Digital Commons Network^™

Maternal Health In Villages Of Northern Uttar Pradesh Assessing Options, Practices And Outcomes In Bahraich District, Elizabeth Curtis

India: Public Health, Policy Advocacy, and Community

Maternal mortality distinctly highlights a health burden women face, particularly in developing countries. For that reason, poor maternal outcomes in rural India are a field in which Public Health workers and researchers continue to question and study. This project aims to understand the reasons behind poor maternal health outcomes for village women in Bahraich District of Uttar Pradesh. The focus of this topic is the accessibility of available health services and the attitudes of various players who distribute or consume services of the health system. Through fieldwork with doctors, medical institutions, auxiliary health workers, traditional health workers, and village women, …

The Right Of Return: International Representation Of Palestinian Refugee Rights, Ariella Hohl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on Palestinian identity in refugee camps and their international representation of rights by the PLO. The goal of this research is to understand how the meaning of the Right of Return has developed through generations of Palestinian refugees residing in camps, in contrast with the international community discourse presented by the PLO on this topic.

After almost two decades since the PLO’s leadership renewal, a gap is visible between Palestinian political representation and the sentiments of Palestinians on the ground. There are growing perceptions dissatisfaction with the current leadership, especially from the perspective of refugees. More often …

Jordanian Special Needs Children’S Access To Services: Parental Perspective, Selena Rincon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to investigate the point of view of parents of special needs children in regards to their access to financial, medical, and educational services in Jordan. The researcher was interested in the question: Do parents of special needs children believe that the government offers adequate educational, financial, and medical services for their special needs children? This study is significant because special needs children are an important part of Jordanian society and must receive proper services in order to develop their abilities as much as possible and become active members of society. Also, it is important …

I’M Not A Fishermen, I Don’T Sell Fish, I’M Not Even A Fish: The Microeconomy Of Fish Within The Formal And Informal Markets Of Mwanza, Austin Brush

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to examine the microeconomy of fish in the city of Mwanza in the context of the formal and informal market place and how it operates on a daily, monthly, and annual basis. In particular, I examined the different roles of fishermen, formal vendors, and informal vendors within the harvest, movement, and sale of fish and their perspectives on their own contributions and those of others at each stage. Between November 7th and November 26th, data was collected through 102 nonrandom, opportunistic interviews with my sample population of fishermen, formal vendors, informal vendors and professors …

Historical Perspectives On A National Heroine: R.A. Kartini And The Politics Of Memory, Amber Woodward

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

R.A. Kartini is an Indonesian national heroine, considered Indonesia’s founding feminist. Because of her inherently political status as a woman, a Javanese subject of Dutch colonialism, and an aristocrat, her memory has been used in diverse ways throughout history. In this paper I examine four main periods in which Kartini’s image has been dictated due to current political and social climates: Dutch imperialism, Indonesian independence, the New Order, and the present day. This paper is based on three weeks of research and fieldwork, including eight interviews with eleven informants, who had a diverse range of educational backgrounds and knowledge of …

Marriage Culture In Tunisia: Post-Independence To Post-Revolution Shifts, Emma Wilder Conover-Crockett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Personal Status Code became law in Tunisia in 1956, revolutionizing gender law and relationships. This law, development programs and nationalization pushed by President Habib Bourguiba, and modernization and globalization significantly altered the state of Tunisian marriage and gender relationships. Prior to the Personal Status Code, the basis of marriage in Tunisia was the preservation of family relationships, status, and finances. Throughout the last half century, it has evolved from a family-based endeavor to a partnership between two people, as the individual has simultaneously replaced the family and tribe as the main actor in society. These changes are reflected prominently …

Working With Locals To Restore Biodiversity To A Rubber Dominated Landscape, Francis Commercon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Xishuangbanna, in Yunnan,China, contains the country’s highest concentration of biodiversity. Since the 1980s,rubber plantations have replaced a significant portion of the prefecture’s lowland Seasonal Tropical Rainforest, leading to wildlife habitat loss and other environmental issues.Monoculture farming practices also leave farmers economically vulnerable to market fluctuations. To learn the best solutions for increasing ecosystem services and income stability in rubber-dominated areas, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) project Green Rubber engages smallholders directly in establishing and maintaining scientifically rigorous intercropping experiments in their villages.

