Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Heartbreak And Defiance: Stories Of Crisis In Puerto Rico, Andrea C. González-Ramírez

Capstones

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of A Nation After A Dictatorship: How Law, Politics And Society Of The 1973 Dictatorship In Uruguay And Of The Subsequent Return Of Democracy In 1985, Potentially Helped Evolve The Nation Of Today., Jonathan A. Fein Proaño

Master's Theses

In 1973, Uruguay’s president authored a coup d’état with the military and changed the history and fabric of Uruguay. Once democracy returned to Uruguay in 1985, it was a chance to see if an evolution of the law, politics and society would occur. This thesis aims to analyze and understand the patterns of change and de-evolution or evolution that happened during the dictatorship and then over the last 30 years. I break down the process of changes that happened legally and politically, how the dictatorship and its leaders used law to destroy rule of law, and how society changed.

This …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

Cirugía Cosmética: Un Análisis De Su Historia Y Prevalencia En Latinoamérica, Elena R. Hamilton

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Taphonomic Factors On Human Remains Inside Chullpas: Marcajirca, Peru, Samantha Lauren Lininger

Masters Theses

This study explored the taphonomic factors that contributed to the preservation of human skeletal remains inside ancient above-ground tomb in Marcajirca, Peru. This study incorporated one hundred and eighteen bones from three chullpas. Five taphonomic factors were examined: bone type, plant activity, root presence, weathering, and cultural factors. Surface layers inside each chullpa were analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Chi-square tests were employed to investigate preservation and taphonomic factors. The results from the statistical tests indicated that there was a significant difference in the taphonomic factors on different bone types. Chullpa 6 was significant because it was unique …

A Comparative Analysis Of Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry And Stable Isotopes In Assessing Ancient Coastal Peruvian Diets, Theresa Jane Gilbertson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores a cross-cultural analysis of the dietary signatures of four coastal cultures of prehistoric Peru. A combination of elemental analysis based on portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF), testing trace elements presented in 209 individuals’ skulls representing the Nazca (38), Cañete (33), Lima (40), and Moche (98) valleys and/or cultures of the first millennium AD, is weighed in conjunction with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to analyze human bone collagen and bone apatite derived from a portion of the individuals represented in the Nazca, Cañete, and Lima cranial samples.

Evidence from the results of both tests are weighed using …

Finding A Home: Latino Residential Influx Into Progress Village, 1990-2010, Christopher Julius Pineda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Progress Village in Tampa Florida was developed in the late 1950s in response to the dislocation of black families during the construction of Interstate-4. Furthermore this community became an opportunity for many black and more specifically, African American families, to live in a community devoid of racist attitudes and tensions rampant in inner city Tampa at the time. For over thirty years this community’s residential population was overwhelmingly (90 percent) black or African American. In the 1990s though this community would begin to experience the first wave of Latino residents and by 2000 this group would comprise over 2 percent …

A Light In The Darkness: Argentinian Photography During The Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Ana Tallone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2006, on the thirtieth anniversary of the military coup that brought Argentinian democracy to a halt, a group of photojournalists put together an outstanding exhibition of images from the dictatorship. This dissertation critically engages with the most enduring photojournalistic works produced during this period and featured in the landmark retrospective. By researching the historical context of these photographs, I aim to underscore the important contributions photojournalists made not only during the dictatorship, but also in its immediate aftermath, when the most iconic images were republished in printed publications including newspapers, magazines and books. As a starting point, I review …

The Architecture Of Nineteenth-Century Cuban Sugar Mills: Creole Power And African Resistance In Late Colonial Cuba, Lorena Tezanos Toral

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

By the mid-nineteenth century, Cuba had become the world's leading sugar producer, providing about a third of the world's supply. As a result, sugar mills dominated the Cuban countryside, each one growing into a micro-town, with housing complexes (mansions for owners and slave barracks or bohios for workers), industrial facilities (mills and boiler houses), and adjoining buildings (kitchens, infirmaries, etc.), all organized around a central, open space, known as a batey. Owned by the Creole elite (New World offspring of Spanish settlers) and worked by African slaves, sugar mills became places of enslavement and subjugation as well as contact, …

Beauty Practices Among Latinas: The Impact Of Acculturation, Skin Color And Sex Roles, Angelica Flores

