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Teach Them To Eat: Complexities Of Community Based Organization And Nutrition Education Initiatives In The Prevention Of Chronic Disease, Allison Matos
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines how participants of an eight-week nutrition education class utilize disseminated information to manage chronic disease, as well as explores the challenges a community based nutrition education resource center faces in the arena of chronic disease prevention. Per the World Health Organization's Global Report on Diabetes, 422 million adults currently live with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, a four-fold increase since the 1980s. Within the U.S., approximately nine percent of the adult population suffers from diabetes, and obesity, a major contributor to the disease, afflicts nearly thirty-five percent. While medical professionals frame the controlling of chronic disease …
Developing Methods For The Estimation Of Stature And Their Use As A Proxy For Health Among The Ancient Chachapoya Of Peru, Armando Anzellini
Developing Methods For The Estimation Of Stature And Their Use As A Proxy For Health Among The Ancient Chachapoya Of Peru, Armando Anzellini
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Population mean stature and patterns of health are often linked in anthropological studies, yet few studies control for the multifactorial nature of achieving adult standing height. This thesis explores the intersection of health and stature by analyzing the skeletal remains of 161 adult individuals from the archaeological site of Kuelap, in the eastern slopes of the northern Peruvian Andes, and also tests current biometric methods for estimating stature from skeletal remains. This Chachapoya site dates to the Late Intermediate Period (AD 900 – 1470) and Late Horizon (AD 1470 – 1536) and resides in the high altitude sub-tropical forests of …
Devising Strategies, Managing Needs: A Multi-Level Study Of Homelessness In Central Florida, Rebecca Young
Devising Strategies, Managing Needs: A Multi-Level Study Of Homelessness In Central Florida, Rebecca Young
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The homeless are a marginalized population vulnerable to structural forces and policy decisions, including lack of affordable housing, systemic inequalities, and lack of adequate social safety net. Homelessness is commonly medicalized (linked to individual deviancy and mental illness) by service administrators and policymakers, causing structural causes to be overlooked. A "vertical slice" approach is particularly useful to show perspectives and strategies that affect homelessness from multiple levels. Using ethnographic research methods, this project explores homelessness in Central Florida from three distinct but interrelated angles: (1) the perspective of homeless persons, (2) the perspective of staff members at Hope Helps, a …
Patterns In Dental Health: Investigating Dental Disease At The Archaeological Site Of Kuelap In Chachapoyas, Peru, Vu Tran
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Social organization influences individual well-being and overall community health, which may lead to health disparities that manifest in teeth. The research in this thesis explores social variability by analyzing patterns in dental disease at the archaeological site of Kuelap in Chachapoyas, Peru. The ancient Chachapoya (AD 900-1535) were a complex society but the nature of that complexity is not well understood based on traditional archaeological correlates. Since burials at Kuelap lack grave goods that are often used to discriminate variation in social status or identity, bioarchaeological dental proxies were tested. The dental remains of 106 individuals (7 subadults, 54 adult …
An Investigation Of The Biomechanical Implications Of Lower Limb Fractures And Leg Length Disparity, Elizabeth Mills
An Investigation Of The Biomechanical Implications Of Lower Limb Fractures And Leg Length Disparity, Elizabeth Mills
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
One of the primary goals of biological anthropology is to develop an accurate understanding of human anatomy, health, disease, and injury in both modern and archaeological populations. Paleopathological analyses are a fruitful means of identifying disease and injury in skeletal assemblages, but the individual long-term biomechanical effects associated with pathological conditions have not yet been adequately explored in the literature. Leg fractures are a common pathological condition in both modern and archaeological populations, the effects of which may alter the biomechanics of gait. A growing body of clinical literature demonstrates that abnormal ambulatory function may have far-reaching effects in the …
Navigating Sociotechnical Power Structures: Dynamics Of Conflict In World Of Warcraft's Player Versus Player Events, Rachael Root
Navigating Sociotechnical Power Structures: Dynamics Of Conflict In World Of Warcraft's Player Versus Player Events, Rachael Root
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
As a result of technological advancement and exponential increases in global access, cross-disciplinary research has recently turned to digital online video games. Most anthropological research within this area has centered around player self-identification, gender construction, and gaming communities. Yet many interactions occur at nodes of dynamic conflict where agentic players navigate intersections of power, which are unaddressed in the scholarly corpus. By utilizing ethnographic methods in World of Warcraft's player versus player events, I examine resources, relationships, and tools that underpin player actions and understandings. My findings reveal layered and dynamic patterns of sociotechnical conflict. Players' geographical location impacts access …
