Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Japan’S Covid 19 Infection Rate: A Focus On Tokyo Neighborhoods, Lauren Koerner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis asks, are neighborhood demographic and economic variables connected to COVID-19 infection rates in Tokyo, Japan? I hypothesize that variation in urbanization and neighborhood demographics account for Japan’s low, though not uniform COVID-19 infection rates. This thesis applies several anthropological perspectives: The biocultural perspective because I look at epidemiology of COVID 19 considering socio-cultural, economic, and ecological factors as well as biological susceptibilities. The critical biocultural perspective because I look at how structures of power and inequality may impact health and healthcare access. Biomedical/applied anthropology, well placed to study the current epidemiologic situation of COVID 19 in Japan and …

İyo Luché!: Uncovering And Interrupting Silencing In An Indigenous And Afro-Descendant Community, Eileen Cecelia Deluca

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied project is to uncover and interrupt the silencing of memories through the production of public narratives, specifically, the documentation of heritage of members of an indigenous and Afro-descendant community in Waspán, Nicaragua. The project is informed by interviews with seven women ex-combatants in the Contra War (1980-1990). Oral histories, transcribed interviews, and field notes are the source for the content of a book of heritage stories that I produced as one output about the former combatants utilizing their own words. In this thesis, I argue that the values of the “conquering” group of Nicaragua (i.e. …

Impacts Of Tourism Development On Livelihoods In Placencia Village, Belize, Crystal Ann Vitous

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Placencia Village is one of Belize’s leading “eco-destinations,” due to its sandy-white beaches, coral reefs, and wildlife sanctuaries. While the use of “green washing,” the process of deceptively marketing products, aims or policies as being environmentally friendly, has proven to be effective in attracting consumers who are thought to be environmentally and socially conscious, the exponential growth, coupled with the absence of established policies, represents a significant threat to Belize. This thesis examines the political-ecologic dimensions of rapid tourism expansion in Southern Belize by investigating how the health of the biophysical environment is perceived, what processes are responsible for change, …

Making A Place For People At A Wildlife Corridor On Chicago's South Side, Alexis Winter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What role do environmental conservation projects play in the transformation of American cities? How do these projects affect city residents? In this study, I ask these questions at the Burnham Wildlife Corridor, where the Chicago Park District worked with institutional and community-based partner organizations to engage city residents in the creation of a lakefront wildlife habitat and public nature area. Through ethnographic interviews and participant observation I explored how actors at various levels understand this changing landscape and their roles in shaping it. I situate the Burnham Wildlife Corridor project in the broader context of a state-level plan, the Millennium …

“A Wound That Never Heals”: Health-Seeking Behaviors And Attitudes Towards Breast Cancer And Cancer In General Among Women In Nakirebe, Uganda, Ann Louise Tezak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The scale and severity of cancer, specifically breast cancer, remains significantly different across the spectrum of low-income to high-income countries. This study explores women’s beliefs about breast cancer and associated prevention and health-seeking behaviors in a rural area of Uganda. Through a critical medical anthropological perspective, the study examines the social, cultural, and economic factors that shape women’s understanding of cancer, and breast cancer specifically, and that influence their use of biomedical services. Data were collected over a three-month period through 35 in-depth interviews and two focus groups with 10 women older than 18 years in the rural setting of …

Trash Talk: Understanding Food Waste At A Charter Elementary School In Florida, Steven A. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Waste as a topic for anthropological investigation has enjoyed a recent resurgence in interest, mirroring burgeoning discussion among policy-makers and the general public about questions of environmental impacts, economic costs, and social detriments of contemporary waste management paradigms. While waste management in the United States has largely focused on technical and organizational solutions typically considered the domain of environmental planning and engineering (such as source reduction, recycling, and reuse), anthropology and the social sciences have become more prominently involved in efforts to inform policy-makers and researchers about the social and behavioral factors influencing waste norms and habits, particularly in educational …

