Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Identificación Y Análisis De Las Determinantes Sociales Que Mayormente Influyen El Uso Inseguro De Los Plaguicidas En El Valle De Azapa En La Región De Arica Y Parinacota, Emma Garrison

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent history, agricultural expansion to satisfy ever growing populations has introduced new chemical agents that pose a great threat to human, animal, and environmental health. With growing prevalence every decade, agricultural pesticides are the cause for thousands of acute and chronic illnesses across the world. In Chile, more specifically in the region of Arica and Parinacota in the Azapa Valley, the recent, more thorough, documentation of pesticide intoxications has lead the issue to be recognized as a prominent public health concern of the agricultural region. This study focuses on the identification and analysis of the most prominent social factors …

Changing The Very Fabric Of Society: A Case Study Of The Fundación Entre Mujeres Holistic Empowerment Model, Briana Frenchmore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The women of rural northern Nicaragua live in a context that is shaped by the inequalities of gender and class that originate in machista culture and the dominant economic system. To confront this reality, the non-government organization, Fundación Entre Mujeres (FEM) works from the “Gender and Development” (GAD) approach using a model of holistic women’s empowerment. To create social change, FEM’s programs focus on ideological, economic, and organizational empowerment. This investigation seeks to understand how FEM carries out its holistic empowerment model within communities, while reflecting on the strengths of their methodology and the challenges they face in creating social …

A Necessary Effort: The Construction Of A Binational Immigration Policy For Nicaraguan Immigrants In Costa Rica, Irma Castañeda

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although the experiences of Nicaraguan immigrants to Costa Rica have been well-studied, the investigation of this topic through the lens of the construction of public policies is missing. Through the testimonies of Nicaraguans that emigrated or still live and work in Costa Rica, I learned that immigrants, especially those that are undocumented, are vulnerable to the violation of their rights, for example, through the lack of access to public services or mistreatment by their bosses. Because of these violations, it is necessary to examine the topic of the immigration policies of both countries because they influence the treatment and integration …

Jugando Con Bola Ensalivada: Una Historia Política Del Béisbol Nicaragüense Desde Somoza Hasta Ortega, Braeden (Diego) Mayer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Nicaragua, baseball is known as the king sport and the Nicaraguan people have a passion for the sport like none other. Entering the two sides of present-day Nicaragua at almost the same time, baseball rapidly secured its spot as the national sport of Nicaragua during the occupation of the U.S. Marines in the early part of the 20^th century. Baseball became politicized with the rise to power of Anastasio Somoza García, and from then on, it would be an integral part in winning the affections of the Nicaraguan people. Founding two teams, plotting assassinations at games, and using …

Death Squads And Diplomacy: An Investigation Of British Attitudes Towards Sectarian Assassinations In The 1970’S, Hannah Nelson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I conducted my research for this paper during a three-­‐week internship at the Pat Finucane Center in Derry. I gathered evidence from a series of declassified British government documents provided to me by the center. I focus my study on the British government’s attitude towards sectarian assassinations, particularly committed by loyalist paramilitaries, in the first part of the 1970’s. I examine the issues of responding to international pressure, framing the problem, evaluating security force effectiveness, and screening strategies. I find that in the public sphere, the British government hid information to downplay the severity of loyalist-­‐led murder campaigns and instigated …

The Israeli Defense Forces In The 21st Century: Humanitarian Complier Or Human Rights Violators? An Assessment Of Ihl Compliance In The Second Lebanon War And Operation Cast Lead, Skyler Scoggan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My reasons behind writing this paper are very personal and its conclusion will have a direct impact on my future. I am Jewish by blood and have always have had a strong connection with the tradition even though I do not consider myself religious. I have respected more so the traditions and culture that have come from the faith of my mother. The fact that my grandfather, great grandfather, and the dozen more before him, carried on these same rituals that I carry out on Shabbat or on the high holidays, is beyond the realm of being special. Many cannot …

Investing With An Impact: Moving Business Beyond Profits, Graham Pansing Brooks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Impact Investing” is an emerging concept that focuses on developing a common ground between capital investment and philanthropy. This relatively new theory of social entrepreneurialism focuses on creating positive social impacts while also maintaining an economic commitment to investor returns. This innovative concept has been notably championed by Credit Suisse as well as other financially based institutions and NGO’s. The purpose of this paper is to explore and address the defining factors within the developing and growing field of Impact Investment. The increased effort by business towards moving beyond standard methods of Corporate Responsibility has resulted in the catalyzed formation …

Changing Paradigms: Community Policing In Calabar, Isael Gonzalez Goodman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On April 27, 2011 the first community base of Salavador was installed in the neighborhood of Calabar representing a new model of policing focusing more on prevention rather than repression. Before the arrival of the base, Calabar was a community where many feared to enter. Constant shootings between rival gangs and sporadic police invasions made it a dangerous places to live in. Since the implantation of the base a new era for the community has begun and people can now walk up and down the streets of their neighborhood freely without fear of being struck by stray bullets. Additionally, the …

Drug Sentencing Policy Discourse Of Fortaleza, Nick Sundback

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Drug sentencing is a pressing issue in Brazil. With the context of high and increasing rates of crime and drug use, overcrowded prisons, and high rates of recidivism both in terms of prison and drug addiction, attitudes of individuals towards drug sentencing policy are worthy of observation and examination.

