Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating Policy That Supports Living Cultural Expression In Melanesia, Thomas Dick

Thomas Dick

In Vanuatu, communities have expressed a desire to continue leading lifestyles based on a traditional economic base. In the context of economic globalisation, however, this possibility is being ignored or denied by government policy decisions made on the basis of ‘economic rationalism’. There is growing concern that these government decisions are in fact destructive of ‘popular cultural expressions’, and do not respect the values of the community in relation to its development.

In 2006, an ‘Economic opportunities fact-finding mission’ to the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu was sponsored by NZAID and AusAID. The report that followed recognized that ‘many of …

Adopted Citizens Denied Access To Their Birth Certificates: A Little-Known Civil Rights Issue, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

American citizens who were adopted are denied the right to access their own original birth certificates (OBC) in most U.S. states, a right available to all other non-adopted citizens. State regulations denying unrestricted access to one’s own birth certificate that apply only to a segment of the population create a lifelong inequality and violate the civil rights of adopted persons. Outdated state regulations that maintain this discrimination need to be repealed.

Adoption Fees: Ethical Considerations For All Parties In Adoption, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

A great deal is said about ethics in adoption. However, the term remains vague, undefined, and subjective with suggested, but no firm or enforced guidelines enacted to police the adoption industry and protect the families and individuals whose lives they irrevocably change. This presentation focuses on the inequities of adoption fees particularly in terms of providing legal counsel to the mothers relinquishing.

"Open Records" Versus "Equal Access": Reframing Our Issues, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

Adoption reform activists have for decades used the phrase "open records". Riben argues that "Equal Access" rightly reframes the argument as one of equality rather than a special request.

Who Deserves To Be A Mother: The Impact Of Class, Age And Powerlessness,, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

Worldwide, poverty far exceeds abuse, neglect or abandonment as adoption moves children from economically at-risk mothers to adopters of higher socio-economic status. Domestically, American mothers (and those in other industrialized countries) have historically lost children to protect their parents from the shame and stigma of out-of-wedlock, “unwed” pregnancy. It is socially created criteria such as age, marital and financial status, which change over time and place - not fitness - that determine who is considered "deserving" to be a mother and who is made to feel inadequate, selfish and undeserving of their own child. These criteria create pressure on marginalized, …

Adoption Loss, Pain, Irresolvable And Universal Grief, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

Adoption loss is a limbo loss with no ritual or closure, that has been recognized as being irresolvable, creating increased risk of secondary infertility and post traumatic stress disorder. The pain is felt regardless of where the mother lives, how much she chose the decision and felt it was best. The grief, pain and anger do not lessen over time.

Altered States Of Embodiment: Spirit Possession In Ethnographic And Feature Films, Kevin Taylor Anderson

Kevin Taylor Anderson

Possession and other forms of altered states of embodiment are represented in both feature and ethnographic films, yet result in divergent illustrations. Ethnographic films dealing with possession (a la Rouch, Deren, Adair, Asch) suggest that it is a therapeutic phenomenon, often framed as a means of resistance to dominant socio-political forces. Yet, in feature films the possessed body is rendered as a passive recipient of diabolical forces. In the former case, possession signals empowerment, in the latter disempowerment. In addition to its portrayal as a form of resistance, religious supplicants in such ethnographic films as Rouch’s Les Maitre Fous and …

Alternatives Routes To Permanency: Is Adoption Always The Best Option, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

A presentation that asks if current adoption practices are optimally in the best interests of children and families they serve and offers family preserving options such as permanent legal guardianship or simple adoption in which the child rceeives the care he or she needs but doe snot involuntarily give up all ties to his or her family, genetics, and heredity.

Οικοδομώντας Πολιτισμικές Συμπεριφορές Στο Σχολείο: «Παιχνίδια Ρόλων» Με Την Αρχαιολογία, Kosmas Touloumis

Kosmas Touloumis

Teaching with archaeology in Greek secondary education is the topic of this presentation.

Forest Gardens Of The Maya, David A. Bainbridge

David A Bainbridge

The lowland Maya supported very high populations in an area with limited water and soil. Much can be learned from studying their sophisticated management practices. Forest gardens and agroforestry helped provide key nutrients, materials, and inputs for improved soil.