Cultivating Change: Negotiating Development And Public Policy In Southern California's Wine Country, Laurel Dawn Dillon-Sumner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the Temecula Valley, California, neoliberal development policies were implemented that had the potential to bring drastic changes to this semi-rural area, renowned for its wine production and idyllic setting as a wine tourism destination. In order to better understand the contested nature of these development plans, I conducted ethnographic and key informant interviews and public policy analysis research with policy-making officials, local residents and other stakeholding groups that formed in opposition to the planned expansion. This applied anthropology of policy was uniquely situated to explore the tensions between various stakeholders. This thesis serves to propose interventions that could have …

More Than Feeding: Lived Experiences Of Low-Income Women Receiving Lactation Support, Emily Anne Dunn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing breastfeeding duration, especially among low-income women, has become a national public health priority. These mothers and their babies have less equitable access to support, resources, and the health benefits of breastfeeding. This thesis examines breastfeeding from a biocultural perspective with a focus on political economy, embodiment, and human rights. This research explores the lived experiences of new mothers who receive services from a community non-profit lactation support program which is aimed at providing in-home postpartum breastfeeding support to low-income/at-risk mothers. Evaluation of program services and analysis of women's narratives will provide insight into improvement of lactation services for all …

Survivorship, Infertility And Parenthood: Experiencing Life After Cancer In Puerto Rico, Karen Elizabeth Dyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While incidence rates are increasing for many cancers in Puerto Rico, mortality rates are declining (Torres-Cintron, et al. 2010), resulting in growing numbers of survivors and creating a situation in which long-term survivorship concerns are beginning to emerge as priorities. The importance of quality-of-life among survivors of cancer is increasingly being recognized among healthcare providers, although there remains a gap in knowledge of how young adult survivors cope with long-term treatment-related physical effects, such as infertility, and of the impact of cancer on survivors' social relationships and future goals.

Because understandings of "cancer survivorship," as well as of reproduction, vary …

Nature's Classroom: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Environmental Education, Dorothea Jody Owens

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

NATURE'S CLASSROOM: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

DOROTHEA JODY OWENS

ABSTRACT

This ethnographic case study examines the dynamic relationship between culture and environmental education within the context of a specific Florida-based public education program. The School District of Hillsborough County (SDHC) offers the program through a three-day field trip to the study site, Nature's Classroom, and accompanying classroom curriculum. The site is located in Thonotosassa on the Hillsborough River, and serves approximately 13,500 to 15,000 sixth grade students annually. The key purpose of the research was to explore public education in a local setting as a vehicle for …

Contextualizing Hiv/Aids Prevention And Treatment Programs In Zanzibar, Tanzania, Naheed Ahmed

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

International aid organizations and wealthy nations have contributed billions to combat the spread and treatment of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa; however, these programs have been critiqued for not addressing the socioeconomic and cultural context of the epidemic, instead relying upon generalized approaches. The prevalence rate in Zanzibar, Tanzania is low in the general population, but high among vulnerable segments of Zanzibari society, resulting in interventions focusing on particular groups (e.g. sex workers, drug users, and men who have sex with men). Through interviews with government agencies, non-profit organizations, medical professionals, vulnerable populations, and HIV/AIDS patients, this paper examines how local …

People In Between: The Value Of Life Stories In Exploring The Needs Of Colombian Asylum Seekers, Poonam R. Valliappan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The long, protracted civil war, spanning nearly fifty years, in the South American nation of Colombia has displaced almost four million civilians in as much time. Tens of thousands of refugees were resettled in Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela and other neighboring countries. Some, still threatened in their country of first asylum, and resettled to the United States (US) with their families, must learn to navigate the often complex systems of life and living in America. Resettlement programs that focus primarily on immediate needs such as employment and accommodations are aware of the growing need for more long&ndashterm assistance. However, while there …

Ang 6766 Research Methods, Rebecca K. Zarger

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.