Vulture Scavenging Of Child-Sized Pig Carcasses In Central Florida: Utilizing Gis To Analyze Site Variables Affecting Skeletal Dispersal, Alexander Mitchell
Vulture Scavenging Of Child-Sized Pig Carcasses In Central Florida: Utilizing Gis To Analyze Site Variables Affecting Skeletal Dispersal, Alexander Mitchell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Scavengers can significantly alter a forensic scene and consume, modify, disarticulate, and disperse bodies. However, little research exists regarding scavenging in Central Florida, specifically scavenging involving Black and Turkey Vultures (Coragyps atratus, Cathartes aura respectively). The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of vulture scavenging on consumption, disarticulation, and dispersal of child-sized carcasses in the Central Florida region. The research sample consisted of four pig (Sus scrofa) carcasses weighing approximately 25kgs that were deposited in two distinct sites (shaded and unshaded) at the Deep Foundations Geotechnical Research Site located on the UCF campus. Two field cameras were …
An Inconclusive Truth: An Evaluation Of Speleothem Evidence For Climate Change As A Driver Of Ancient Maya Culture Change, Benjamin Goldblatt
An Inconclusive Truth: An Evaluation Of Speleothem Evidence For Climate Change As A Driver Of Ancient Maya Culture Change, Benjamin Goldblatt
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
As anthropologists who focus their scholarly attention on the past, archaeologists are interested in examining past changes in human cultures, which can include investigating the role(s) of climatic conditions in shaping them. Paleoclimatology offers the possibility of reconstructing past climates and demonstrating their variability over time, potentially contributing a great deal to archaeology. However, while paleoclimatology may lead to new discoveries about the human past, it may also lead to new errors in interpreting it. Cave speleothems are sources of paleoclimatic data that have recently attracted attention in Mesoamerican archaeology, particularly in studies of the Maya region. In order to …
Identifying Archetypal Attributes Of Maya Ceremonial Architecture: Clues To The Late Classic Sociopolitical Status Of Pacbitun, Belize, George Micheletti
Identifying Archetypal Attributes Of Maya Ceremonial Architecture: Clues To The Late Classic Sociopolitical Status Of Pacbitun, Belize, George Micheletti
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The E Group complex is one of the most widely known archetypes in Maya archaeology. The complex's easily recognized configuration has helped archaeologists to identify this archetype at hundreds of sites throughout the Southern Maya Lowlands. However, things are not always what they appear to be. Conducted by Jaime Awe and colleagues (2016), a reinvestigation of excavation data of assemblages long designated as E Group complexes in a region known as the Belize River Valley revealed several unique attributes not typical of the E Group complex. Awe et al. (2016) suggest that these assemblages appear to function more as "eastern …
On The Back Of The Crocodile: Extent, Energetics, And Productivity In Wetland Agricultural Systems, Northern Belize, Shane Montgomery
On The Back Of The Crocodile: Extent, Energetics, And Productivity In Wetland Agricultural Systems, Northern Belize, Shane Montgomery
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ancient populations across the globe successfully employed wetland agricultural techniques in a variety of environmentally and climatically diverse landscapes throughout prehistory. Within the Maya Lowlands, these agricultural features figure prominently in the region comprised of northern Belize and southern Quintana Roo, an area supporting low-outflow rivers, large lagoons, and numerous bajo (swamp) features. Along the banks of the Hondo and New Rivers, the Maya effectively utilized wetland agricultural practices from the Middle Preclassic to the Terminal Classic Periods (1000 B.C. - A.D. 950). A number of past archaeological projects have thoroughly examined the construction and impact of these swampland modifications. …
Preliminary Investigation Into Biological Sex Estimation Using Trace Element Analysis In Human Hair, Abigail Woltering
Preliminary Investigation Into Biological Sex Estimation Using Trace Element Analysis In Human Hair, Abigail Woltering
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In forensic anthropology the estimation of biological sex of unidentified human remains is critical, as it essentially halves the number of potential identities. Sex estimation is also important in bioarchaeology, because the creation of the biological profile is critical to the interpretation of different sociocultural aspects of past populations. Furthermore, certain aspects of the biological profile are sex specific, so it is important to be able to accurately determine biological sex (France 1998). Typically, biological sex is estimated by assessing sexually dimorphic differences within the pelvis and skull. However, because sexually dimorphic differences arise during puberty it is difficult, and …
Attitudes Of Mothers And Daughters Towards Menstrual Suppression, Jacqueline M. Devaney
Attitudes Of Mothers And Daughters Towards Menstrual Suppression, Jacqueline M. Devaney
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Recent biomedical advancements, cultural practices, and individual preferences have altered the ways in which biological process such as menstruation are perceived and managed. Increasingly, women are interested in suppressing menstruation to alleviate its negative symptoms, including bloating, menstrual cramps, fatigue, and irritability. This topic is especially relevant for adolescent girls, as mothers and daughters might have to negotiate attitudes towards daughters’ menstrual suppression. Therefore this study aims to examine how this topic is discussed and understood within the mother-daughter dyad. It is also important to consider how these attitudes are shaped by cultural background, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and religion. Through …