The objective of this monograph is to examine discourse by informants, five individuals who interact with sections of society most affected by drug sentencing, namely drug users. This monograph will consider pluralistic observations on, and evaluations of, drug sentencing practices, implementation of drug sentencing, an overview of the broader debate over …

Africans In A Country “Without Blacks”: Challenges And Accomplishments Of The Integration Of Recent African Immigrants In Argentina - Africanos En Un País Donde “No Hay Negros”: Los Logros Y Desafíos De La Integración De Los Recientes Inmigrantes Africanos En La Argentina, Stephan Grabner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For nearly two centuries, Argentina has constructed a national identity which manages to remain culturally and ethnically homogeneous by ignoring the vibrant community of Afro-Argentineans and their rich contributions to society. However, recent waves of African immigrants and the growing self-awareness of the Afro-Argentinean community are raising questions about what it means to be Argentinean in the context of increasing global mobility. The new focus on human rights visible in Argentine politics over the past decade has brought about changes which seem to indicate a transition towards a more multicultural society. Despite widespread ignorance and racism which permeate all levels …

“Podemos Vivir Sin Oro, Pero No Sin Agua”: Un Estudio De La Minería, Sus Efectos Y El Movimiento De Resistencia En Azuay, Ecuador, Kyle Schneider

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Si bien los gobiernos neoliberales que se sucedieron en la década de los noventa definieron un marco legal e institucional ‘atractivo’ y permisivo para la inversión extranjera en el sector minero ecuatoriano, el gobierno de Rafael Correa es el primero que apuesta por la gran minería como una actividad estratégica para el modelo económico de Ecuador.”[1] Esta cita explica la política del actual gobierno con respecto a la minería, y como las industrias extractivas se han convertido en parte principales del ambicioso plan del gobierno para recaudar fondos para sus obras públicas y la inversión social. El hecho de …

Nationalism And Painting In Colonial Bengal, Jasmin Cohen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

What began as a general inquiry into the nature of nationalism in the paintings of “the Bengal School” turned into a project focused on tracing the pulse of nationalism between two distinct yet related groups in Bengal roughly between the years 1895 and 1920. The bulk of this paper deals with existing scholarship on the painter Abanindranath Tagore, whose name is most often mentioned in the discourse regarding nationalism and painting in Bengal; in addressing this scholarship, I deliver a critical analysis on the relationship between Abanindranath, his paintings, and the idea of nationalism. I then follow that discussion with …

East Versus West: Chinese And American Development Efforts And Perceptions In Cameroon, Grace Perkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Every year, donor countries pour billions of dollars of foreign aid into developing recipient countries. Humanitarian and “win-win” rhetoric generally accompanies the grant, hospital, school, or sports stadium. To a realist international relations scholar, it is highly unlikely that powerful nations like the United States and China donate anything without political or economic strategic interests in mind. How do American and Chinese strategic interests affect the quality of development aid? This paper seeks to answer this question in the context of Cameroon, a Central African state rich in resources and young minds but whose growth is hampered by its colonial …

La Vista Desde Arriba: El Uso De Cartografía Participativa Para Empoderar A Las Comunidades Y Promover La Conservación Del Medio Ambiente Los Mapas Como Herramienta En El Proyecto De Cacao Silvestre En Baures, Beni, Lily Alexander

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El tema de este proyecto es la aplicación de la cartografía participativa con cinco diferentes comunidades de recolectores del cacao en la región de Baures, Bolivia. La investigación explora los elementos de esta metodología, cómo se implementa este proceso y el papel que los mapas pueden tener en el empoderamiento de la gente local de gestionar sus propios recursos naturales en una manera más sostenible. A través de mapas parlantes dibujados por las comunidades, reuniones con la gente local, coordenadas de GPS y digitalizaciones de la geografía de la región, he producido una variedad de mapas que representan el conocimiento …

Accessing Justice, Evaluating Agency: How 12 Women In Cape Town Perceive Their Local Police Services With Respect To Their Race, Class, Gender, And Geographic Location, Ellen Moore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Policing in South Africa has a long, twisted history that is still evident in some current police practices and especially in the public’s perceptions of the police. In addition to historical factors such as colonial rule and apartheid, people’s perceptions of the police are also affected by their race, class, gender, and geographic location. Although these factors’ can be considered to have an individual effect on perceptions, it is through a complex understanding of how they relate to one another that a true understanding of a person’s perception can be reached. The inspiration for this study stemmed from these concepts …

Pepfar Problems: How Does The United States’ Presidential Emergency Program For Aids Relief Empower Women?, Caitlin H.

