Digital Commons Network^™

Study Of The Cultural Sexuality: A Matter Of Honor And Shame, Alyssa Mceachran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research seeks to understand the nature of a collective society. It seeks to attain knowledge about the role of sexuality and women in the context of a collective society. I intend to ascertain information through interviews and qualitative research with Turkish Cypriots. My questions will relate to a specific topic and how honor and shame are present. In the end of the research I hope to find connections between the concepts of honor and shame and the idea of sexuality in a collective society. I also want to note if morals and ideologies of the aforementioned concepts shift with …

Voices From The Closet: Male Homosexuality And Dual Identity In The Republic Of Cyprus, Tasia Jelatis-Hoke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

What is the relationship between semiotics and gay identities in the Republic of Cyprus? I initially planned to explore the complex relationship between language, and more specifically semiotics and gay male identity in Greek Cypriots. Early in my research, however, I realized that a lot of background research was required before I would be able to do this sort of in-depth analysis. In addition, after becoming aware of the deep colonial legacy left to homosexuals in Cyprus I was reluctant to use the work of European theorists to analyze a post-colonial space. I also came across a pertinent assertion of …

Knowledge And Social Movements: Promotoras Populares And Social Transformation Beyond The Classroom Of Grupo De Mulher Maravilha (Gmm), Shanna Devine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I spent approximately one month researching the relation of Projecto Promotoras Legais Populares (PPLP) with its Subjects, Promotoras Legais Populares (PLP). It is a course aimed to foster political growth amongst marginalize groups in society through the exploration of their Rights. I explored the methodology used by PPLP in order to address the local needs of its Subjects --mainly black women with a poor/working-class background. How did this methodology facilitate the creation of a political space where they can voice these needs? I then looked at how this spread of legal knowledge has impacted Brazil’s most marginalized people in minimizing …

Contemporary Slavery In The Amazon Of Maranhão: Reality And Response, Landen Romei

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project addresses the reality of contemporary slavery in the Amazon of Maranhão. Through observations at the Center of Defense of Life and Human Rights (CDVDH) in the municipality of Açailândia, it gains a sense of the combat against the usage of slave labor today. Interviews with staff members at the Center and its Cooperative explain their objectives and methods in this struggle. In addition, interviews with former slaves allow for a deeper understanding of the day-to-day life of a modern slave. Over the course of three weeks of field research, the hypothesis of the gravity of slavery and …

Piecing Together Social And Environmental Priorities In The Ongoing Process Of Community Development In The Mst Assentamento Of Palmares Ii, Clara C. Ward

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the last twelve years the Amazonian MST assentamento, Palmares II, in the Southeastern state of Para, has experienced many successes in terms of advances in education, health care services, community organization, and physical infrastructure in general. This progress in community development is often considered to support the theory of agrarian reform as an effective mechanism for achieving greater social equality and stability. Despite these relative successes, community development to date has not supported the concept of agrarian reform as a mechanism of environmental preservation and sustainable land use. This is due in part to the failure of the community …

“Ahora Tenemos Una Voz”: Transformaciones En La Vida Cotidiana De Mujeres Piqueteras En La Provincia De Buenos Aires = We Now Have A Voice”: Transformations In The Daily Life Of Piquetero Women In The Province Of Buenos Aires, Claudia L. Romeu Mejía

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The piquetero movement was born in the late nineties among many transformations in the Argentine economic system. It was a result of neoliberal policies which did not take into consideration the needs of the working class. The result was a society marked by poverty and lack of job opportunities. Groups of unemployed people opted to organize and made roadblocks to obtain social plans and other benefits from the government. Most of the people who compose these movements are women. This investigation analyzes the changes that have occurred in piquetero women’s daily life after their initiation in the social movements. It …

“Il Faut Manger” : Eating Disorders In Cameroonian Women, Jennifer Madowitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to investigate unhealthy eating attitudes and negative body images in young Cameroonian women. The study will center around a standardized questionnaire that covers eating attitudes. The research will also focus on the traditional Cameroonian idea of beauty, versus the more Western, “modern,” body image that is popular today. By exploring cultural factors through observation, as well as interviews, and analyzing key statistics from the questionnaire, this paper has come to the conclusion that though the problem of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction are not as high in Cameroon as they are in the United …