Using Man’e village and the Green Rubber project as a case study, I asked to what degree and …

Women In Transition: Fighting Mentalities And Ensuring Political Participation In Post-Revolutionary Tunisia, Hayley Schultz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although democracies look different across the world, they all share a few things in common. One of the biggest factors which contributes to a strong democracy is an active and engaged civil society. Without people upholding the government and keeping them accountable for their actions, government officials feel they can do as they wish. Tunisia has recently undergone a democratic transition and is working on forming a stable democracy. Since the fall of the Ben Ali regime, civil society organizations have sprung up all over the country. These organizations are working to safeguard the principles of the new constitution and …

An Expanding Financial Sector: Continuity And Change Among Dhikur Groups In Lower Mustang, Anna Misenti

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Thakali people of lower Mustang have a long history of economic success fostered through community systems that function due to cooperation, but are also characterized by competition. One of these traditional systems is dhikur , a system of rotating credit composed of approximately twenty members. This study examines the roles of traditional savings and credit institutions within communities in lower Mustang in the context of the emergence of private financial institutions in Jomsom over the last ten years. My research displayed the strength of these community based organizations in the face of a private financial sector where organizational requirements …

Where The Plains And Hills Collide: Understanding Nepal’S Political Tension Through Tharus In Chitwan, Cameron Calato

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nepal's new constitution was received with both jubilation and violence. Protests swept across the plains of Terai leading to a blockade with India and a deadly fuel crisis. One’s opinions on the situation depend heavily on one’s own ethnicity, caste, and regional location. This research takes a deeper look into one ethnic minority, Tharu, to better understand Nepal’s complex political situation. Through many conversations in Chitwan, with both high and low castes, one can piece together a most intriguing analysis of Nepal’s politics. The political divide in the nation is severe and shows no willingness of compromise. The constant struggle …

Remnants Of The American War: An Interactive Documentary, Jacob Sussman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Remnants of the American War is an interactive documentary exploring the legacy of the American War in Vietnam. The project tells the stories of individuals who were affected by or are involved with the conflict’s legacy within an interactive web interface. Envisioned as the counter-narrative to existing American portrayals of the conflict, the project seeks to illuminate Vietnamese perspectives that are often unheard within Western culture.

Featuring interviews with veterans, social workers, and artists whom I encountered during a month long journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, the project highlights ongoing issues such as Agent Orange and Vietnam’s …

Too Many Rented Rooms: Creative Expression In The Tibetan Community And The Foreign Artist, Imogen Rosenbluth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Though Tibetan society has always had a literary and creative bent, the genre of secular Tibetan poetry is still very much burgeoning. One of the most unexpected consequences of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the subsequent exile of thousands of Tibetans has been the emergence of a new genre of testimonial writing by refugees, the majority of which is written in the English language. The corpus of work within this genre is still relatively small, but growing all the time, and this expansion begs several complex questions, foremost of which is what purpose such writing serves and to whom …

Mutually Assured Survival: An Analysis Of Globalization’S Influence On Nuclear Disarmament, Ryan Zehner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nuclear arms have revolutionized the ways by which human beings are able to harm one another. Omnipresent in the status quo is a nuclear tension, and whether subtly or more overtly, this tension underlies a great many international relationships. While Westphalian paranoia and neorealist power perceptions encourage populations to continue placing their faith in nuclear umbrellas and deterrence strategies, scholars and activists increasingly claim that without the realization of universal disarmament, humanity concedes to the inevitability of future nuclear detonation.

