Digital Commons Network^™

La Participación Y Representación De Las Mujeres Afrodescendientes En Los Movimientos De Ni Una Menos Y La Marea Verde En El Buenos Aires Actual, Olivia S. Sabini-Leite

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The myth that "there are no blacks in Argentina" or that "we do not have an afrodescendant population" remains prevalent in present-day Argentina since the beginning of state nationalization. However, immigrants and youth have sparked a movement geared at the recuperation of afrodescendancy among afroargentines. From this influence and the 31st National Women's Encounter, a strong wave of Afro-descendant women has grown, promoting the visibility, recognition and constant presence of the afrodescendant population.

During the same years, Ni Una Menos (Not One Less Girl) that responds to gender violence and Marea Verde (Green Tide) that responds to the struggle for …

A Comparative Study On Mental Health Knowledge Based On Socioeconomic Status In Kisumu Kenya 2019, Mashoud Kaba

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Studies show that people who live in rural Kenya have more positive attitudes toward mental illnesses than people in urban areas. They also had more mental health knowledge. One of the differentiating factors between the two environments is the socioeconomic status of those who live in each area. People in rural areas tend to be of lower socioeconomic status, while those living in urban areas tend to be of a higher socioeconomic status. I wanted to see if the previous findings would be observed if we were looking at people in the same area (strictly urban or rural) with the …

The Inclusion Of Displaced Women In The Women, Peace, And Security Agenda, Ava Strasser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, which stresses the importance of women’s involvement during times of conflict as decision-makers in peace-building processes. While this resolution and the broader Women, Peace, and Security agenda are dedicated to including women in important post-conflict reconstruction processes, the international community; comprised of states, international organizations, and civil society; has been criticized for its failure to implement this agenda. Further, it is evident that displaced women are a large population whose voices are widely left out of the post-conflict reconstruction processes. Within the discourse regarding the experience of displaced …

A Study Of Scars: Narratives Of Unintentional Childhood Injuries In Cato Manor, Carolyn Fox

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to identify the specific types of injuries children experience growing up in Cato Manor, specifically, KwaMasxha, to understand how community members process and make meaning of their injuries over time, and to analyze the social determinants of health in Cato Manor that have been conducive to these injuries.

In order to learn about experiences of unintentional childhood injuries in Cato Manor, data was collected using a qualitative, narrative-based approach. I conducted interviews with young adult community members aged 19 to 27 years, asking about their personal experiences with childhood injuries as someone who grew …

Health And Education: Perspectives On The Role Of Schools In Health Promotion, Miranda Powell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to understand learners’ perceptions of the role schools play in health promotion. Health promotion encompasses health education and can be highly effective in the school setting. Given the high rates of HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, early sexual debut, and abuse, health education is highly important in South African schools. All learners are required to take Life Orientation classes, which cover many topics including health education. Comparing the views of what learners expect, experience, and the curriculum, my study addressed the gaps in Life Orientation classes with regards to health promotion education.

For this study I …

Mining’S Impact On Environmental And Human Health: A Case Study Of Ramba County’S Gold Mine, Vivika Fernes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project aims to gain a greater understanding of the health implications that Ramba County’s goldmine has on miners, their families, and the environment. While this study observes the community-at-large, inclusive of visiting miners and extended family members of workers, it will focus on women who engage in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Millions of people in the developing word depend on ASGM for their livelihood, evident in this case study in Ramba County. However, while gold is associated with wealth, there is great irony in the fact that those working within the mining industry are being exploited …

The Transformative Potential Of High-Level Gender Equality: The Relationship Between Gendered Laws And Perceptions In Rwanda, Elena Ortiz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As part of its reconstruction process following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda introduced several laws and policies protecting gender equality, which stood it stark contrast to traditional patriarchal norms and structures. This study focuses on the relationship between institutional gender reform and local perceptions. Specifically, it seeks to explore the extent to which perceptions around gender have caught up to legal changes and identify where the greatest gaps exist across political, social, and economic dimensions. Data collection occurred in two parts: quantitatively, a multiple-choice survey was distributed to 76 Rwandan adults investigating their perceptions of gender in political, …

How Is Disability Seen? An Auto-Ethnographic Exploration Of Disability In Urban Townships In Ethekwini, South Africa, Connie Chao

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Disability is a topic that is often overlooked and not seen in day to day life. Disability may be visible or invisible to others, and individuals may have varying attitudes and opinions towards people with disabilities. Disability can also be conceptualized in different ways depending on if one takes on a bio-medical model or a social model of disability. In this study, I explored how disability is seen, both literally and metaphorically in urban townships in the eThekwini Municipality in South Africa. I conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals with disabilities and community members at large to understand people’s perspectives on …