Making Space For Critical Discourse: The Daily Resistance Of Acampamento Luiz Carlos, Nicholas Detlef Salmons

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores the implementation of MST’s pedagogy of conscientização (conscientization) within Acampamento (camp) Luiz Carlos in order to better understand the role that dialogue plays in raising the collective consciousness of peasants newly engaged in the occupation of the land. The approach I took to understanding this process was heavily influenced by Paulo Freire’s works on literacy and revolution, as well as James Scott’s theories of the quotidian resistance of peasants and other subordinate groups. Due to his theories and the subsequent realities encountered in the field, the focus of the study was expanded to include a better understanding …

Não Sou Sua Puta: An Examination Of Preconceptions Of Sex Work In Salvador, Bahia, Charmaine Bee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“For Black women ceding control over self - definitions of Black women's sexualities upholds multiple oppressions. This is because all systems of oppression converge, " Patricia Collins. The system of Slavery is essential in any conversation around various systems of oppression which black women encounter, as many idealogies that support systemic racism were constructed during slavery. Black women face the intersectionality of multiple oppressions on a daily basis, one of these oppressions being sexism. Because of these various oppressions and definitions of black female sexuality by those in power the diversity of black female sexuality and self -definition has been …

Uma Doença Esquecida: A Falta De Conhecimento Da Hanseníase No Brasi, Anders Gustafson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hansen’s Disease is one of the world’s most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses. Its patients are often discriminated against, and marginalized from society. This study examines what role a fault in information regarding technical knowledge plays in perpetuating this prejudice. Data is based on interviews collected from patients, family members, and persons from the most affluent sections of society, all from the city of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. In addition, medical professionals provide their input. This information is referenced against sociological theory and historical precedence, to examine the role society and government have played in formulating the situation today. The study concludes …

“¿Quién Le Compró La Tierra A Dios?” El Conflicto Territorial Entre Los Mapuches Y Las Empresas Internacionales En La Patagonia, Lauren Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Patagonia region in southern Argentina manifests the clash of the traditional and the modern worlds. In the same region there are poor indigenous communities and some of the world’s richest men both seeking to utilize its many natural resources for very distinctive aims. For the Mapuche people, the land is part of them, and they are part of the land. For the foreigners that have bought millions of hectares in the area, the land is rich with natural resources that can be utilized for profit and export. With the influx of foreign investors, the minority rights of the indigenous …

La Economía Solidaria: Las Limitaciones, Las Contribuciones, Y Los Valores Comunes De Una Respuesta Inherentemente Local Dos Estudios De Campo, Alissa Kimmel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Economía solidaria is an alternative method of development that has sprung up in the last two decades in Latin America as a response to the devastating effects of neo-liberal policies. The questions that I was interested in exploring with this investigation were: How is economía solidaria defined in theory? How does it manifest in practice? What explains this discrepancy, if one exists? What do these answers tell us about the limitations, potentials, and unique contributions of economía solidaria? To search for these answers I studied two organizations of economía solidaria, where I utilized qualitative methods of observation, interviews, review of …

De Movimiento Político A Cooperativa Una Investigación De La Evolución Del Mtd-La Matanza, Will Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an investigation of how one group of unemployed workers in Argentina, the MTD-La Matanza, responded to the economic and social deterioration wrought by the market liberalization of the Nineties. This investigation examines the emergence of the MTD-La Matanza as part of the larger political movement of “piqueteros” in the mid-Nineties, the division and neutralization of this movement by the Government’s “Planes Trabajar,” and the resulting transformation of the MTD-La Matanza to a self-managed cooperative. Through this examination, I highlight the way in which the cooperative crystallizes as an alternative response to the changes of the nineties, particularly …

“I Don’T Hate Them, They Hate Me”— A Study On The Perceptions Of Homeless People In Melbourne And The Implications Those Perceptions Have, Devin Arthur

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project examines the general public’s perception of homeless people and what impact (if any) those perceptions have on the policies or services available to homeless people. The project also examines what affect (if any) gender, age, level of formal education, annual household income and/or suburb may have on the public’s various attitudes. The project’s focus is on the perceptions towards and from homeless people, the definition of homelessness, and the policies affecting homelessness. The project’s data was collected from the central business district of Melbourne in addition to two inner suburbs, Toorak and Footscray. Much of the qualitative information …

