Digital Commons Network^™

“Education Should Be Number One”: Life Stories Of Migrant Crèche Teachers And Their Impact On The Early Childhood Education Of Vulnerable Youth, Romi Messer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project seeks to identify, examine, and analyze how the life experiences of African migrant women manifest in the aspirations, visions, and goals for their school children’s education and integration in society. The study focuses on the teachers and young children at the Union of Refugee Women’s Children Care Centre, an organization that provides early childhood education to children in refugee and economically disadvantaged communities. In this paper I explore how life experiences influence the curriculum and daily activities at the crèche as well as which skills the teachers find essential to pass on to the refugee and economically disadvantaged …

Once Upon Our Time: The Ancient Art Of Storytelling In A Contemporary West Africa, Harlee Keller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Storytelling is an art form that has been flourishing in Senegal since the country’s origin. Traditionally, storytelling was a communal endeavor, oral and interactive. As modernity crept up on Senegal storytelling began to change, oral tradition only partially surviving in rural settings, almost completely obsolete in big cities. I am particularly interested in how Wolof tales and oral storytelling are surviving in a modernizing Senegal. I think that storytelling is a form of cultural education for children and adults alike, and that preservation is dire for the survival of this art. I will discuss story structure, content and the opinions …

Rough Hands: Family Conceptions Of Rural Morocco’S Agricultural Labor, A Case Study, Leah Kahler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Conceptions of success for people in any capitalist context are tangled with social hierarchies of work. The rural women of Morocco have been specifically singled out as the objects discourses about their domestic and agricultural work, agency, gender identity and role, and their use of private and public space ownership. This project will examine the justifications, conceptions, and satisfaction with rural-agricultural work in a small-scale family farm in Morocco’s Al Hoceima province. Using the case study approach, I will live with a family in Sidi Bouafif and work alongside the family for an eight-day fieldwork period. Through participant observation and …

Who Are You Wearing? A Study Of Moroccan Fashion Discourse, Identity Performance, And Social Change, Leah Michalove

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Clothes and their consumption become almost invisible in their very ubiquity, yet fashion acts as a sort of optical litmus test for the mood of society. Clothing can express cultural norms, serve as shorthand for social grouping, and provide a kind of corpus of visual allusion; in short, clothes and how we wear them constitute a system of signification, a visual language as dynamic, complex, and arbitrary as any spoken communication. I set out to investigate the grammar and syntax of Moroccan fashion, to explore what the diversity of observed choices meant to the people who made them and how …

Hla Class Ii Alleles In The Otomi Population Of The Mezquital Valley. A Genetic Approach To The History Of Interethnic Migrations In The Mexican Central Plateau, Ana Itzel Juárez-Martín, Blanca Zoila González-Sobrino, Ángel Eduardo Camarena Olvera, Ramcés Falfán-Valencia

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

From a historic and genetic point of view, the Otomi of the Mezquital Valley are a frontier people that have played an important role in the making of the population dynamics of the Mexican Central Plateau. Due to their antiquity in the area, the Otomi may be bearers of ancient genetic variability, shared mainly today with other groups belonging to the Otomanguean linguistic family and with the Nahua.

This study analyzes the HLA class II allele frequencies reported in Mexican indigenous populations, in order to provide an intra-regional level historical perspective of the genetic relationships between the Otomi of the …

Toward A New Theory Of Waste: From "Matter Out Of Place" To Signs Of Life , Joshua Reno

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

This paper offers a counterpoint to the prevailing account of waste in the human sciences. This account identifies waste, firstly, as the anomalous product of arbitrary social categorizations, or ‘matter out of place’, and, secondly, as a distinctly human way of leaving behind and interpreting traces, or a mirror of culture. Together, these positions reflect a more or less constructivist and anthropocentric approach. Most commonly, waste is placed within a framework that privileges considerations of meaning over materiality and the threat of death over the perpetuity of life processes. For an alternative I turn to bio-semiotics and cross-species scholarship around …

We Were Alway United, Except When We Were Not: Bivocal Memory And Georgia's Geopolitical Dilemma, Nino Batiashvili

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This study examines two distinct but mutually constitutive discursive genres on Georgian identity: one based in the voice of self-idealization and the other in self-condemnation. These two genres are embedded in historical conceptions and enact public debate on the country's geopolitical challenges. The ethnographic material I examine, unveils politically strained discursive terrain that unfolds as a "game of memory" between two visions of Georgian history, Georgian identity and Georgian geopolitics.