The Effect Of Stray Dogs On Urban Arusha Residents And Existing Preventative Measures, Brooke Magliabatista

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The study at hand encompasses interviews and observations conducted in three areas of Urban Arusha. The areas of choice are Njiro Complex, Sinoni, and Kaloleni areas, in addition to interviews with individuals situated at Clocktower, input from a veterinary practitioner and information gathered from the organization Mbwa Wa Africa situated next to the Arusha National Park. The study took place from Nov. 7-Nov 26, 2019. The interviews include random sampling of local populations and encompassed pre-formed survey questions for each level of person interviewed. The question being addressed ask: what is the dynamic between Arusha residents and stray dogs, and …

Which Factors Influence The Usage And Perceptions Of Medicinal Plants In Kizanda Village (Lushoto District) And Ushongo Village (Tanga District)?, Callie Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this study was to compare and examine which factors impact usage and perceptions of traditional medicine in Ushongo Mtoni and Kizanda villages. More specifically, this study aimed to gain an understanding of the usages, with a specific focus on gendered usages of medicinal plants in Kizanda village and Ushongo Mtoni village and to try to examine the differences in perceptions towards traditional medicine usage in Kizanda and Ushongo. Additionally, this study aimed to determine if there are any major themes that are constant with medicinal plants in both Ushongo and Kizanda. In order to conduct this study …

Queer Spaces, Future Places: Conversations With 3 Black Capetonian Femmes On Embodying Liberation, Ivana Onubogu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Black femme bodies face multi-axial oppressive forces resting on their racialization, gendering, sexuality and possible other factors like socioeconomic status and ability. I interviewed 3 queer-identified Black femmes between the ages of 18 and 35 that are based in or work out of the Cape Town area. Femmes is defined as trans womxn, nonbinary femmes, femme lesbians and femme bisexuals, effeminate mxn, or any other femme-identified queer person. The purpose of this project is to investigate the possibility of a liberated Black queer future as an embodied practice within the context of the Black Capetonian queer community. Participants were selected …

Law Versus Action: How Five Cape Town Organizations Are Combating High Rates Of Sexual Assault And The Failure Of Progressive Sexual Offences Legislation, Anna Tinker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project (ISP) seeks to understand the work various Cape Town organizations are doing to help survivors of sexual assault gain access to justice. Previous research finds that social norms defining masculinity as well as rape myths and stereotypes lead to the high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa. This research led to my hypothesis that organizations fighting GBV would target these norms to help survivors access the justice system that so frequently ignores them. Eight organizations were contacted requesting an interview to discuss their work and two agreed to participate. Participants were asked to discuss …

E-Waste Shouldn’T Be Waste: A Study On The Practices, Perceptions, And Policies On E-Waste In Urban Arusha, Tanzania, Melanie Mckenzie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the e-waste stream in urban Arusha, answer the questions of where electronics go, how people usually dispose of them, if people are aware of the impacts of e-waste, and what next steps are necessary. The study took place in November 2019 in urban Arusha, Tanzania. Through snowball and convenience sampling in 4 quotas (community members, electricians, business members, and a policy maker), the study finds that there is no place for the proper disposal of e-waste in Arusha. Many electronics are disposed of improperly by being put into the landfill or burned. Most participants were unaware of …

The Practice Of Dhikr Among Senegalese Taalibe Baay Women: Individual Devotion, Communal Well-Being, Natalie Marsh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For Sufis, dhikr—the practice of invoking the Name of God—pervades the fabric of everyday life. For Taalibe Baay (disciples of Ibrahim Niasse) living in Senegal, dhikr takes on particular significance in relation to the experience of tarbiya, an intense spiritual initiation aimed at achieving a vision of God. If tarbiya is the door to the spiritual path, some Taalibe Baay say, then dhikr is a tool by which disciples can continue to progress along this path, purifying themselves internally and reaffirming their connection to God each time they perform these prayers. But for some Senegalese Taalibe Baay women, dhikr seems …

Lived Experiences Of Temporary Permanence: The Syrian Perspective On Humanitarian Response And ‘Guest Status’ In Jordan, Leila A. Ismaio

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the conflict in Syria has evolved into a long-term crisis, Syrian refugees have found themselves in a state of both temporality and permanence, frequently cited as being ‘stuck’. Syrians in Jordan, particularly, have fallen victim to this status, frequently labeled as ‘guests’, with corresponding humanitarian aid also reflecting this temporality. No studies have yet explored Syrian refugees perceptions and experiences with ‘guest’ status and its relationship with humanitarian assistance. The purpose of this study is to explore Syrian perception of ‘guest’ status and current humanitarian efforts in Jordan and see how this demonstrates and challenges the dichotomy present in …