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study looks to examine how the Presidential Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) works to achieve one of its key goals, the empowerment of women, in the Western Cape. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects women disproportionately, around the world and in South Africa. Thus, women should be a key focus of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) relief and HIV prevention. This paper analyzes the work of PEPFAR to empower women through three lenses. Women’s empowerment in general is discussed, to see how organizations view their own methods of empowerment. PEPFAR’s work with sex workers is examined, as they are often …

The Implications Of Privileged Gay Politics On Queer Aberrations: Interrogating South Africa’S Nongovernmental Industrial Complex, Vijay Sachdev

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The phenomena to address and confront social issues as a career path has shifted the way communities experience the realm of activism. This research addresses the effort emphasized in gay and lesbian activism on the Nongovernmental Industrial Complex as a platform for social transformation. These structures have notably been co-opted by neo-liberalism and the State. In South Africa, the gay and lesbian movement have its roots dug into legal reform which becomes conservative and relies on the rhetoric of identity politics to gain recognition without addressing redistribution and systems of oppression. Through three case studies culminating in a comparative study …

“A Place For The Grassroots”: Examining The Role Of Community Participation And Local Governance In Providing Mid-Day Meals In Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh, Anderson Tuggle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)—the world’s largest school lunch program—was launched by India’s central government in August 1995 with the lofty goals of “enhancing enrollment, retention, and attendance while simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children.”[1] 17 years later, particularly following prominent Supreme Court orders in November 2001 and April 2004, MDMS has become a key program for the government, now serving about 105 million primary and upper-primary schoolchildren in 1.2 million schools.[2] When implemented properly, MDMS has had a noticeable positive impact on student attendance and enrollment, alongside a reduction in teacher absenteeism. Yet grave disparities in application …

Chile, Menos La Solidaridad: El Presente Y Futuro De Desigualdad Económica En Chile, Carolyn Lenderts

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Uno de los pilares del neoliberalismo es un enfoque en el sector privadas y una creencia que el éxito para las empresas trae éxito para la gente. En el caso de Chile, el modelo neoliberal ha sido muy efectivo en lograr tasas de crecimiento altas, aumentar el PIB y subir el ingreso per cápita. Se considera Chile el milagro económico de América del Sur, pero el gran crecimiento no ha sido distribuido igualmente por la sociedad chilena. Detrás de los impresionantes porcentajes de crecimiento, se encuentran algunos datos muy inquietantes. Por ejemplo, el 20% más pobre viven con US$1.855 cada …

Perspectives Of Czech Youth Activists: Political Culture & The Cycle Of Passivity, Alex Bargiacchi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted in order to gain insight into the current political culture of the Czech Republic, through the perspectives of current youth activists. Three seperate interviews were held in order to accomplish this. A representative from The Young Conservatives (Mladi Konzervativci), The Young Social Democrats (Mladi Socialni Demokrate), and European Values (Evropske Hodnoty) were interviewed concerning their opinions regarding the current Czech political environment. Each youth activist was asked questions focusing on how their specific group organizes, how they personally became politically involved their personal reasons for becoming politically involved, and their opinions regarding the Czech current political …

Transcending Boundaries: Moroccan Political Thought As A Transnational Platform, And Communities In The Realm Of Activism, Leah Siegel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research concerns how individual protestors of the February 20th Movement relate to the rest of the Arab Spring and their own society. I conducted several interviews during November 2012 with participants of the movement currently living in Rabat, each one lasting between 30 minutes to two hours. I initially intended this study to focus on the movement’s relations to the rest of the Arab Spring, but found in my interviews that this question is much more tangential than the question of how participants of the movement relate to their own society. What I discovered was that while the events …

Actores Secundarios En El Movimiento Estudiantil Chileno En 2011 Y 2012: Un Análisis Comparativo De La Asamblea Coordinadora De Estudiantes Secundarios Y La Coordinadora Nacional De Estudiantes Secundarios., Carly Brook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Chilean student movement, intermittently present in Chile since the beginning of the 20th Through the conduction of personal interviews, utilization of student proposals for a new system of education, occupation of the concepts of social movements of Alain Touraine and concepts of student movements of Manuel Garretón, revision of current news sources, and participant observation, this investigation concludes the dynamic between the ACES and the CONES to be an antagonistic one characteristic of two social actors in competition over control of the definition of the same social resource, a new education system for Chile. It then identifies this antagonism …