Forced Motherhood? An Ethnographic Study On State Gender Expectations In Nicaragua, Mikaela M. Mendoza-Cardenal
Forced Motherhood? An Ethnographic Study On State Gender Expectations In Nicaragua, Mikaela M. Mendoza-Cardenal
Honors Undergraduate Theses
The dominant Sandinista party discourse of Nicaragua designates the family as the country’s base social institution, but the prevailing machismo threatens the family’s structure. Men - fathers - leave, either literally as migrant laborers or in the abandonment of their family responsibilities. In order to counteract the men’s socially sanctioned absence, the state deploys a hegemonic expectation of motherhood in the passage of its complete abortion ban, one of the strictest in the world. All forms of abortion, including saving the life of the mother, are banned in Nicaragua and both doctors and women are heavily penalized if an abortion …
Exploring The Therapeutic Roles Of Santeria For Latinx Living In Florida, Amaris J. Santiago
Exploring The Therapeutic Roles Of Santeria For Latinx Living In Florida, Amaris J. Santiago
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Mental health services within Latinx communities in the United States has been greatly underutilized. Seekers of mental health support face many barriers including internalized stigmas, misconception of mental health serves and low general knowledge of mental health and wellness. For many Latinx, culturally competent mental healthcare has lacked important elements to how Latinx interpret mental healthcare services. The use of Santería in many in Florida and the United States has supplemented gaps left by formal mental healthcare services. Santería has its own stigmas within Latinx communities were its practiced, forcing many Santeros and seekers to practice in private. Lack of …
Asylum In Crisis: Structural Violence And Refugees In Siracusa, Italy, Adam Kersch
Asylum In Crisis: Structural Violence And Refugees In Siracusa, Italy, Adam Kersch
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In recent years, unprecedented numbers of migrants have arrived in Italy due to political, religious, ethnic and economic instabilities in West and North Africa and the Middle East. Simultaneously, the Eurozone Crisis and neoliberal austerity measures left the Italian government struggling to administer healthcare and legal services to all migrants. This study investigates the provision of essential services by the Italian state and two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Emergency and ARCI, respectively providing free medical and legal services, to incoming migrants in Siracusa, Italy. It analyzes migrants' perceptions of these services and evolving goals in Europe. Building upon preliminary fieldwork conducted …
The Crossed Bands Motif: What Does It Mean?, Brittany Luther
The Crossed Bands Motif: What Does It Mean?, Brittany Luther
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The crossed bands motif is an iconographic symbol that appears among many Mesoamerican cultures' art including Olmec, Izapan and Maya spanning from the Early Pre-Classic to the Classic periods in Mesoamerica. Pierce explains in his theory on signs that icons, symbols and indices all contain meaning. This meaning was given to the signs by the one who commissioned the medium on which the sign is placed; therefore it is important to understand the meaning of these signs to learn more about the person or people who built them. The crossed bands motif has previously been studied based on individual pieces …
Bioarchaeological Investigations Of The Red House Archaeological Site, Port Of Spain, Trinidad: A Pre-Columbian, Mid-Late Ceramic Age Caribbean Population., Patrisha Meyers
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In 2013 structural assessments associated with ongoing renovations of the Red House, Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament building, revealed human remains buried beneath the foundation. Excavations and radiocarbon dating indicate the remains are pre-Columbian with 14C dates ranging between approximately AD 125 and AD 1395. Due to the small overall sample size and the inability to attribute all individuals to a specific Amerindian period, the skeletal sample was considered as an aggregate. A bioarchaeological assessment of excavated graves and associated human skeletal material was conducted to determine the demographic profile and the pathological conditions exhibited by the collective skeletal 'population.' Osteological …
Diet And Migration In Coastal Oaxaca: Identifying Effects Of Political And Social Collapse Through The Utilization Of Stable Isotope Analysis, Jacklyn Rumberger
Diet And Migration In Coastal Oaxaca: Identifying Effects Of Political And Social Collapse Through The Utilization Of Stable Isotope Analysis, Jacklyn Rumberger
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study involves the investigation of diet and mobility among people living in the lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico, during the Late Classic (AD 500-800) and Early Postclassic (AD 800-1200) periods. Specifically, this research focuses on how political and social collapse affected subsistence practices and diet, particularly maize agriculture and consumption, as well as human migration. Archaeological evidence suggests that Río Viejo, the region's largest urban center before AD 800, experienced multiple periods of political fragmentation and instability during its long history, specifically during the Early Classic (AD 250 - 500) and Early Postclassic periods, making it an ideal …