The Scholarship Of Vietnameseness: The Dialectic Of “National Identity” Between Self And Society In Vietnamese Education, Amber North

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores how college aged youth from various regional time and space identities access “national identity” in Vietnam. The study uses a theoretical framework as follows (1) Benedict Anderson’s theory that “nation” is in an “imagined” community (2) Keith Taylor’s theory of how surface orientations of linear time and space do not accurately characterize history. (3) Subaltern Studies: a field of Postcolonial Criticism that considers the alternative historical narratives of subalterns (non-elites, and for our purposes the nationally marginalized). Using this theoretical framework, I then explore how the youth access this “national imagination.” How is it that students connect …

Campesinas En Resistencia: Estrategias De Sobrevivencia Para Construir Una Cultura De Paz, Camia Crawford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This essay speaks of the rural Nicaraguan woman, survival, and the development of strategies of "resistance" to construct a Culture of Peace. It discusses how society creates and reinforces the oppression of this woman, and how this woman confronts (resists) this oppression. This is a paper that documents the struggle of the woman that looks to access power from her impoverished and gendered condition from the time of the revolution until the present. Through a process of formal and informal interviews with rural women over a one month period in Paiwas Nicaragua, the goal of this project was to investigate …

Cross-Cultural Encounters: Gringos And Ladinos In Zapatista Territory, Amy Chin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is principally an analysis of the international observers’ experiences in Olga Isabel and the implications of their continual presence in the community. I begin by explaining my methodology in carrying out this project. I then give a brief history of the Zapatistas, followed by a summary of the present situation in Olga Isabel and its historical and political context. The body of the paper examines the experiences of international observers and the effects of their presence within communities. I conclude by placing my findings in the context of the larger Zapatista movement for indigenous rights and autonomy.

Dai Medicine: Preservation Of And Changes In Ancient Healing Practices, Geoffroy Fauchet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project discusses the general concept and theories of Dai medicine and focuses on the conservation of and transformation that both, the traditional and modern Dai medical system have undergone over time.

Searching For A Path: Evangelicals In Nicaraguan Politics, Jacob Siegel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Evangelicals now comprise approximately 20-25% of the Nicaraguan population, but the Nicaraguan political system has remained dominated by the specter of the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, in the 1990s, some evangelical leaders, including ones who had previously been vocal opponents of political involvement, sought new outlets for political participation. I claim that the evangelical political movement has drawn on three justifications: a struggle against political marginalization, a crusade for “traditional moral values,” and a fight for economic betterment.

Here, utilizing interviews with 18 Nicaraguan Protestants involved in Christian political or social movements, I trace evangelical political parties though …

“Beauty” As A Public Health Concern: An Analysis Of The Internalization And Effects Of The Western Beauty Ideal In Nairobi, Kenya, Elizabeth Lownik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acts of personal decoration or even body modification for the purpose of attaining a cultural norm of “beauty” have been undertaken in every human society for centuries. In certain societies, however, people engage in acts or practices to obtain such cultural beauty only at the expense of individual and community health. The current eating disorder epidemic in the United States, based on the Western beauty ideal of an extremely thin woman, is an example of such destructive behavior in the name of beauty. With the current phenomenon of globalization, Western cultural norms, including the beauty ideal, are spreading around the …

A Separate World: Conflicts Between Malagasy Society And The Mentally Handicapped, Jesse Travis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

The Complex Realities Of Indigenous Health Care Delivery, Megan Waterman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The indigenous population of Australia faces a life expectancy that is eighteen years lower than the general population. This study addresses this incredible disparity by exploring the historical, cultural and social forces that impact on health status, focussing especially on health care service utilisation. Qualitative methods of interviewing and participant observation have been used to examine the two sectors of Aboriginal health service delivery in urban Victoria: Aboriginal community controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) and mainstream organisations. Accounting for the complex forces and realities in health service delivery, this is a discussion of the important components of the current realities for …

Volviéndose Rebelde: Participación Política Juvenil La Historia De Participación Política De La Juventud Nicaragüense: 1975-2006 Recurring Rebellion: Youth Political Participation In Nicaragua, Julia Beaufait

