Digital Commons Network^™

What's So Great About The Alternative? Understanding Motivations For Participating In Humboldt County Alternative Food Networks, Jessica Smith

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Participation in alternative food networks such as farmer’s markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), and community gardens has become an increasingly popular way to express opposition to the current industrial food system. Food justice scholars often criticize alternative food networks for operating within a neoliberal economic framework and suggest that structural inequalities within the food system are not able to be addressed by alternative food networks in the same way they are through food justice or food sovereignty. The goal of this research is to discover individual motivation behind participation in local alternative food networks in Humboldt County. I am curious …

Dinjik Enjit Nerrzhrii (We Are Hunting For Moose): An Evaluation Of Tribal Co-Management In The Yukon Flats, Interior Alaska, Kelda E. Britton

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Gwich’in People of Interior Alaska have historically exercised self-governance in the Yukon Flats to protect traditional and customary use practices. A number of factors have challenged Gwich’in self-governance: land ownership in rural Alaska being under multiple jurisdictions, which has created complicated parameters for management of fish and wildlife; and the legal history of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which has created an arbitrary and fragmented management system. Despite these challenges, Alaska Native communities have been working to reassert their self-governance over important lands and resources. One example is the co-management arrangement between the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments …

The Politics Of Twilights: Notes On The Semiotics Of Horizon Photography, Michael W. Raphael

Publications and Research

Visual sociology is crucial for exploring the indexical meanings that thick description cannot capture within a cultural setting. This paper explores how such meanings are created within a subset of the domain of photography. Using data gathered over several years, I constructed the semiotic code ‘horizon’ photographers use when ‘in the field’ for photographing periods of twilight. This code explains the relevance of subject matter to the photograph’s aesthetics. Specifically, I detail how ‘the horizon’ communicates the potential for the photographer to ‘capture’ the index of a symbol that later permits the photographer to culturally mark scenes with ‘light’. In …

Book Review: Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation, Sri Craven

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Book under review: Klien, R. (2017). Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation. Victoria: Australia. Spinifex Press.

Effects Of Long-Term Participation In Tennis On Cognitive Function In Elderly Individuals, Scott Culpin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many studies have reported the relationship between exercise and cognition with conflicting results. This may be due to differences in intervention durations, session lengths, intensities, and type of exercise. It has been suggested that exercises requiring greater cognitive demand such as football, basketball and racquet sports, are protective against cognitive decline, compared to less cognitively demanding exercises such as swimming, cycling and running, however, research concerning exercise types are currently limited. The present study tested the hypothesis that elderly individuals who had been regularly playing tennis more than 10 years, would have greater cognitive function than those who had been …

Insulting Words: "They Are Animals!", Carolyn A. Ristau

Animal Sentience

As Chapman & Huffman state, creating divisive human categories has rationalized atrocities committed against the “other.” Labeling neighboring warring villagers as “animals” is considered a despicable insult. Yet contemporary scientific views of many animals grant them thinking and conscious faculties, and the capacity for impressive achievements, many unattainable by humans. Robots, too, can accomplish many similar feats. But the essential reason we must protect animals is not because of their admirable abilities, but their capacity for consciousness, for suffering. Robots are not conscious. Participants in the human-animal debate should not complain about changing criteria for determining human uniqueness. New and …

Ict Use By Smallholder Farmers In Rural Mozambique: A Case Study Of Two Villages In Central Mozambique, Kathlee Freeman, Fridah Mubichi

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This study adds to the empirical evidence of information and communication technology (ICT) use by smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study draws on qualitative data collected from eight focus groups segmented by gender and consisting of adult farmers in two villages in central Mozambique. Special attention was given to the types of ICTs that farmers have access to and the dissemination of agriculture information through various ICTs. Findings indicate that the characteristics of ICTs explain why cell phone and radio use is prevalent, while access to television remains limited. The type of information accessed also varied by ICT type, …

Livestock-Livelihood Linkages In Uganda: The Benefits For Women And Rural Households?, Elizabeth Ransom, Carmen Bain, Iim Halimatusa'diyah

