Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Tourism In Lugu Hu: Helpful Or Harmful? Examining The Impact Of Tourism On Lugu Lake’S People And Environment, Joana Chan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Is tourism a boon or burden to the land and the people that it impacts? This question has plagued academics for ages. On the one hand, tourism brings not only definite economic growth for the local people, but also motivation for preservation of the local landscape. On the other hand, the arrival of tourists also ironically brings definite cultural and environmental transformations to the very people and land that visitors travel so far to see and experience.

My research examines the complexities of tourism and its impact on the environment and people of Lugu Lake, Yunnan. By surveying social and …

Responsibility, Reconciliation, And Remembrance: Serbian Youth Perspectives In Dealing With The Past, Erica Getto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Dealing with the past is a process in which a society determines truthful facts of previous events, and with the support of civil society and its leaders, undergoes a transformation from a culture of conflict to one of peace, through reconciliation and depolarization . Youth between the ages of 18-30 are the future of Serbia. They grew up in the midst of war, under a regime that greatly affected the economical, social, and political stability of the newly independent country. Because of these factors, their perspectives and opinions become critical in determining how this country is approaching topics of the …

The 1916 Easter Rising: A History Of Commemoration, Emily Litwin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Before traveling to Ireland, I watched the film Michael Collins; aside from the single paragraph of text allocated to the 1916 Easter Rising in The Course of Irish History, the film shaped my understanding of the Irish fight for independence. As the semester progressed, this basic understanding evolved into a solid grasp of Irish history and politics. As a student of history with a specific interest in historiography, I aimed to structure my Independent Research Project (ISP) around Irish history so that I could delve deeper into my preferred field. Throughout the semester my intrigue piqued as I noticed how …

“Happy Dancing Natives” Minority Film, Han Nationalism, And Collective Memory, Benjamin D. Shaffer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cinematic representations of China’s ethnic minorities have been prominent in Chinese visual culture and collective memory since the 1950s. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party led campaigns to classify China’s diverse range of ethnic groups. These social experiments inspired a number of documentary and narrative films about the ostensibly “exotic” and “colorful” non-Han peoples of China. The audience for these depictions of minorities in visual culture varied considerably. Some early documentaries fueled the rise of Han nationalism and political agendas within the Communist Party. Several narrative films had large audiences in mainstream Chinese …

A Critical Assessment Of The Impact Of World Heritage Site Designation In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lauren Blacik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Archaeological associations and development agencies alike are celebrating the recent effort by the World Heritage Committee to inscribe as many African sites as fast as it can onto its List recognizing the heritage with the highest universal value to our collective human history. While it seems an obvious move of equality, in reality, this flurry of inscription is doing untold damage to African sites. Issues of local involvement in site management have not been resolved or streamlined, so site designation exposes communities to degradation of their traditions and values. Likewise, traditional management practices have not been institutionalized, often stripping sites …

The Collective Right Of Indigenous Peoples To Self-Determination In Accordance With The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Lena-Katharina Skandera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, after more than twenty years of negotiations between states, indigenous representatives, lawyers, and academics. Although the resulting document is controversial and complex in its treatment of several important issues, its ambiguous characterization of the collective legal right of indigenous peoples to self-determination has been chosen as the focus of this work because it is the primary right from which all other rights, and problems, are derived. The work commences with a critique of the position held by certain states that the categorization …

Child Labour And Microfinance In Morocco: Using Microfinance To Reduce Child Labour And The Case Of The Al Amana Microfinance Institution, Kristyn Schomp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Approximately 218 million children are child laborers worldwide. These children work as agricultural workers, prostitutes, handicraft producers, and in virtually in every other form of employment imaginable. But although the problem of child labour has been one of recent international focus, there are still 126 million children involved in some form of hazardous work each year.