New disarmament initiatives concentrate heavily on the implications of nuclear weaponry in a sense that supersedes the security of only …

Recursos Y Servicios Disponibles Para Personas Afectadas Por El Uso De Agroquímicos Tóxicos En Avia Terai, Chaco, Argentina / Resources And Services That Are Available To People Who Are Affected By The Use Of Toxic Agrochemicals In Avia Terai, Chaco, Argentina, David Andersen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Introducción: El Chaco es una provincia del norte de Argentina con los peores indicadores de salud y de menor ingreso. El estudio se desarrolló en Avia Terai, un pueblo que tiene cinco mil habitantes, está rodeado por cultivos que son fumigados con agroquímicos tóxicos y que tiene niveles muy altos de cáncer y de discapacidad. Muchas personas en Avia Terai trabajan con agroquímicos y viven cerca de los campos fumigados. La mayoría de las personas en el pueblo no tienen seguros de salud y usan el sector público. En el pueblo hay un Centro Integrador Comunitario (CIC), un hospital, dos …

La Implementación De La Ley N° 26.485 En El Sector De Salud Pública En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Meredith Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A través de todos los siglos, ha existido la violencia contra las mujeres. Las causas de esta violencia son extensivas y tienen raíces en estructuras de ideología, cultura y género incrustadas en sociedades de todo el mundo. Hasta fines del siglo veinte, la violencia contra las mujeres era vista como un tema privado, de la familia, vivido puertas adentro, en forma independiente en cada hogar. Sin embargo, a través de las últimas décadas, muchos cambios ideológicos y socioculturales han trasladado el problema de la violencia contra las mujeres a la escena pública. En el año 2009, Argentina creó una ley …

La Bicicultura De Cochabamba: ¿La Bici Es De Todos?, Lucy Bergwall

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto investiga la cultura del ciclismo en la ciudad de Cochabamba. He elegido esta ciudad porque tiene una historia de ser una ciudad de ciclismo urbano pero ha perdido esta característica en las últimas décadas con el incremento de los autos en las calles. Sin embargo, hace unos años que ha empezado a crecer otra vez el ciclismo, en las formas de deporte y de transporte. Esta investigación se enfoca en las preguntas: ¿es la bici de todos? ¿Quiénes son los usuarios de bicis en Cochabamba y quiénes están excluidos o no representados en los grupos de ciclismo? Gracias …

Las Percepciones De Los Profesionales De La Salud Sobre Los Cuidados Paliativos En Diferentes Sectores De Salud En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires / Perceptions Of Health Professionals About Palliative Care In Different Health Sectors In The City Of Buenos Aires, Kate Paulsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Información contextual: Los cuidados paliativos son un campo de medicina para pacientes con enfermedades avanzadas o terminales. El propósito de la medicina paliativa es mejorar la calidad de vida de los pacientes y su familia y cuidar los síntomas físicos, psicológicos, sociales y espirituales. Los equipos interdisciplinarios compuestos de médicos, enfermeros, trabajadores sociales, psicólogos y otros tienen un papel esencial en el cuidado del paciente en una manera completa. Los cuidados paliativos son importantes porque todos tienen el derecho a ser acompañados en el final de la vida. En Argentina, los cuidados paliativos se han desarrollado considerablemente y existen en …

Abortion In Brazil - Todo Mundo Faz: An Analysis Of Social Movements And Social Support For The Liberalization Of Brazil’S Abortion Law In Salvador, Brazil, Maria Camila Caicedo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study analyzed the current actions of feminist movements, black women’s movements, and other advocacy groups that have a stake in the current debate for the legalization of abortion in Brazil. The purpose of the study was to assess the current political avenues for approaching the legislative body available to marginalized groups who are disproportionately affected by the criminalization of abortion. It was built upon a comprehensive review of existing literature, which found very little information on the actions of feminist movements and black women’s movements in Northeast Brazil. The study was conducted over the course of four weeks in …

