Case Study Of A Southern Sri Lankan Village, Erica Hougland
Perceived linkages between urban decay and HIV risk behavior : a study of substance-using women in the South Bronx, Angela Jeffers
Post-Tsunami Aid In Sri Lanka: Insights From The Inside, Jennifer Lefing
Consumer acculturation : immigrants in the U.S. and 'American' food, Kelly Lind
The Self-Advocacy Movement in New York State: The Experiences and Perspectives of People With Developmental Disabilities and Their Allies, Jane Wanjiru Matu
Impact Assessment Of Disaster Preparedness In Galle District, Sri Lanka, Jill Morehead
Barriers to care : exploring the ideals and realities of providing rehabilitative services to poor and homeless women, Danielle Robare
New beginnings : assimilation and integration of refugee youth in Boise, Idaho : a case study of refugee youth in Boise, Idaho, Michael L. Rupp
The Esperance School, Haiti: Fostering Literacy among the Surage Population, Susan Louise Sandy
Awareness of Self in Their Own Words: A Case Study of Three Young Women in Kottegoda Village, Sri Lanka, Mary L. Scotti
Community ownership of a public good : identifying the socio-cultural context of community-based water management in Senegal, Laurel A. Varnado
Measuring the Impact of Sarvodaya in the Village of Hummana, Thomas Venner
A case study in civic agriculture : the impact of the town farmers' market on social cohesion & civic engagement in Brattleboro, Vermont, Christopher J. Watson
Analyzing the Needs of Community Health Workers in Rural and Urban Minnesota, LuAnn M. Werner
Motivation Factors of Volunteers as Village Society Leaders, Mudiyanselage Manjula Wijethunge
Submissions from 2005
Sowing the seeds of food justice and small farm viability : what will it take?, Shayna C. Bailey
Trees and trade-offs : perceptions of eucalyptus and native trees in Ecuadorian highland communities, Ashley David Carse
Board Development, Fundraising Practices, and Fiscal Sustainability of Ukrainian Non-Profits: Research and Recommendations, Jon M. Johnson
How Do Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) Programs Impact Women? A Case Study of the NEW Program at the YWCA of the National Capital Area, Annie Jones-Demen
Assessing and Addressing the Feminization of Poverty: Case Study of the Social Development Fund in Senegal, Fatou Aminata Lo
Refugee empowerment : an alternative approach to refugee resettlement, Aryakorn Joy Phaphouvaninh
The Women's League of Burma's advocacy team : the obstacles many, their numbers few, their voices powerful and their strength immeasurable - seeking justice where there is none, Jennifer A. Quigley
Redefining citizen participation : lessons in building socially sustainable development : an NGO approach to integrated municipal development in El Salvador, Amanda Rabinowitz
Tourism and sustainable development: A case study of tourism impacts on the Senegalese Petite Côte region, Jean-Claude Kobenan Seye
Giving and receiving : the food pantry experience and the question of empowerment, Angela V. Smith
Unequal access : a socioeconomic analysis of the delivery of public health in the United States, Aaron Thorp
Children at the Gate: Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of AIDS Orphans in Northern Namibia, Shirley A. Triano
Organic versus modern agriculture : Honduran hillside farmer motivation to adopt new agricultural methods, Michael Robert Wenrick
Submissions from 2004
Legal socialization -- myth or reality? : a case study on the ZANG Armenian Legal Socialization Project, Ruzan Aghazadyan
The NGO road map : participatory development in the Palestian context : a case study of the Ma'an Development Center, Meghan Anne Audette
Assessing Community Participation in Development Planning: A Case Study of Participants' Perceptions from a Small Rural Community in St. Lucia, Augustine Dominique
Artistic resistance as a form of social change and community development in a time of war and globalization, Kimberly Ead
Building a framework for a needs-based approach to gender : a study of four World Neighbors programs, Natalie Elwell
Can ethanol help mitigate the impact of fuelwood use on the environment in Haiti?, Jean-Claude Etheart
Escaping the shadows of globalization : health in the hands of people (a model drawn from experiences in South India), Justin L. Hickman
The Manifestation of Sustainable Development and Issue of Sustainability in Development Discourse: A Comparative Study of Ideological & Practical Perspectives, Narayan B. Karki
Indigenous People’s Responses to Environmental Injustices and Degradation: A Case Study of the Ogiek Community of Kenya, Judith Akinyi Obiero
Today's Youth -- Tomorrow's Future : a youth program in Springfield, Massachusetts and its practice of the youth development approach, Mara Philips Shulman
World Vision Mongolia’s Poverty Alleviation Program in Nalaikh, Mongolia, Baasankhuu Purev
The blue revolution, shrimp farming and unreasonable women : an analysis of ecofeminist resistance to a development scheme gone awry, Levy M. Schroeder
The persistence of world hunger : an examination of USAID efforts, Sara Taylor
Submissions from 2003
A comparative analysis of domestic violence services for refugee women living in California, Melisa Esposti
Managing US federal grants to impact sustainable development : a case of PIDT in Benin, Vincent M. Mugisha
Weaving Experiential and Online Learning: A phenomenological study of experiential learning online, Karen Sigel