Access To Healthcare For The Poor: Will The Affordable Care Act Address Income-Related Health Disparities In The United States?, Sonya Fabricant

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Low-income populations live shorter and less healthy lives in the United States due to a complexity of social, environmental and behavioral factors. These populations also face significant barriers in accessing health services. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed, marking the first major reform of the American healthcare system since the 1960s. This paper evaluates its potential to address health disparities through changes to medical care delivery. Methodology: Results were compiled from government documents, reports from research institutes, journal articles, and an expert interview. A section-analysis was also performed, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of …

Student Voice In Integrated Schools: Advising Leaders In A Transitional Society, Nora Murphy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study on student voice in the integrated educational sector in Northern Ireland, particularly through an examination of student leadership initiatives and the advisors of such programs. Data was obtained by way of qualitative methods using semi-formal interviews and written responses to open-ended questions on the topic. Although the work is hardly comprehensive, it is can be inferred from the research – as it is situated within the framework of scholarly literature – that student leaders in the integrated school setting are given definite opportunities to express their voice, despite the presence …

Sectarianism In Northern Ireland: Youth Work And The Art Of Having The Difficult Conversation, Dan Knishkowy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study on youth work in Northern Ireland regarding sectarian issues. It is an investigation of how sectarianism transfers from generation to generation, and how this often results in cycles of violence. The goal of this exploration was to find out what efforts are being made to combat this cycle at a youth level, and gain a more nuanced understanding of how these efforts can be effective. Data was obtained through literature, structured interviews, and participation and observation in a youth workshop. It is concluded that cross-community contact at a youth level …

“Todo Pasado Es Presente”: Racismo Abierto Y Confrontación Violenta En Cochabamba El 11 De Enero De 2007, Andrew Hernández

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The city of Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2007 faced an extremely violent confrontation after protesters from the rural areas found themselves against the citizens of the city. The farmers from the rural areas (campesinos) came to protest recent calls from the Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa for autonomy through the use of blockades. The citizens, many from the middle to upper class, decided they wanted to “take back the city” and “defend democracy” in their efforts to eradicate the campesinos from the city. Through the use of oral histories and life stories I reconstruct January 11, 2007 and explore the degree to …

“It’S Bigger Than Hip Hop” : A Case Study Of Africulturban Association As A Site Of Social (Ex)Change, Renee Slajda

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Africulturban is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote Senegalese urban culture, a highly popular, socially conscious, and youth-led movement that began in Dakar’s impoverished suburbs. Situated in one of these underdeveloped areas, the association works to improve its community and develop urban culture into an industry that can support its artists. As a case study, this research firstly examines how Africulturban, as a young, grassroots organization, is run. It further aims to understand how urban culture may be used as a tool of social development by looking at the culture’s specific characteristics that make it suitable to this task. …

Women In Post Revolutionary Tunisia: Political Inclusion And Prospects For The Future, Courtney Joline

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the world turns it attention to Tunisia as the first state to undergo the democratic transition in the phenomenon known as the Arab Spring, women’s status has been a dominant theme among policy analysts, journalists, and scholars. As people debate their means of mobilization, I sought to document how women see their futures and their opinion of the democratic transition, and most importantly what this holds for women. This piece seeks to give women agency and a forum for them to share their stories, opinions, and perspectives of the future. In a time when so many thinkers are getting …

Housing And Urbanization: A Socio-Spatial Analysis Of Resettlement Projects In Hồ Chí Minh City, Michael J. Stumpf

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As Hồ Chí Minh City continues to undergo rapid urbanization, especially with the creation of a multitude of new urban zone developments on the periphery of the inner districts, the resettling of people has become common. Families who live within areas that are selected for urban upgrading or, as in other cases for the construction of new miniature cities, must face the realities of relocation. Many issues arise in the complicated process of resettling the displaced, due to complex land-use laws, bureaucratic dissonance, and lack of investment in actual resettlement housing. The authorities of Hồ Chí Minh City have faced …

The Power Of Dara Puspita: How Four Girls From Indonesia Brought Rock ‘N’ Roll To The World, Eliza Summerlin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Surrounded by her ever-growing vinyl collection, twenty-year-old Ingga is sprawled on her bedroom floor with her ear pressed closely to a small transistor radio. An announcement on RRI (Radio Republik Indonesia) has caught her attention, but she fears she misheard the DJ. Could it be true? Are they finally coming home? She is in disbelief, but indeed the famed all-female Rock ‘n’ Roll band Dara Puspita is scheduled to play two shows in Jakarta in just a few weeks. A smile flashes across her face. Her heroes have returned.

After what seems like eternity, it is finally the night of …