Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Economic Policy And Structural Change On Gender Employment Inequality In Latin America, 1990–2010, Elissa Braunstein, Stephanie Seguino

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Latin America experienced a decline in household income inequality in the 2000s, in sharp contrast to growing inequality in other regions of the world. This has been attributed to macroeconomic policy, social spending, and increased returns to education. This paper explores this issue from a gender perspective by econometrically evaluating how changes in economic structure and policy have impacted gendered employment and unemployment rates, as well as gender inequality in these variables, using country-level panel data for a set of 18 Latin American countries between 1990 and 2010. Three variables stand out as having consistent gender-equalizing effects in the labor …

Agency And Empowerment On Women-Owned Farms: A Vermont Agricultural Case Study, Caroline R. Putscher

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

When examining data from the most recent US Census of Agriculture (2012), I noticed a distinct imbalance between the percentages of male and female farmers, both in the country and in Vermont. Sales from women-owned farms represent only 3.3 percent of the total of U.S. agricultural sales, and in Vermont, women were the principal operators of 22.38 percent of farms. I wanted to examine the factors that led to these imbalances, and also understand from women farmers themselves what strategies they used to overcome these obstacles. The theories of agency and empowerment can be used in explaining women’s inequality in …

Farmer Perceptions And Behaviors Related To Wildlife And On-Farm Conservation Actions, Sara M. Kross, Katherine P. Ingram, Rachael F. Long, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Policy makers are increasingly encouraging farmers to protect or enhance habitat on their farms for wildlife conservation. However, a lack of knowledge of farmers’ opinions toward wildlife can lead to poor integration of conservation measures. We surveyed farmers to assess their perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices from perching birds, raptors, and bats—three taxa commonly targeted by conservation measures. The majority of farmers thought that perching birds and bats were beneficial for insect pest control and that raptors were beneficial for vertebrate pest control; however, fruit farmers viewed perching birds more negatively than …

Dying To Eat: Terror Management And Attitudes Toward Eating Plants, Erika J. Lewis

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

Abstract

Terror management theory posits that the drive for self-preservation and the knowledge of our inevitable death create anxiety in people, which they manage in a variety of ways, including favoring those who are like them and distancing themselves from other animals. In studies on terror management theory, mortality salience has been shown to affect food preferences and liking of animals. Here, we test whether mortality salience and 2 other potential motivators, paragraphs about benefits of a plant-based diet on longevity and the environment, affect preferences for plant-based food and meat. We randomly assigned participants to think about their own …

Gender Nonconforming Children: Education For Rural Vermont Families, Zachary Silberman

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Trans and Gender Nonconforming children and adolescents make up an increasing percentage of today's youth. Many of their families, parents, and healthcare providers lack information on how to address the topic. Additionally, the lack of research in the field, and the ever changing definitions, can make it difficult to navigate and, as a result, there are several persistent myths and misconceptions. This project seeks to address these myths, the terminology as currently used, and local community resources from a patient and family perspective, specifically targeted at rural Vermont.

At Sea, Joshua D. Holz

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

At Sea is a short film about two people who think they're the same person. Crafting a dramatic narrative through a series of vignettes between two people, my film explores the tension of not knowing whether someone in one’s life is coming or going. Nora lets Lily stay in her apartment, and cares for her deeply, but doesn’t know if she’ll leave. I apply the three problematizations I analyze below—of the shot-reverse-shot, objects, and absent space—to convey this tension.

Thomas Elsaesser argues inherent to the classic Hollywood melodramas of the 1940s and 50s is a certain “myth-making function, insofar as …