The Circle Of Empowerment: The Nzinga Group's Approach To Empowering Afro-Brazilian Adolescent Girls And Women Through The Cultural Tradition Of Capoeira Angola, Sofia Stafford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Around the world gender and racial inequality leads to lower levels of empowerment related to self-esteem, autonomy, and self-confidence. These difficulties are exacerbated for girls and women who are faced with overcoming the double-stigmatization of being both black and female. However, Afro- Brazilian girls and women, when given the tools and support to empower themselves will empower their communities. Through a mixed-method approach of participatory research, observations, and nine interviews, this paper explores how the tradition of Capoeira Angola and specifically the roda, empowers Afro-Brazilian girls and women. More specifically, I examine how, through Capoeira, the process of “empowerment” can …

La Búsqueda De Una Agenda En Común: Una Mirada Feminista A Las Organizaciones Lgbti En Nicaragua, Rachel Crane

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the global context, we are amidst a rapidly changing rights landscape for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) as more and more governments begin to recognize same-gender partnerships. This gain in LGBT rights worldwide is in no small part to the political organizing and lobbying done by LGBT-rights organizations. Nicaragua’s history with gaining LGBT rights is relatively new, as the government did not repeal the anti-sodomy law here until 2008, thus stagnating the fight for acceptance in the country. As it stands, Nicaragua has a few legal protections for LGBT people, but they continue to …

Construyendo Un Mundo Sin Violencia Machista: Los Aportes De Las Organizaciones De Mujeres En Nicaragua Para Transformar La Cultura Machista Y Prevenir La Violencia, Grace Carballo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La violencia machista es, sin duda, una pandemia mundial que transciende fronteras, religiones, y clases. Esta violencia no es un problema privado para resolverse dentro del hogar, aunque esta creencia sea generalizada y problemática, pero es una violación de los derechos humanos. Hay campañas internacionales contra esta violencia y existe legislación para combatirla, pero la violencia todavía existe y hace daño. Alrededor del mundo, hay una lucha fuerte; las mujeres de todos lados se están uniendo para defender su derecho a vivir sin violencia. En Nicaragua, las organizaciones de mujeres también están luchando, a pesar de una cultura machista fuerte …

“No Todo Se Brilla” Tiempos De Espera: Reflejos De Estructuras Dominantes, Flora Richey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Time is a prevailing entity that impacts the human experience on an individual and societal level. While time cannot be objectively defined – it is asomatous and ethereal in nature – it imposes limits that permeate life on a fundamental level. Humans are intimately bonded with time, based on a symbiotic relationship. Time exists and is perpetuated by our practice of it. Naturally, these practices differ across socio-cultural realities. In this way, our understanding and use of time emerges as an aspect of culture. Time reflects cultural, political and social realities. Wait times in Chile are notoriously long. In the …

El Grano Milagroso Y Su Lado Oscuro: Un Estudio Sobre La Demanda De La Quinua Y Sus Efectos En Los Sistemas De Producción De La Comunidad De Cabana, Jacob Frankel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esto es un estudio sobre los sistemas agrícolas de producción en la comunidad campesina de Cabana en el departamento de Puno. Los agricultores en el Altiplano de Puno tradicionalmente producen la quinua y otros cultivos andinos de una manera extensiva. Pero, en el mundo se está realizando un “boom de quinua” ahora. Lo que significa alta demanda, mayor precio que beneficia a los campesinos andinos. La comercialización de la quinua en Cabana ha cambiado su producción a ser más intensivo, y los usos ancestrales de la tierra están disminuyendo. Encontré una tendencia de menos descanso del suelo, más mecanización y …

Percepciones De La Muerte Y La Espiritualidad Cristiana-Aymara Entre Los Proveedores Del Cuidado A Los Adultos Mayores En Putre, Emma Wright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How does Cristian-Aymaran spirituality influence medical decisions and perceptions of death during the end of life care of Aymaran elders?

