Digital Commons Network^™

Our Food Sovereignty And Well Living In The Peruvian High Plains, Eliana Apaza

South South Forum 南南論壇

We the aymara people in the region of Puno in Peru, consider that everyone’s life is important, that is why our life is based in living as a community with everything that surrounds us. One of the main activities of our people is the growth of agricultural diversity, focused mainly in the potato, the broad beans, the quinoa, the barley and other crops, each one is planted and cultivated in an specific way and it is consumed in a different way. The families cultivate with a loving raise, before, they used to do a ritual to ask for permission to …

Economic Resilience : Including A Case Study Of The Global Transition Network, Julie Richardson

South South Forum 南南論壇

This paper explores the dynamic properties of organisms and ecosystems that make them so resilient and capable of adapting to changing circumstances, allowing them to maintain an overall condition of coherence, wholeness and health while living in balance within the resources of the planet. Key principles of resilient ecological systems are explored including: self-regulation; positive and negative feedback; diversity; scale and context; cooperation; emergence and novelty; and ecological tipping points. In contrast, market based economic systems can produce unstable growth with unintended destruction of cultural and species diversity and homogenisation of global life-styles. The paper re-examines fundamental economic principles using …

“Mongolian Octopus—Its Grip On Australia”, Ron Thornton

History First-Year Seminar Research

Published in the Sydney based The Bulletin Magazine on August 21, 1886, “The Mongolian Octopus – His Grip on Australia” cartoon was pointedly used as a form of propaganda against Mongolian & Chinese immigration. The cartoon illustrates an octopus with a human head and eight outstretched arms. On each of these arms is a different term, such as typhoid or immorality. These terms, along with the octopus itself, all portrayed racist views of Chinese and Mongolian immigrants.

On The Social Construction Of Hellenism Cold War Narratives Of Modernity, Development And Democracy For Greece, Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

Hellenism is one of those overarching, ever-changing narratives always subject to historical circumstances, intellectual fashions and political needs. Conversely, it is fraught with meaning and conditioning powers, enabling and constraining imagination and practical life. In this essay I tease out the hold that the idea of Hellas has had on post-war Greece and I explore the ways in which the American anti-communist rhetoric and discussions about political and economic stabilization appropriated and rearticulated Hellenism. Central to this history of transformations are the archaeologists; the archaeologists as intellectuals, as producers of culture who, while stepping in and out of their disciplinary …

Morphological Features Of The Proximal Femur: Investigations Of Habitual Activities, Sex And Health In A Bronze Age Population From The Arabian Peninsula, Animikha Dutt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bronze Age sites on the Arabian Peninsula are relatively rare. The undisturbed nature of Tell Abraq, located in the United Arab Emirates, is significant since it represents one of the longest known occupied settlement sites dating from the 3rd millennium BC to the 1st century AD. This site has revealed an undisturbed communal tomb that was used for approximately 200 years (2200-2000 BC), housing commingled and disarticulated human remains of at least 286 adults and 127 subadults. The strategic coastal position of Tell Abraq, at the intersection of several major cultural centers, allowed its people to actively participate in world …

Exploring Reasons Why Men And Women Refrain From Sex Despite Desire, Alessandra Lanti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sexual behavior has been found to be an unreliable referent for sexual desire. Numerous studies have found that sexual activity is motivated by a range of non-desire related factors, from the promotion of intimacy to the seeking of new experiences. Sexual desire may also be an unreliable predictor of sexual activity. There is a dearth of research, however, on the reasons why individuals choose not to have sex despite the presence of desire for a willing partner. The main aim of this study is to qualitatively investigate the reasons why people refrain from sex when they feel desire for a …