Syrian Refugee Mothers In Jordan: Perceived Social Support And Postpartum Depression, Marya Rana

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many women suffer from postpartum depression; migrant women experience postpartum depression at rates almost triple that of the general population. This study investigated the associations between perceived social support and postpartum depression among Syrian refugee mothers living in Amman, Jordan. Eleven mothers completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) - Shortened Version. Four of those mothers also participated in individual interviews, and four others were included in a focus group. Multiple recurring themes were identified from the interviews and focus group, including: perceived differences in child and social support in …

Water And War: The Potential For Perpetuation Of Conflict Due To Climate Change, Kaufman Butler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Climate change has had a dramatic impact on the world’s weather for years, scientists can only make predictions about how global climate will continue to change going forward; but in all scenarios the circumstances are quite dire. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will see some of the most severe effects of climate change, which will permanently alter the lives of millions of people in the region. In the MENA region, climate change is projected to result in extreme drought and temperatures which will lead to increased water scarcity, in what is already the most water poor region in …

Queer Otherwise: Embodying A Queer Identity In Cape Town, Teak Emanuel Hodge

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research responds to the following question: how do LGBTQ South Africans in Cape Town come to understand and embody their queerness? Drawing on ideas of the body as a sense making agent (Meyburgh 2006) and site of socio-political contestation (Foucault 1975) this research adapts body-mapping methodologies (de Jager, Tewson, Ludlow, Boydell 2016) to excavate the ways in which LGBT South Africans negotiate their queerness. Through centering the experiences of three LGBTQ identified South African’s in conversation with the experiences of the researcher, this paper delves into how queer people make sense of and understand themselves in relation to their …

The Female Worker: An Analysis Of Women Residing Along The Moroccan-European And U.S.- American Borderlands, Marlen G. Renderos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My independent research project is a comparative study focusing on women experiences among the Mexican-U.S. borderlands and Moroccan-European borderlines. For the Mexican-U.S.American context, I will focus on females maquiladora workers and stay-at-home wives. For the Moroccan-European context, I will focus on the mujeres mulas – women mules. My paper will discuss the ways in which society and governments run under a male-dominated lens contributing to the placement of women in vulnerable positions.

Khookha Mcqueer: Advocacy For Non-Binary Queerness And Lgbtqi+ Representation In Tunisia, Jake Gomez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2018, the Tunisian government arrested 127 Tunisians on the basis of suspicions regarding non-heterosexual and non-cisgendered acts. Tunisian civil society centralizes its core missions around advocating for the rights of LGBT individuals through attempts to target the measures that allow for such unlawful imprisonment: Articles 230 and 226 of the Tunisian Constitution. But within the undiscussed gaps between laws, cultures of homo and transphobia, and civil society lies alternative measures for non-linear forms of queer advocacy. This research engages with the work of Khookha McQueer -- a Tunisian LGBTQI+ rights activist -- and documents conversations had with Khookha regarding …

Disability And Migration: How Systems Of Violence Intersect With The Production And Experience Of Disability For Migrants In Morocco, Frances Condon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates the perspectives and experiences of physically disabled, chronically ill, or bodily-impaired migrants from south of the Sahara living in Rabat, Morocco. Increasing interest in disabled migrants’ rights from international organizations risks erasing those being ‘protected’ if it does not attend to the intersections of race, class, citizenship, and gender as they relate to the production and experience of disability for migrants. Produced by and for the (white) global North, I argue that traditional Euro-American disability studies scholarship is ill-equipped to address the issues faced by disabled migrants in post-colonial contexts. In addition to being ineffective, the uncritical …

Barriers Between Effective Transnational Changemaking: Relationships Between Ingos And Moroccan Ngos, Julia Walters

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper seeks to explore the relationships held between international non-governmental organizations, primarily based in the West, and Moroccan NGOs. The existing literature on the topic explores the ways in which international NGOs can both benefit and harm domestic NGOs, which seek to fix issues not thoroughly addressed and solved by the state or by the market, such as issues of gender-based violence, female education, and lack of rural healthcare. The data gathered was organized into two types of relationships; financial and non-financial. Financial relationships between INGOs and NGOs were often depicted as crucial in enabling critical projects, such as …