Throughout this study I examine how these two voices unfold through debates on historical memory and how they shape forms of political reasoning. On the basis of diverse textual and …

Community Assistance For Refugees And Gender Roles: What Could Make This C.A.R. Run Better?, Nathan E. Meyer

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Community Assistance for Refugees is a non-profit service organization in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. Secondary migration to southern Minnesota has increased the refugee population as well as the need for research assessing the needs and concerns of refugees. The purpose of this project was two-fold: first to analyze how C.A.R. is able to meet the needs of its clients and second, to investigate ways in which C.A.R. could improve its services. Traditionally female refugees are less educated and less mainstreamed into American society. This research was designed to help all clients, but special attention was paid to the specific needs of …

Attitudes Towards Latino Immigrants Expressed In The Online Media, Jordan Mcclain

Honors Theses

The language used towards Latino immigrants expressed in the online media is a prevalent occurrence that warrants a more detailed analysis. I used a total of fifty-four articles from Fox New, CNN, MSNBC, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Immigration Law Center, Immigration Advocates, Networks Liberty News, Minuteman Project, and American Immigration Control Council. I analyzed the wording used by each source when they referred to Latino immigrants. I analyzed my data further by distinguishing it into five categories: Affirmative language, negative language, avoidance language, the use of linguistic devices, and a category dedicated to the special circumstances around the recent …

New Orleans Producers: Directing The Regional Food System One Informal Contract At A Time, Emily Nichols

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Large corporations largely control food production and distribution in the global food system and have generated a desire for locally produced food. Although small independent producers still contribute to regional food systems, there is little understanding about how they distribute and market their products. This thesis uses both semistructured interviews to investigate the distribution practices of urban, family, and regional producers in the New Orleans region and discourse analysis to disclose how localist discourse shapes producers marketing practices. The discourse analysis discovered that the web presence of local New Orleans restaurants, farmers, and Crescent City Farmers Market targeted concepts that …

Embodying Ritual Performance: An Iconographic Analysis Of Burial 38 At The Etowah Site, Amy M. Goldstein

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an iconographic study of Burial 38 from Mound C at the Etowah, a Mississippian mound site in present-day Northwest Georgia. The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of the iconographic meaning of the artifacts in Burial 38 as well as the significance of the arrangement of individuals within the burial and its relationship with Mound C more broadly. Applying theories of relational ontology, performance, and gender, I build on King’s (2010) interpretation of Mound C’s final construction phases as a ritual event that transformed the mound into a sacred center, melded foreign and local …

A Multi-Sited Examination Of Pregnancy, Birth And Women’S Perceptions Of Care In Ghana, Jessica M. Posega

Theses and Dissertations

In Ghana, both governmental and non-governmental agencies have been working to reach the 2015 United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The fourth and fifth goals are related to reproductive health, reducing infant and maternal mortality respectively. Through a combination of increasing midwifery and nursing training programs, public awareness programs, and programs designed to retain skilled birth attendants. This paper explores how the policies and practices intended to create better birth outcomes in Ghana are perceived by those targeted for intervention, and by the reproductive health workers. Drawing from in-depth interviews with pregnant women, mothers with children under one year, and …

"I Came To America, Crying": Rebuilding A Life, Redefining The Self—Ethiopian Women Refugees In Denver (Colorado) (2012–2013), Barbara Guglielminotti Valetta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the challenges faced by Ethiopian women in the Denver community to reach harmony within their new social and cultural space and to examine what they feel they have lost and gained in their self-identity as a result of their immigration. Refugees face a multitude of dilemmas when they are compelled to relocate from their home countries to a new, foreign-host society. Ethiopian refugees have been arriving in the US since the 1970s and feel the uprootedness of being away from their homeland. Being uprooted is losing one’s culture and ways of life. …

Vol. 37 No. 2 (2014): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US $26.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, …

Book Review Forum: Glenn Petersen, Traditional Micronesian Societies: Adaptation, Integration, And Political Organization, Nancy J. Pollock

Pacific Studies

Glenn Petersen. Traditional Micronesian Societies: Adaptation, Integration, and Political Organization. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2009. Pp. 288. ISBN: 978-0-8248-3248-3. US$42.00 cloth.

Review: NANCY J . POLLOCK

RESEARCHER, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY (RETIRED )

The Art Of Lebanese Verbal Dueling: The Battle Of Beit Mery And Beyond, Paula Marie Haydar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the living and vibrant oral tradition of verbal dueling in Lebanon, also known as Lebanese zajal. The introductory chapter explores the historical, sociolinguistic, and musical-metrical roots of today's Lebanese zajal contests and festivals, which feature teams of up to four poets who compete against each other in improvised, sung verse in colloquial Lebanese, carrying a sort of dialogue within which they argue opposing sides of universal themes and topics of current social interest. Though time, tradition, and culture in the Lebanese mountainside have nurtured the development of sung oral poetry into its current form and status …

Vol. 37 No. 2 (2014): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 37, No 2-Aug 2014 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Book Review Forum: Glenn Petersen, Traditional Micronesian Societies: Adaptation, Integration, And Political Organization, Karen L. Nero

Pacific Studies

Glenn Petersen. Traditional Micronesian Societies: Adaptation, Integration, and Political Organization. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2009. Pp. 288. ISBN: 978-0-8248-3248-3. US$42.00 cloth.

Review: KAREN L . NERO

UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO

Selling Tradition: Impression Management And Draft Animal Agriculture Of A Mississippi Farmstead, Matthew Corbin Lance

Master's Theses

This thesis is a case study of a family of farmers in Mississippi’s Piney Woods who use horse-drawn equipment to grow crops. This practice is notable in the context of a larger agricultural system that prioritizes mechanization (particularly the use of tractors). The production style and their use of local direct selling via farmers markets allowed them to thrive economically because they were able to tap into a niche market of consumers desiring an alternative to the modern, conventional agricultural system.