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Youth act as both reflections of and protagonists within history and society. This is even more apparent in Nicaragua, where the 1979 triumph of the Sandinista revolution was sustained by the high levels of youth participation. In the following two and a half decades, youth have continued to play a defining role both following the example of and rejecting the proceeding models of participation. This essay is an exploration of the history of youth political participation in Nicaragua in the years between 1975 and 2006: from the insurrection to the most recent elections. I work under the assumption that the …

Una Investigación De Las Políticas Públicas En La Argentina Dirigidas Hacia La Prevención Del Delito En Comunidades Vulnerables: En Estudio De Caso En Villa Tranquila De Avellaneda Y El Barrio Pampa En Lanús, Camilia Lozano

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the decade of the ‘90’s until well into mid-2000’s, crime rates increased dramatically in Argentina. This was especially true after the socio-economic crisis of 2001, where a radical unemployment rate accompanied the growing crime rates. A public policy was thus implemented by the Ministry of Justice and Human Development in 2000 in order to attack this growing national concern. The National Plan of Crime Prevention is implemented in what will be referred to as “Vulnerable Communities”. These are marginal areas of the Province of Buenos Aires where drug use, unemployment and loitering on the streets are commonly observed. It …

‘Like A Parrot Screaming In Its Cage’ Activism And Empowerment In Nepal’S Bhutanese Refugee Community, Elena Phoutrides

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper will look at empowerment in the Bhutanese refugee community from a number of angles. First of all, it will examine issues of representation. Refugees are often represented to media sources and agencies by Bhutanese political leaders who do not always represent the variety of needs and views present in the 100,000-person plus refugee community. Second, this paper will discuss camp management and the ways in which participation is encouraged and discouraged by agencies involved in providing for refugees. The refugee community is far from silent on issues of participation and representation; thus this paper will look at several …

Les Aspects Positifs Et Négatifs Dans La Nudité Dans La Publicité Française, Caitlin Thornton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Dutty Wine: Ooman Big Up Or Dis?, Nicole Cruz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores the extent to which females are liberated or oppressed in dancehall in Kingston, Jamaica. Using a qualitative approach and feminist perspective, I explore dancehall culture and the ghetto communities on which it centers. Participant observation allowed me to experience the dynamics of the dancehall space. Using in-depth interviews, I assessed my observations with the opinions of dancehall fans and other community members. Ultimately, it becomes clear in this study that though heterosexual females are liberated with their freedom of sexual expression, dancehall is still has a deeply patriarchal structure. Heterosexual males dominate dancehall by oppressing heterosexual females, …

The Grass Is Always Greener In Gated Communities: The Social Segregation And Construction Of Difference In The Urbanizaciones Cerradas Of The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Ben Simons

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the past 15 years, the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires (RMBA) has experienced the phenomenon of the massive development of hundreds of gated communities outside the city center (Capital Federal). This has been due to a perceived decrease in the quality of life within the city center by many middle to upper class residents, and a rising sensation of insecurity and fear within the open urban environment. The search for a more safe and secure setting as well as a higher quality of life has led many of these residents to flee the city for the enclosed environments of …

The Black Question, Nicole L. Butler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In April 2006, a 37-year old Ethiopian man was brutally attacked by two skinheads sending the country into a state of mourning. In the days to follow, the German press covered the attack extensively raising the question if whether or not race-based crimes had witnessed resurgence in Germany. For many people, the answer to such a question required a further analysis of the last few years in Germany. In 2005, Oury Jalloh, an immigrant from Sierra Leone burned to death while in a holding cell at the city jail in Dessau. The examiners labeled his death suicide although his hands …

The Development Of Bilingual Education In Berlin’S Primary Schools, Elizabeth Buckley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The debate on language education is flourishing in the current state of globalization and immigration. The rising amount of globalization has increased the amount of linguistic diversity present in one’s everyday life. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages in the world and half of them are in danger of disappearing. Therefore, it is becoming more common for the presence of many different linguistic groups within one country. For instance, in Indonesia, there are over 700 languages spoken. Although, the distribution of languages is not equal, it is nearly impossible to go through life without being exposed to another language …