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Livestock are an important component of rural households and gendered livelihood practices throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Widespread within the development literature is the belief in the livestock ladder, with poorer households often owning small stock and wealthier households owning large stock, with the assumption that poor households can utilize livestock to build their asset base and over time this would allow poorer households to expand from small stock to large stock, and in so doing climb the livestock ladder. There is also an assumption in the literature that women are more likely to oversee small stock. In addition, some well-known agricultural …

Effect Of Mobile Telecommunication Technologies On Globalization Of Nigerian Rural Areas, O. A. Lawal-Adebowale

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The globalization of a country is today measured with respect to indices of globalization such as the Maastricht Globalization Index (MGI) and the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF). These indices of national globalization often have an urban bias. This study however explores the extent to which these international measures include rural environments of the globalizing country. Application of the MGI/KOF indices for determination of the Nigerian rural environment inclusion in globalization showed that the country’s rural communities were mainly integrated technologically by virtue of telephony (communication technology) penetration of rural areas. An attempt to modify the MGI/KOF globalization indexes for rural inclusion showed …

Seeing Witchcraft, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

When Christians in Zambia struggle with witchcraft, they also struggle with African cultural and religious concepts that deal with life’s ambiguities and that require discernment. It is not by working against the cultural and religious heritage, but by working with it, as far as possible, that the pastor can identify the broken relationships towards which many witchcraft discourses point. However, before we place the concepts of witchcraft into the realm of superstition (as are the trends of mission Christianity) or the demonic (as are the trends of charismatic Christianity), the Church has the duty to look at the concepts, stay …

A “Hammer Held Over Their Heads”: Voluntary Conservation Spurred By The Prospect Of Regulatory Enforcement In Oregon, Katherine L. Wollstein, Emily Jane Davis

Human–Wildlife Interactions

When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) did not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2015, the agency recognized a coordinated effort of private landowners, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and state and federal agencies that effectively reduced threats to the species. This effort exemplified an alternative model to species conservation that relies on voluntary conservation of private landowners to preclude government regulation. Through one in-depth case study of private landowners’ voluntary sage-grouse conservation efforts in Lake County, Oregon, we explored features of these voluntary arrangements that motivate participating private …

Stasi Brainwashing In The Gdr 1957 - 1990, Jacob H. Solbrig, Jacob Hagen Solbrig

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods used by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), more commonly known as the Stasi, or East German secret police, for extraction of information from citizens of the German Democratic Republic for the purpose of espionage and covert operations inside East Germany, as it pertains to the deliberate brainwashing of East German citizens. As one of the most efficient intelligence agencies to ever exist, the Stasi’s main purpose was to monitor the population, gather intelligence, and collect or turn informants. They used brainwashing techniques to control the people of the GDR, keeping the populace paralyzed with fear …

Tattoo For Life And Afterlife, Kimberly Chin

Capstones

Man has searched for ways to live forever from time immemorial. But a curious group of tattoo enthusiasts developed a way to preserve one’s tattoo skin (at the least) post-mortem. Here’s a cultural exploration of a small albeit growing trend in which people’s perception of tattoos, burial rites and how to commemorate loved ones is examined and re-examined.

https://kimberlychin.atavist.com/tattoo-skin-preservation-capstone

Of Rats And Men, Thomas S. Walsh

Capstones

This capstone is a data-driven investigation into New York City's rat problem. By using publicly available government data to map rat activity in NYC, I identified several socio-economic variables that correlate with rat populations at the community district, borough, and city-scale. I used these findings (mainly that rat problems are linked to lower incomes) as the basis of an investigation, which includes interviews with residents, experts, and city officials. Prof. Bobby Corrigan, urban rodentologist and formerly with the NYC Department of Health criticizes the city's efforts for the first time on the record.

https://thomasseiyawalsh.wixsite.com/ratstone

Guns And Sorcery: Raiding, Trading, And Kanaima Among The Makushi, James Andrew Whitaker

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

Raiding, trading, and sorcery are historically-interrelated phenomena among the Makushi Amerindians in Guyana. Colonial documents reveal that the Makushi were heavily targeted during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by Luso-Brazilian and Amerindian slavers. The form of such slaving frequently fluctuated between raiding and trading and formed a nexus around which practices of sorcery came to be centred. A connexion between the historical positions of the Makushi as victims of slaving and practitioners of kanaima sorcery has been identified by Neil Whitehead, who hypothesized that kanaima practices gained socially-sanctioned applications as the introduction of guns led to transformations in traditional …