The existence of such statistics can be attributed in part to the complex and multi-faceted nature of child labour. Similarly, the reasons for child labour can range from economic and political instability, migration, lack of work, and/or poor school systems. Therefore, the reduction of …

The Politics Of Engagement: The Influence Of Identity On The Experiences Of Activists Involved With The Roma Community In Serbia, Becca Gardner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Debate and mystery surrounds the origin and culture of the Gypsies in Europe; however, there is no question that the space they inhabit today reflects their position of marginalization and discrimination. During the last five years, there has been a surge of activism and interest in the experiences of the Roma, largely due to the implementation of the Decade for Roma Inclusion . The Decade is a commitment among governments, intergovernmental, non-governmental organizations, and Romani civil society to address the inequality of Roma in Europe by focusing on employment, education, health, and housing within the specific context of each participating …

You’Ll Never Silence The Voice Of The Voiceless: Critical Voices Of Activists In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Kate Gunby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research has been to explore how and why former liberation activists have continued to speak out against the government since the African National Congress (ANC) transitioned from a liberation movement to a ruling party. These individuals highlight the importance of having a voice, and making that voice heard by the government. They also provide a plurality of opinions that are just a sampling of the sentiments held by South Africans today. The objective of my research is to better understand what is wrong with the ANC and South Africa, possible causes, and how they can be …

Masyarakat Tionghoa: Singaraja’S Chinese Community, Tammy Lew Lee Kreznar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Los Afro-Descendientes De Buenos Aires: Mitos Y Realidades, William Cowles

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the 19th century, the black population of Buenos Aires suffered a massive demographic decline that brought their population from roughly 30% of Buenos Aires in the beginning of the century to an almost invisible fraction. According to the popular Argentine historical myths, this decline was the product of several concrete factors, most importantly an outbreak of Yellow Fever and the various wars of 19th century Argentina in which the black population suffered heavy losses. However, the demographic facts and the historical evidence do not support this explanation. The historical reality of the decline of the black population in Buenos …

Watered Down: The Intersection And Integration Of Tourism Development And Water Resource Management In Marrakech, Morocco, Alison Maassen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Kaya Hip-Hop In Coastal Kenya: The Urban Poetry Of Ukoo Flani, Divinity Lashelle Barkley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the global world of the 21st Century, music is one of the few things that has the ability to cross physical as well as cultural borders, which is why my Independent Study Project (ISP) focuses on the role of hip-hop music in the youth culture in Kenya’s largest coastal city, Mombasa. Throughout history, music has proven its artistic power; inspiring people to resist oppression, challenge inequality, and even claim salvation.

This enduring characteristic of music is central to my ISP which explores the emergence of hip-hop in Kenya as well as the evolution of Ukoo Flani, one of the …

An Ancient Practice: Scarification And Tribal Marking In Ghana, Alyssa Irving

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research on tribal marking and face scarring took place in various parts of the country, but much of the information comes from the residents of Gwollu. By interviewing different people belonging to different regions and ethnic groups throughout the country, I was able to discover the main uses for marking: medical use, decoration, spiritual protection, and tribe or family identification (these marks specifically for ID can be referred to as tribal marks). This paper sweeps over the origins of marking and how it became quite important during slave raiding, but has various uses and implications in modern times. This …

Une Division Ambiguë: L’Immigration Et La Société Civile En France, Kristen Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Struck by the overwhelming debate and cultural emphasis on the issue of immigration in French society, I decided to explore the complex relationship between the non-profit organizations that give social services to various immigrant communities and the government. Through eight interviews with non-profits, government agencies, and political organizations, I concluded that the non-profits compensate for the faults of the French government by more accurately addressing the social issue of immigration. Beyond the non-profits, though, it is civil society in general that has the legitimacy of discourse over the State through its championship of universal rights and international integration. The paradox …

Desarrollo Turístico Y Sustentabilidad: Caso Villa Pehuenia Y La Comunidad Mapuche Puel, Sasha Shahidi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With limited resources and overpopulation on a global level, sustainable development is the only way that human beings will be able to survive on this earth. The problem is that the dominant model of development stresses the importance of economic profits in the short term and far too often exploits natural resources and less powerful cultural groups. This creates dangerous long-term affects as natural resources and indigenous cultures that depend on them continue to disappear with no plan, or possibility, to replace them. Sustainability seeks the least negative impacts possible on the natural environment and indigenous cultures in order to …