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study sought to explore if and how Latinas use of beauty products (cosmetics) was influenced by their degree of acculturation to U.S. American culture, their phenotype (skin color and facial features) and sex role orientation. While beauty practices are often regarded as trivial, they are important because they reflect women's internalization of societal values and speak to the importance placed on impression management. Although it can be easily observed that people go to great lengths to decorate their exteriors in order to manage others perceptions of them, very few studies look at variables that influence these behaviors. Also, while …

Narrating Climate Change At The San Juan National Historic Site At The Community Level, Leslie Paul Walker Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the National Park Service is charged with interpreting and preserving areas designated as park resources, they must also manage environmental issues such as erosion resulting from climate change. This research sets out to narrate how Palo Seco, Puerto Rico, a neighboring community of the San Juan National Historic Site, perceives similar environmental conditions and motivations for addressing these issues. My research sits at the intersection between the park’s charter and understanding community implications of environmental changes that affect local heritage. Using Authorized Heritage Discourse and environmental justice as theoretical frameworks, I suggest that the National Park Service should include …

Protecting Ecosystems, Culture, And Human Rights In Chile Through Indigenous And Community-Conserved Territories And Areas, William G. Crowley

Capstone Collection

In environmental conservation circles around the world, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to the sustainable maintenance of ecosystems and natural resources are being given increased attention. Whether for cultural, spiritual, economic, or other purposes, the use of traditional and local knowledge of habitat and resource management is slowly making its way into the modern environmental movement, and is being incorporated into the dominant conservation paradigms. These managed areas, known as Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas, or ICCAs, are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity …

Elusive Peace, Security, And Justice In Post-Conflict Guatemala: An Exploration Of Transitional Justice And The International Commission Against Impunity In Guatemala (Cicig), Daniel W. Schloss

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Guatemala has, until today, struggled to achieve security and justice following the end of nearly half a century of civil war in 1996. One specific institution, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), has been implemented to rectify many of the Guatemalan state’s difficulties in establishing and maintaining the rule of law. In this thesis, I look to better explain CICIG’s role in Guatemala relative to security and justice in a post-conflict setting: I define CICIG as an institution potentially capable of building societal trust, and I explain how the inclusion of procedural justice within transitional justice can help …

Ideology Versus Clientelism: Modernization And Electoral Competition In Brazil, Cássio Da Silva Muniz

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how parties utilize the political dimensions of ideology (left-right) and clientelism (programmatic-patronage) to compete electorally in developing democracies. It proposes a combined utility theory, which suggests polarized competitive elections in modernizing national electoral markets compel programmatic parties to coalesce with clientelistic parties to gain access to regional private electoral markets. Methodologically, this study draws on a mixed-method approach focusing on Brazil as a crucial test case. It applies spatial voting models to assess the validity of ideological competition as well as geospatial voting distribution based on clustering and dispersion to devise a new quantitative measurement of clientelism …

The Brics And The Global Human Rights Regime: Is An Alternative Norms Regime In Our Future?, Lucas Rivers

Honors Theses

Since the end of World War II, the ‘West’ has enjoyed economic and ideological dominance in the international arena due to institutions built around favorable multilateral agreements. This position has allowed the ‘West’ to craft an international system rooted within the individualistic norms of democracy and capitalism. However, the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa] – a global unit of states with increasing economic power – views this international system as unfair. Accordingly, these states have increased their cooperation to advocate for a developmental-multipolar world order. But what implications does this shared interest by the BRICS have on the …

Josè Mujica's Speech At The Un: A Post-Colonial Look At A Neo-Colonial Issue, Alberto Ganis

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Their Story Is Our Story:The American Dream And The Construction Of Transnationalidentities In The Literary Production Of Puerto Rican And Dominican Writers In The Usa, Tamara Maravalli

Honors Theses

Puerto Rican and Dominican writers in the United States express the human cost of displacement of migrants and immigrants to a new socio-cultural environment where they face discrimination, racism, labor exploitation or governmental abandonment. Many of these writers explore cultural identity of their communities and are questioning the viability of the “American Dream.” The American Dream is connected to the prevailing, mainstream social expectation of assimilation, but these communities come to the United States when the dynamics of globalization facilitates maintaining close ties with the countries of origin, facilitating the construction of transnational identities. Chapter One concentrates on Puerto Rican …