Persuasive Kinship: Human–Plant Relations In Southwest Amazonia, Fabiana Maizza

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

Based on my ethnographic research with the Jarawara people, an indigenous society in the Southwest Amazonia, the article explores the idea of thinking kinship as persuasion. Among the Jarawara, children can have more than one father, which is well known in Americanist literature, but there would exist as well an original practice what we could call "multi-maternity". I also observe that the Jarawara can have diverse parental relations - some of their children are human, while others are plants. This occurs in a system of raising (nayana) in which children and plants are raised by a father and/or a mother …

Canela Shamanism: Shamans’ Accounts, “Journeying,” And Delimitation Of Shamanic Terms, William H. Crocker

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

In this article I recount the stories of various shamans I have worked with throughout many decades of fieldwork among the Ramkokamekra-Canela (Eastern Timbira) of central Maranhão state, Brazil. Along with their narratives, I provide ethnographic context in order to address the following questions: (1) Who is a shaman? (2) What is shamanism? Is shamanism better understood (3) as a process or a method that is carried out to achieve certain ends, or is it better understood (4) as a particular set of beliefs associated with particular cultures? Additionally, (5) are altered or shamanic states of consciousness found in Canela …

Inside The Grassroots Money Machine, Elizabeth Tung

Capstones

In the year since Donald Trump’s election, grassroots canvassing groups have generated millions of dollars for nonprofits like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. These groups’ growing profile correlates with a post-election spike in liberal giving, and the rise of face-to-face fundraising in the US. But despite their progressive affiliations, several groups have come under fire for abusive labor practices and a lack of financial transparency. This piece looks at two of the biggest players in the canvassing industry, the Fund for the Public Interest and Grassroots Campaigns. Both groups are headed by the same person - a man named Doug …

Transformations Of The Turkish Headscarf: An Exploration Of The Political Meaning, Socio-Economic Impact, Cultural Influence, And The Art And Craft Of The Hijab, Kelsey Gabrielle Leuenberger

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The wearing of hijab by Muslim women is a divisive issue around the world. The history of veiling by Turkish women is important because it is so controversial and because of its global relevance in contexts of economics, politics, and culture. The headscarf, as a form of art and power, has significant influence on the freedoms of women. The goal of this research project is to elevate Western understanding of Turkish women’s headscarf veiling as it is located in economic, political, cultural, and socio-historical contexts and as it intersects with artistic influence and design. This research on the contradictions and …

Sustaining Autonomous Communities In The Modern United States (The United Communities Of America), Lucas Hester

Senior Theses

America has become industrialized and characterized by social anxiety and overconsumption. The inability to be sustainable has led the once plentiful and flourishing nation into an ongoing sustainability crisis. Even if there is a deep connection between them, this essay focuses on social sustainability rather than ecological. It argues for an intentional community-based framework to keep American life sustainable. Pollution, civil unrest, and intense social anxiety create unfulfilling life conditions for many American citizens. Using examples from modern American intentional communities, I will explain the need for self-directing, close-knit communities. Flourishing community members, as it will be considered from sociological …

Heritage And Identity Of Indigenous Peoples A Comparative Study Of American Indians And Bedouins Of Jordan, Louis Quinn Intres

Student Theses and Dissertations

Humankind is represented by an ever changing number of people groupings which are distinguishable as unique from one another by physical traits, ancestry, and genetics. We acknowledged our differences by the use of terms denoting race, ethnicity, skin color, geography, and innumerable other factors. The variances between and among cultures and civilizations easily identifies our many differences but also adds value to the human race as a whole. We also have much in common. Intrinsic to our common human-ness are the questions we each ask of ourselves: Who am I? Why am I here? What is my role in society? …

The True Cost: The Bitter Truth Behind Fast Fashion, Zeynep Ozdamar-Ertekin

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The True Cost is a documentary about the clothes we wear, the people who make them and the impact the industry has on the environment, the society, and the workers. It shows us the dark and grim side of global fast fashion supply chain. The review provides the main highlights of the film and summarizes the human, social and environmental costs of the industry. A number of counter-examples are included to show how people can make a difference and there can be a better way of making clothes. The current fast fashion model is all about profit. It does not …

Orbits Of Contemporary Globalization, A. Fuat Fırat

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Contrary to the commonly accepted view, human beings were global (i.e., migratory and without borders) to begin with and then localized as they started to reduce hunting and gathering and got into agriculture and animal husbandry. When they were migratory, humans exchanged genes, tools, cultures – in effect, they were already globalizing. In the second part of this commentary, I analyze the contemporary conditions of globalization. I suggest that today we are experiencing a market centered iconographic culture; and the possibilities for richer and more inclusive symbolic cultures exist, and need to be cultivated.