Sociosexuality, Mate Preferences, And Sex Steroid Hormone Levels Among Breastfeeding Women In Manila, Michelle Escasa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project investigates the influence of lactation on female sociosexuality and mate preferences in urban Manila, a population with long-term breastfeeding, low contraceptive use, and quick return to ovulatory cycling. Physiological and evolutionary considerations suggest that lactating women face important life history allocation trade-offs between mating and parenting effort that may be manifest in their sociosexual behavior and mate preferences. Breastfeeding (n=155) and control (n=105) women were recruited to provide a saliva sample (for testosterone and estradiol analyses), complete a questionnaire, and complete a face and voice preference task to determine preferences for masculinity. Breastfeeding women reported differences in commitment …

How Now Shall We Consume: Widening Conception Of Political Consumption And Analysis Of The American Buyer, John Patton Chew

Masters Theses

As consumption of goods has risen, it has increasingly become a space for political activists to brand products and for the everyday consumer to voice their opinion on how businesses should be run. Through the practices of buycotting and boycotting political consumers have increasingly been able to show their support for issues as diverse as gay rights, environmental issues, funding for disease cures, and American based products.

This study attempts to gain an understanding of how prevalent political consumption is and of who are political consumers. The findings show that a large percentage of the population is knowledgeable and active …

Population Dynamics In Predynastic Upper Egypt: Paleodemography Of Cemetery Hk43 At Hierakonpolis, Ernest King Batey Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The site of Hierakonpolis is considered to have played an important role in the development of the Egyptian state, which formed at end of the fourth millennium BC. Archaeological evidence suggests that, for the Middle and Late Predynastic periods (ca. 3900-3200 BC), Hierakonpolis may be characterized as having experienced the following: a growth in both settlement and population size, an increased reliance on cereal agriculture, development of craft specialization, and the presence of a Social hierarchy as interpreted from an observed increase in the differentiation of mortuary behavior. Historical data suggest that these Social and economic changes would have affected …

Civic Ecology: Living Community Systems For Sustainability, Tim Smith

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Civic Ecology is a stakeholder-driven, whole systems framework for creating sustainable communities. The framework focuses on empowering citizens of all ages, cultures, and abilities to envision, create, and manage their community’s unique “software” -- the integrated energy, nutrient, water, waste, material, and food systems, as well as economic flows and cultural interactions that animate their place. Exploring and supporting these flows allows communities to enhance their local wealth (environmental, economic, and social), resilience, and competitiveness, and help them take control of designing and managing their future through collaboration and innovation. The Civic Ecology framework can be the foundation upon which …

There's No Place Like Home: How Residential Attributes Affect Family Functioning, Carly Marie Thornock

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which actual (e.g., density and openness) and perceptual (e.g., crowding and distance) elements of the spatial home environment act as predictors of family functioning. Data were gathered from 126 families whose child was attending a university’s preschool/kindergarten facility in a mid-sized community in the Western United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM, AMOS 19.0) was employed to examine the strength of the relationships within the model. Results showed that though actual home items (specifically density and great room openness) affect family functioning outcomes, perceived crowding was especially influential as a …

Social Evolution, Gerald Gaus, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"It is a mater of dispute how far back evolutionary explanations of social order should be traced. Evolutionary ideas certainly appear in the work of the ancient Greek philosophers, but it seems reasonable to identify the origins of modern evolutionary thinking in the eighteenth century natural histories of civil society such as Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men (1750, Part III), Adam Ferguson’s An Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767), and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776, Book III). In these eighteenth century works, the explanation of current social institutions as an unplanned …

Transcription And Analysis Of Qualitative Data In A Study Of Women Who Sexually Offended Against Children, Elizabeth Anne Mcnulty

The Qualitative Report

Research on sexual violence is often conducted within the qualitative paradigm. However, many writers have described the lack of specific detail provided with regard to decisions and processes involved in transcribing and analyzing this type of data. In this article, I will provide a description and discussion of the organization, categorization, and analysis of in-depth interviews in a recent study of women who sexually abused children. The study revealed common experiences of sexual and other abuse in the women’s childhood and adult relationships. These experiences created vulnerabilities that appeared to play a significant role in the women’s offenses. Although abused …

The Economic Impact Of Latin American & Other Immigrants Iowa, Nebraska And The Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area, Christopher Decker, Jerry Deichert, Lourdes Gouveia

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

Although recent research from the Pew Hispanic Center suggests that the rate of recent immigration to the United States has slowed considerably, other studies clearly show that immigrants make substantial economic contributions to the communities in which they settle.