La Recuperación De Ex-Centros Clandestinos De Detención Como Espacios De La Memoria: Un Estudio Acerca Del Caso Del Ex-Centro “Olimpo” En Buenos Aires, Katherine Jensen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The last military dictatorship in Argentine history, from 1976 to 1983, implemented an institutionalized system of state terrorism that by the dictatorship’s end had permanently disappeared 30,000 of its citizens, as well as individuals from the rest of Latin America. The core of this system was the use of centros clandestinos de detención, tortura y extermino (clandestine centers of detention, torture and extermination) in which sequestered persons were tortured and then either disappeared or liberated. In the last few years, a movement has emerged to convert this former centers into espacios de la memoria (sites of memory). One such ex-center, …

El Cobre Para Hoy Y Siempre : Hacia Un Futuro Menos Volátil, Más Sostenible Y De Mayor Valor Agregado En El Sector Chileno Del Cobre, Nicholas Anderson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Copper fuels the Chilean economy more than any other good or sector. But despite being Chile’s greatest resource, copper does very little for the average Chilean because most of the benefits are captured by mining companies and the government. Furthermore, the copper producing sector is volatile, subject to variations in the world price of copper, and not sustainable, as it depends on a nonrenewable natural resource. This paper establishes that there is room to deepen the copper sector with the goal of creating jobs and making the copper sector in Chile more sustainable and less volatile. This idea that there …

Atua Of The Aga: A Comparison Of Ancestor Worship In The Highlands Of Bali And Polynesia, Jamison Liang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to understand the practice of ancestor worship among the Bali Aga village of Sukawana and its relation to how its inhabitants trace their origins. When did their ancestors arrive in Sukawana and where did they come from? Did any of their descendents continue to migrate across Indonesia? And how do the Bali Aga practice ancestor reverence through the use of shrines and temples—tangible evidence—in their villages? The responses to these questions provided a platform for comparison to current anthropological, linguistic, and archaeological theories in order to understand how locally constructed truth in Sukawana related …

The Story Of Eej Khad: Mother Spirit Of The Earth And Her Children, Ethan Gohen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an attempt to collect and present knowledge on the subject of Eej Khad, which translates to Mother Rock, in one single place. Since very little has been written about Eej Khad, it is an attempt to preserve knowledge that might easily be lost. Eej Khad is a widely popular granite rock in central Mongolia that worshippers believe has the power to fulfill their dreams. The information presented in this paper is collected almost entirely from interviews with people willing to share what they know or believe about Eej Khad. It does not judge the opinions of individuals, …

Structural And Financial Constraints For Arabica Coffee Planters, Chloe Wardropper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Arabica coffee production in Cameroon is struggling. Coffee growers and their plants are aging rapidly due to a lack of incentives to continue production. The downturn in arabica production started in the 1980’s, with the drop in the world price of coffee and the privatization of formerly government-run programs and agricultural cooperatives. Financial problems continue today because there are no structures to replace those organizations which offered financial and technical support. This paper will examine the constraints facing arabica coffee growers today and the options available to them for the amelioration of their situation. This is achieved primarily through interviews …

People Moving Matters: Theorizing Tourism And Migration On The Nepali ‘Periphery’, Adam Linnard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many papers and presentations pertaining to tourism have started something like the following:

The World Tourism Organization in its 1996/97 report states that 255 million people are employed in the tourism-related industries, which is one in every nine people employed in the world, making it the world’s number one industry and larger than the oil, automobile or weapons industries. Tourism also contributed US$653 billion to the international economy in the form of different tourism-related taxes. There is an annual growth rate of 4% in the world’s tourism market. (Bajracharya & Shakya, 1998)

Now this one begins that way, too.