Other literature on Alternative Food Networks (AFN) discusses the issues of alterity and appropriation—that is, whether AFN ventures are …

Ambiguitas Yang Mencerminkan Rasisme Dalam Film The Princess And The Frog, Rizki Nurmaya Oktarina

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Princess fairy tales have made the Disney Corporation so famous. At fi rst, Disney princesses were white skinned. As time goes by, Disney started fi lming animated movies with colored princesses. In 2009, Disney released a movie based on an African-American princess named Tiana in ‘The Princess and the Frog’ (2009). Ambiguities in terms of understanding black appear in the fi lm. To help analyzing this movie, Barthes’ semiotics theory will be used. By using that theory, the writer proposes that on one hand, Disney conveys that America has become “color blind,” but on the other, blacks are positioned as …

Batik Dan Industri Kreatif: Sebuah Proses Kreatifitas Manusia Dalam Kajian Studi Humaniora, Irmayanti Meliono

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This paper would like to discuss that batik has three types consist of kain batik tulis, kain batik print and batik fabrics and their variety of motifs. The scope of research on batik originated from the area of Bandung, Cirebon, Pekalongan and Yogyakarta-Surakarta (Solo) . This research analyzed with Peirce’s triadic semiotic approach with a sign that has an icon, index, and symbol. Analysis a sign motif of batik is related to with an icon in the form of of cloth, and the index element in the form of color motifs of batik. Symbol is always related to with the …

Hubungan Kekuasaan Pada Tokoh Superhero Dan Supervillain Dalam Film Iron Man 3 (2013): Sebuah Kajian Tematik, Marco Alexandro Tobing

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research discusses how superhero and supervillain characters in the fi lmIron Man 3 (2013) shows a power relation as a form of superhuman superiority. The power relation that occur through the confl ict between characters are seen as an establishment of social stratifi cation among superhuman and normal human / society as cultural study. This study is conducted thematically through characterizations analysis method by comparing the defi nition and ideology on the superhero and supervillain in superhero characters, Iron Man and the Iron Patriot, and supervillain character, Mandarin. This study aims to fi nd the root of power relation …

Representasi Tokoh Wanita Pada Kisah Fiksi Kriminal: Serial Televisi Sherlock Bbc (2010), Gevintha Karunia Maully

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Sherlock BBC (2010) is one of the latest adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. By using the modern era as its sett ing, Sherlock off ers something diff erent compared to previous Sherlock Holmes adaptations. This research focuses on the representation of female characters on Sherlock according to an issue that already chosen which is women and crime. The theories and concepts which are used on this research are gender construction in Victorian Era, the concept of femme-fatale and crime fi ction characteristics. I argue that there are some substantial diff erences of female characters’ representation in Sherlock compared to the original …

The Death Of Captain America Represents The Failure Of The American Dream, Dimas Anggara

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

American Dream is a concept that plays an important role in the American history and its society. The main values of the American Dream are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. These are represented in Captain America, carrier of the spirit of America to the world. Captain America, the main character in a comic, also preserved the values in the American Dream, so it is proven that there is a relation between Captain America and the American Dream. The problem is that there are changes in the way people see the concept of the American Dream today. It is because …

Narsisme Sebagai Wujud Eksistensi Diri Dalam Novel “My Name Is Red” Karya Orhan Pamuk, Raden Dibi Irnawan

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This paper discusses about socio-psychological dimension in paintings pictured in Orhan Pamuk’s novel My Name is Red. The novel shows us fi ne examples about how paintings can be a media of painters who lived in a repressive era of Sultan Murat III which established rigid rules adopted from Islamic principles of how a painting should be done. This idea manifested in the characters’ behaviour, especially Velijan Eff endi, who hold the Islamic or East principles, but dilemmatically fond of Western principles as an aesthetic way of painting. This kind of dilemma born from the presence of East and West …

Executive Control In Hispanic Children: Considering Linguistic And Sociocultural Factors, Miriam M. Martinez

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Executive control represents a collection of high-order cognitive processes that are associated with important child outcomes, including academic achievement and social competencies. Despite the burgeoning interest in examining the development of executive control, less is known about the development of these skills among ethnic minority children. Hispanic children are currently the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and their diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds provide an excellent context to study the influence of linguistic and sociocultural factors on the development of child executive control. The purpose of the three complementary studies reported in this dissertation is to contribute …

From “Acculturated Indians” To “Dynamic Amazonian Quichua-Speaking Peoples, Michael Uzendoski, Norman E. Whitten Jr.

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Amazonian Quichua In The Western Amazon Regional Interaction Sphere, Mary-Elizabeth Reeve

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Analogic Alterity: The Dialogics Of Life Of Amazonian Kichwa Mythology In Comparison With Tupi Guaraní (Mbyá) Creation Stories, Michael Uzendoski

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Earthy Concreteness And Anti-Hypotheticalism In Amazonian Quichua Discourse, Janis B. Nuckolls, Tod D. Swanson

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.