Unity In Diversity: Textile Expressions Of The Human Condition In Times Of Economic And Cultural Anxiety, Eli J. Baez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Questions about the roots of human nature have been plaguing human societies across the globe since the beginning of time. Whole societies are built around the perceived answers, and the art which these societies produce reflect upon it and even contribute to constructing ‘proper’ human behavior. One such artistic material that lays literally quite close to the human body is the textile. Textiles can possess the specific power to shape the way in which an individual human body is presented to others, as well as to position a collective of humans in relation to others. In other words, textiles can …

Terra Nullius: The Effects Of Australia’S Colonial History On Sense Of Place, Anna Beyette

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Australia’s history of colonization of Aboriginal communities continues to affect not only the indigenous population of Australia, but also non-Aboriginal Australians. This study focuses on how Australia’s complex history of colonization and its lasting effects influence the ability of Non-Aboriginal Australians to connect to place. One potential effect of colonization is “settler-guilt” or the complex feelings of guilt, remorse, and shame felt by “settlers” at their privilege derived from the racist, violent, and genocidal treatment of indigenous people and communities due to the colonization of indigenous lands and the legacy of colonization. This study asks whether settler-guilt exists in Australia, …

Swagriculture: A Qualitative Examination Of Women’S Participation In Samoa’S Agriculture Industry As Farmers And Growers, Charlotte Crandall

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is an examination of how women participate in agriculture in Samoa as farmers and growers, what hardships women encounter and how they overcome these, and the organizations that influence people’s experiences. Censuses have historically undercounted the number of women in agriculture in developing countries, largely due to rigid international definitions of what counts as labor, which overlook cultural nuances, and this study aims to fill this gap in research. Data was collected through nine Talanoa-inspired interviews with women involved with farming or growing in Samoa, and overarching themes were analyzed. The themes have been grouped by the specific …

Socio-Cultural Norms And Perceptions Of Menstruation: An Intergenerational Analysis Of Rural Jamkhed, Maharashtra, Addison Scales

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study analyzes the socio-cultural norms and perceptions of menstruation between two generations of women in rural Jamkhed, Maharashtra. Interview questions were prepared for women between the ages of 18-26 and 35 or older to determine the level of dilution of the menstrual taboo and stigmas between age groups. All women resided in two villages in the rural area surrounding Jamkhed, Maharashtra. A variety of socio-cultural perceptions and practices were explored to determine their correlation with external influences on the shifting menstruation narrative. The socio-cultural factors of focus are family structure, media exposure, choice of material use, disposal and sustainability, …

The Hapless State Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis In India: A Comprehensive Look At Life And Medical Services For Als Patients In Rural Himachal Pradesh, Carson J. Bergström

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to paralysis. The disease requires a high amount of medical intervention and interdisciplinary focus to achieve quality of life for patients. This study looks at ALS patient’s lifestyles, their access to these medical devices, Indian therapeutic approaches and policy that impacts patients in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. As caretakers have a critical part in the care for this disease, their lives were also considered in the case studies. It was found that ALS patients are not experiencing access to medical devices necessary for life because of physical …

Integrative Pharmacotherapeutic Approaches To Treating Depression, Charlotte Tse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), based in the philosophy-religions of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, is more than a purely prescriptive medical system; it is a way of life focused primarily on the principles of prevention rather than the more reactionary direction that pharmacotherapy in the US has taken. Mental illness is expected to account for a quarter of China’s overall health burden by 2020, with depression affecting around 100 million people and nearly 30 percent of young Chinese adults. Conventional antidepressants have a delayed onset and unpredictable therapeutic efficacy in this condition, especially in mild to moderate cases of depression. In …

Intersections Between Health And Disability: A Case Study At Disha Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Finnian Brokaw

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigated intersections between health and disability by asking the question: how do community perceptions of disability at Disha: A Resource Centre for the Disabled in Jaipur, India relate to health and quality of life for a person with multiple disabilities? This study utilized a case study methodology. The researcher took qualitative interviews from six respondents in the immediate educational and familial support network of a 27-year-old man with multiple disabilities. An interview based, qualitative methodology was important for investigating the complexity of perceptions of multiple disabilities and health as intersecting identities. The responses were analyzed and reflected upon …

The Influence Of Gender On Female Business Owners In Ho Chi Minh City, Abby Busis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ho Chi Minh City is commonly referred to as a developing business hub, largely due to the rapidly increasing number of private enterprises. Since the implementation of the Doi Moi in 1986, Vietnam’s private business sphere has grown tremendously, and women have played a large role in this development. Today, women own just under a quarter of formal enterprises in Vietnam, but this impressive statistic does not consider the many challenges these women have faced.

Through in-depth interviews with female business owners themselves, along with an online survey, this study determines how gender influences these business owners’ professional experiences. Gender …