Black Like Me? A Narrative Study Of Non-Anglophone Black U.S. Immigrant Selves In The Making, Yvanne Joseph

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished discriminatory national origin quotas that favored European immigrants. The U.S. has since experienced steady flows of immigrants of color. These diverse groups have brought their racial, social, cultural and historical experiences, which adds greater complexity to the existing Black/White and ingroup/outgroup models that shape group relations, and psychological theorizing about identity. This dissertation focuses specifically on the smaller, less visible, yet growing segments of these immigrant populations. It presents a study of the lives of ten individual immigrants of African descent originating from a non-Anglophone country within Africa, Latin America …

Privilege In Haiti: Travails In Color Of The First Bourgeois Nation-State In The Americas, Philippe-Richard Marius

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Who are the elites in the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere? Do Haiti's elites constitute themselves in a Blackness vs. Whiteness/Mulattoness opposition? Through the investigation of these questions, the central thesis of this ethnography emerges as the material unity in privilege of Haiti's colorist fragments. Noirisme, a fundamentalist strain of Haitian black nationalism that reached hegemony in the dictatorship of François Duvalier in the 1960s, is in marked retreat in contemporary Haiti. Its lingering influence nonetheless continues to foster a black qua black sociality among privileged black nationalists. Mulatto nationalism as political project and public discourse lapsed into …

Por Uma Vida Sem Catracas: The 'June Uprising' And Recent Movements In Brazil, Matthew Binetti

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The protests in Brazil in June 2013 which gained attention after a proposal to raise bus fares or what have come to be referred to as the `June Uprising' and those that have since continued, far exceed the issue of bus fare in their significance. These events are only part of a series of movements and trends that are united by a common desire to create alternatives based on ideas of autonomy, solidarity, and horizontalism. This paper focuses on groups who are at the center of this struggle such as The Free Fare Movement, The Popular Committees for the World …

Rebellion Under The Palm Trees: Memory, Agrarian Reform And Labor In The Aguán, Honduras, Andres Leon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

On December 9, 2009, the Unified Peasant Movement of the Aguán (Movimiento Unificado Campesino del Aguán; MUCA) occupied over 20,000 hectares of oil palm covered lands in the Aguán region in the Honduran northern coast. This was the latest, and probably most dramatic, chapter in the region's tumultuous recent history. This dissertation explores this history and the process of creation of the Aguán region from the perspective of a set of impoverished peasant families that migrated from different parts of Honduras towards the Aguán from the 1970s onwards, in search of a better present and future.

It asks about the …

Drug Violence And Public (In)Security: Mexico's Federal Police And Human Rights Abuse, Dominic Pera

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Violence in Mexico, with dramatic political, social, and economic consequences on both Mexican and US populations, has risen dramatically in the past decade. Research has shown that the Mexican military is largely responsible for human rights abuses in Mexico. This paper will seek to answer why there are so many human rights abuses committed by the Federal Police, as public security is a police role and its deterioration threatens lives, security, and the rule of law. This paper will look at what scholars have said about the causes of police violence and public insecurity. Some say that history is responsible, …

Agrarian Change And Peasant Prospects In Haiti, Marylynn Elizabeth Steckley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Haiti is one of the poorest and most severely hunger-stricken countries in the world (GHI 2013). Its contradictions are jarring: although Haiti has the largest relative agrarian population in the Western Hemisphere and relatively less land inequality than the rest of the region (Smucker et al. 2000; Wiens and Sobrado 1998), it is extremely food insecure. Almost 90 percent of the rural population lives below the poverty line (FAO 2014; IFAD 2014), and Haiti relies on food imports for 60 percent of national consumption (OXFAM 2010). Some scholars argue that the spread of commodity relations, persistent rural class differentiation, and …

José María Arguedas Y La Decolonialidad: Lectura De "Todas Las Sangres" Y "El Zorro De Arriba" Y "El Zorro De Abajo", Iván Andrés Espinosa Orozco

Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to understand José María Arguedas’s literary production through the

lens of decolonial theory. The first chapter is an introduction to the objectives of this

project. Next, the second chapter is based on an approach to the concepts of decoloniality

and postcolonial studies, which serve as a theoretical background for the purpose of this

thesis. The third chapter is based on a decolonial reading of Arguedas’s "Todas las

sangres", which leads to problematize the aspects related to identity in Peru. The fourth

chapter is based on the analysis of Arguedas’s "El zorro de arriba y el zorro de …

The Price Of Carbon: Politics And Equity Of Carbon Taxes In The Middle Income Countries Of South Africa And Mexico, Bridgett C. Mccoy

Honors Projects

This study provides the first analysis of the politics and ethics behind carbon taxation in South Africa and Mexico. Using the preexisting scholarly frameworks of climate change policy, tax policy, and Robert Putnam’s two level games, I determine that in both cases, international pressures from multilateral negotiations and international development funding sources initiated the carbon tax policymaking process within the environment and treasury ministries of both countries. Once environment ministry bureaucrats initiated the carbon tax a lack of politicization of climate change (both countries) and an additional gain of raising revenue (Mexico) allowed the taxes to become law. I then …

A Comparative Study Of The Assyrian And Guatemalan Genocides, Bernadette Mary Lazar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This century has witnessed many genocides throughout the world by the hands of leaders and citizens alike. These unjustifiable acts have not failed to exist even today. Although a lot of research and scholarly work has been dedicated towards the study of genocide, there is no single reason as to why it occurs; rather there are many theories that indicate what leads to genocide. The question still remains why does genocide happen? This thesis will attempt to answer this question by analyzing various theoretical perspectives, as well as comparatively observing two case studies that have not been extensively discussed. In …

Undocumented Youth Living Between The Lines: Urban Governance, Social Policy, And The Boundaries Of Legality In New York City And Paris, Stephen P. Ruszczyk

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation compares the transition to adulthood of undocumented youth in New York and Paris, along with analysis of the construction of illegality in each city. In both the United States and France, national restrictions against undocumented immigrants increasingly take the form of deportations and limiting access to social rights. New York City and Paris, however, mitigate the national restrictions in important but different ways. They construct "illegality" differently, leading to different young adult outcomes and lived experiences of "illegality." This project uses seven years of multi-site ethnographic data to trace the effects of these mitigated "illegalities" on two dozen …

Effect Of Sensory Cues On Hand Hygiene Habits Among A Diverse Workforce In Food Service, Robert Pellegrino

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poor hand hygiene is a leading cause of foodborne illnesses in the foodservice industry. A series of complex motivational interventions must be employed to permanently change the behavior of workers, to increase their compliance and sustain appropriate levels of proper hand hygiene. Unlike the healthcare industry, which uses large, costly multi-modal behavior modification strategies, the foodservice industry must deploy rapid, cost-efficient strategies that are focus on accommodating these goals with the constraints of high employee turnover rates and diverse demographics. This research was twofold, 1) examining differences in emotions and hand hygiene behavior among participants of two cultures when handling …

“If It Ain’T Broke, Don’T Fix It”?: Analyzing The Politics Of The Un Security Council And The Viability Of The Group Of Four’S Proposal For Reform, Marissa A. Mcomber

Honors College Theses

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s mandate gives it the unique authority to maintain international peace and security. Made up of ten nonpermanent rotating and five permanent Member States (P5), the UNSC gives this decision making power to less than eight percent of the Member States of the UN at a time, five of whom never change. It has long been argued that the P5 represent a power distribution of the world as it existed in 1945, directly after World War II, and has not kept up with changing membership and power dynamics. This paper analyzes the history of the …

Learning From Cinara: Exploring The Depths Of Participatory Water Engagement In Cali, Colombia, Zachary T. Strickland

Honors College Theses

Located within the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, CINARA is an academic institution, comprised of both engineers and social scientists, that has almost three decades of experience regarding participatory approaches to water supply and environmental sanitation. In this paper, I argue that CINARA’s work is important due to its emphasis on meaningful community participation that significantly involves communities in decisions on technical matters that are usually allocated exclusively to “experts.” Furthermore, the valuation of social considerations and non-technical knowledge found amongst CINARA’s engineers stands in distinct contrast to traditional development practices and engineering mindsets. This paper will go on …