It …

Leprosy: A Study Of Identity Through A “Marginalized” Population, Aarti Bhatt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

People of all different cultures use identity as a way of mediating with surrounding institutional structures and personal communities. Identity however, is not a concrete idea but a multidimensional and dynamic condition. For communities of so called "marginalized people" an identity perceived or created from the outside and imposed can have drastic implications on a person's capacity to act as an agent. Stefen Ecks argues for the value of ethnographic study from the point of view of the marginal people, going on to say that "this is of critical importance since marginality puts health most under stress when it is …

Development In Our Own Words: A Survey Of Development Perspectives Between Cameroonians And Americans In Yaoundé, Cameroon, Frieda L. Arenos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

It is said that development addresses the quality and progression of life; that a country be self-sustainable in accessing its resources, educating its children, curing its sick, and guaranteeing its citizens contribution to a sufficient political and social environment. If the term is so, how do we justify development on a world scale? Do development projects that begin in the West have the same capacity for efficiency in the Third World? How does development aid make certain that those who are in need receive what they are promised? This paper is a field-based case study that analyzes in first the …

“How To Change The World”: Writing An Online Sustainability Leadership Manual For Young Australians, Nina Sherburne

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Under the direction of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership (CSL) in downtown Melbourne, VIC, three articles were written for the CSL online manual entitled “How to Change the World”. These articles contain straightforward, easy-to-read answers to questions young people have regarding sustainability and leadership in their community. The three questions include: “Should I register my not-for-profit? If so, how do I?”, “How do I fundraise for my organization? And do I need to register as a Fundraiser?”, and “How to I sell the idea of sustainability (or change in general) to my boss?”.

This online manual will remove the barriers …

The Price Of Gold: The Environmental Impacts Of Toxic Chemicals In Gold Mining, Adam Goetz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The role of mercury and cyanide in gold mining has become a hot topic in Mongolia in the past few years. In the past few months, the government has launched a crackdown on the illegal use of these chemicals in response to the contamination of Khongor soum’s drinking water which resulted from an illegal mining operation. However, there are many more sites throughout the country that are in need of cleaning as a result of the illegal use of these chemicals by small companies as well as individual miners.

This paper examines the role of a variety of different views …

Unholy Union: The Convergence Of Agendas Between The Gay Community And The Political Right-Wing In The Netherlands, Michael Wayne Perry

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The introduction of immigrants from traditionally Islamic countries has created a new dynamic within the Dutch social system. Seemingly clashing with the established facade of Dutch “tolerance”, this group of Muslim immigrants has logically found a natural enemy within right-wing political parties. However, on a more interesting level, we see that the political agenda of the gay movement has seemingly converged with the agenda of those right-wing groups. In a sense, this convergence of agendas seems odd considering the general association of the gay movement with leftist, more progressive political movements. This study intends to examine this convergence of agendas; …

Khal: An Exploration Of The Language Around Blackness In Morocco, Rachel Leigh Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco has been described as a melting pot. While various ethnicities, religious beliefs, and languages merge and intermingle within the country, the language in the majority of Moroccan homes is Darijaa. The language itself is a mixture of the Amazigh language and classical and popular Arabic with some European elements. Additionally, Darijaa is the language through which the majority of Moroccans have come to understand the world and the people around them. It is also through this language that I will explore conceptions of blackness and black identity in Morocco. Through evaluating the words for “black” in Darijaa, I hope …

Helping Women Help Themselves: Sex Work, Health, And Development In Mahajanga, Madagascar, Rachel Pryzby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Poverty is an inescapable reality in Madagascar, a force that permeates the lives of many Malagasy people. Approximately 75 % of the population lives below the poverty line, defined as one United States dollar per person per day . This poverty proves to be particularly cruel to women who are often illiterate, unmarried, and have children to support. In cases such as these, often the quickest and most lucrative type of work available is sex work. The proportion of sex workers (called makorelina in Malagasy and travailleuses de sexe in French ) in the city of Mahajanga is quite large—approximately …

Returning Home: The Makings Of A Repatriate Consciousness, Hope Steinman-Iacullo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intention of my Independent Study Project was to learn more about what motivates some Afro Americans to repatriate here and/or return habitually and explore whether there were a diverse number of reasons and motivating factors. This aim and question was also put in a historical context. For instance, my research has shown that the Back to African movements of the past mostly aimed to be communal relocations, compared with the current condition of mostly individualistic moves. I also found that although not all of the participants in my project identified as followers of Garvey or Pan Africanism, they often …