Globalization: Mere Hiccup, Major Convulsion Or Mega Transformation?, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Vincent De Paul And The Empowerment Of Women, Louise Sullivan

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The year 2017, marking the 400th Anniversary of the birth of the Vincentian Charism, has proven to be one of celebration for the entire Vincentian Family. While thousands of women are taking part in these celebrations around the world, the role women played in the birth and development of the charism is often overlooked. To do so however, is to miss a singularly significant aspect of Vincent de Paul’s genius, namely, the mission of charity he confided to the laity and particularly to women. Vincent de Paul’s life and his works would become what they were and what they continue …

Lessons For Legalizing Love: A Case Study Of The Naz Foundation's Campaign To Decriminalize Homosexuality In India, Preston G. Johnson

Capstone Collection

In 1860, British colonizers codified Section 377 into the Indian Penal Code. 377 is an anti-sodomy law based on Victorian/Judeo-Christian values which criminalizes homosexuality through judicial interpretation and the manipulation of ambiguous language. On August 15^th, 2017, India celebrated 70 years of independence from British control, yet 377 still exerts oppressive control over the safety and freedom of Indian LGBTQI communities. Defining queerness as perversion has caused LGBTQI individuals to become victims of false accusations, blackmail, harassment, housing and workplace discrimination, familial rejection, forced “conversion therapy”, assault, rape, torture, and even murder because of this power imbalance and …

Hyperhomocysteinemia-Induced Gene Expression Changes In The Cell Types Of The Brain, Erica M. Weekman, Abigail E. Woolums, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Donna M. Wilcock

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

High plasma levels of homocysteine, termed hyperhomocysteinemia, are a risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, which is the second leading cause of dementia. While hyperhomocysteinemia induces microhemorrhages and cognitive decline in mice, the specific effect of hyperhomocysteinemia on each cell type remains unknown. We took separate cultures of astrocytes, microglia, endothelial cells, and neuronal cells and treated each with moderate levels of homocysteine for 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr. We then determined the gene expression changes for cell-specific markers and neuroinflammatory markers including the matrix metalloproteinase 9 system. Astrocytes had decreased levels of several astrocytic end feet …

Linkages Among Population, Food Production, And The Environment At Multiple Scales, Daniel Ervin Ph.D., Daniel López-Carr Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Human population, its number and distribution on our planet, has a seemingly direct linkage to how much food we consume and how we practice agriculture. How this population-foodenvironment interface manifests across the globe is complex, non-linear, and both local- and scale-dependent. This essay is an overview of the population-food-environment nexus, providing recent history and statistics on these processes at several crude scales. We include a discussion of theory, review different drivers of the population-food-environment processes, provide a global overview of population and agricultural statistics from 1970 to 2010, and discuss trends and implications for Latin America, as well as some …

Crehan, K. Gramsci’S Common Sense: Inequality And Its Narratives. Durham, Nc: Duke University Press, 2016., Faisal Chaudhry Jd, Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Media, Family, And Friends: Normative Environment And Global Citizenship Identification, Stephen Reysen Ph.D., Iva Katzarska-Miller Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Prior research has shown that Bulgarian participants report greater global normative environment and identification with global citizens than U.S. participants; it has also shown that the relationship between country sample (U.S. vs. Bulgaria) and global citizenship identification is mediated by the perception that one’s normative environment promotes a global citizen identity. In Study 1 of the present research, we examined the number of global (vs. domestic stories) in U.S. and Bulgarian print media to find a greater number of global stories in Bulgarian media. In Study 2, Bulgarians’ frequency of media consumption was associated with self-reported global citizenship identification, and …