Objective: To describe the perceptions of spirituality and death among the providers of end of life care in the commune of Putre in order to determine the role of such beliefs in the medical decisions of Aymaran elders with the goal of improving the methods of care.

Background: Statistically the population of Chile is getting older creating a greater need for end of life care programs. In Putre, specifically, the need for end of life care is particularly …

Assessing The Sustainability Of Selective Logging In Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika New Protected Area, Eileen Nakahata

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past 50 years, more than 90% of dense low-altitude humid forest in the District of Vangaindrano has been lost to deforestation and the remaining fragments continue to be threatened by slash and burn agriculture and selective cutting by local populations. These activities are driven by widespread poverty, population growth, and lack of development, which have made subsistence increasingly difficult. This study investigates logging rates and the stock of five commercially valuable trees in the Ankarabolava-Agnakatrika New Protected Area. Fifteen 1000m² transects were established systematically within the territory of the Matanga commune. Within each transect data was collected …

Exploring Community Health Through The Lens Of The Community Unit In Kariobangi North And The Surrounding Areas, Maya Paris-Saper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Healthcare is a challenge in countries of the Global South. Not only do climates and trends of rapid urbanization affect the health status of many negatively, but also many health facilities are inaccessible and not of good quality, they lack enough medical personnel and lack the resources to adequately provide for patients who do not have the resources them selves. As the wealth gap increases all over the world and resources continue to be distributed unequally communicable and non-communicable health issues plague those in urban and rural settings at an alarmingly high rate and as health innovation has worked to …

Exploring Gender-Based Violence Management In Nairobi, Kirsten Dimovitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Awareness about the prevalence of gender based violence is on the rise around the world. Citizens, governments and international organizations are beginning to see the vast impacts this issue has not only on the afflicted survivors but also on their families, friends and communities. However, less research is often done on a city or community level which leaves wide gaps in varying social, cultural, economic, and situational indicators. This also leads to many broad statements about the reasons why gender-based violence is so high in a particular areas. In developing countries the code word is often, poverty. This study takes …

Branches Above And Roots Below: Mothers’ Hopes For Their Children In Batoufam, Cameroon, Taylor Maxfield

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In order to delve into the desires that rural Cameroonian communities have for the future generation, this research project consisted of formally interviewing ten mothers in the village of Batoufam about what hopes they have for their children. This study highlighted on what they would like for their children, the way they raise their children to achieve their aspirations, and their opinions on the importance of preserving tradition for their children. The findings of this study are humble and rooted dreams of being able to care for one’s basic needs and the needs of a family. Batoufam mothers, along with …

Mari Et Femme, Sous Dieu: L’Évangile Du Genre Dans Le Mariage Chrétien Camerounais, Allison Aaronson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cette étude cherche à analyser les implications sur le genre d’une institution sociale influente, le christianisme, à travers l’optique des rôles conjugaux. Les interviews individuelles face à face étaient conduites en quatre semaines, avec pour objectif d’analyser ces rôles conjugaux chrétiens du genre dans l’espoir de mieux comprendre leur relation à l’émancipation désirée du genre. Ces interviewés ont inclut un échantillon divers des chrétiens mariés, des leaders religieux, et des membres de la société civile/ le gouvernement. Leurs réponses ont indiqué une influence forte d’un christianisme uniquement camerounais sur la conception des rôles conjugaux du genre. Ces rôles mettent les …

I’M Black And I’M Proud… And Female: The Role Of Gender And Black Consciousness For Black Female Uct Students In Social Movements In Cape Town., Aaliyah Michele Bell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on how gender roles and the Black identity affect Black women in present day social movements in Cape Town, South Africa. The goal of this project is to analyze how Black female students identify with the present day Black Consciousness Movement and their views on what roles women should engage in during social justice movements. Young Black women have forcefully been present in the current social movements such as Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall. These movements not only aim to tackle colonization, but also enforcing the inclusion of feminism and LGBTQ principles within the goals …