This report focuses attention on the quantitative economic impact of first-generation, foreign-born individuals on the Omaha-Council Bluffs economy as well as the Nebraska and Iowa state economies in 2010.

Fall/Winter 2012, Full Issue

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

Damian Howard. Being Human In Islam: The Impact Of The Evolutionary Worldview. London & New York: Routledge. 2011., Martin Riexinger Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

“The American Bottom: The Bar, Between The Levees And The River”, Quinta Scott

The Confluence (2009-2020)

This third installment of Quinta Scott’s work examining the Mississippi River environment looks at those narrow, man-made spaces between levees and the river, and the life within.

Lower Nutritional Status And Higher Food Insufficiency In Frail Older Us Adults, Ellen Smit, Kerri M. Winters-Stone, Paul D. Loprinzi, Alice M. Tang, Carlos J. Crespo

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Frailty is a state of decreased physical functioning and a significant complication of ageing. We examined frailty, energy and macronutrient intake, biomarkers of nutritional status and food insufficiency in US older adult (age ≥ 60 years) participants of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (4731). Frailty was defined as meeting ≥ 2 and pre-frailty as meeting one of the following four-item criteria: (1) slow walking; (2) muscular weakness; (3) exhaustion and (4) low physical activity. Intake was assessed by 24 h dietary recall. Food insufficiency was self-reported as ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ not having enough food to eat. Analyses …

N. K. Otmazgin And E. Ben-Ari. Popular Culture And The State In East And Southeast Asia. New York: Routledge. 2012., Gwenola Ricordeau Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Peter Button. Configuration Of The Real In Chinese Literary And Aesthetic Modernity. Collection Ideas, History And Modern China. Leiden: Brill Press. 2009., Florent Villard Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Women Empowerment And Community Development Through Ecotourism, Katherine S. Barry

Capstone Collection

Eco-tourism is generically and broadly considered to be a trendy topic for the privileged traveler to obtain an “authentic cultural experience”. This paper aims to disprove common misperceptions and present failures the system has created. Eco-tourism is an over-exploited and under-utilized tool in the field of sustainable development. Many resorts and “cultural” tours dominant, while local people suffer economically, social and environmentally. However, in the far-reaches of the Kakamega rainforest, there is group that is filling the environmental, social and economic gap in the field of sustainable tourism. They are the Isecheno Women’s Conservation Group, empowering and educating women to …

Village Literacy: Adult Education In Northeastern Kenya, Jodi Heidorn

Senior Honors Theses

The underdevelopment of effective adult literacy programs in Northern Kenya is a problem that must be addressed to meet the needs of a changing generation of nomadic pastoralists. Existing programs must be reevaluated in order to increase their efficiency and incorporate the unique aspects of local cultures into their design. This paper explores the broadening definition of literacy and discusses how there are in fact multiple literacies in any given culture. Next, it examines the history of education in Kenya and the barriers that may be unique to adult literacy programs in Northern Kenya. Also, it examines how changes in …

Obtaining Consumer Perceptions Of External Costs Of “Cheap” Food Products And Analyzing Quality Food Markets That Minimize External Costs In Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Jennifer Long '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Today, the United States’ food system is primarily a large industrial operation with smaller-scale community-based food systems. Although the industrial food system has benefitted society by increasing the amount of food available for every person, some of these products are “cheap” food products that generate external costs, such as poor health, potential wealth loss to farmers and environmental degradation. With over 1 billion individuals on earth undernourished and 15.8% of all U.S. households as of 2010 food insecure [Patel, 2012], this system has not completely solved food issues. Community-based food systems, on the other hand, minimize external costs …

Examining Ways To Promote Water Conservation At Golf Courses In Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Rose Kelly '13

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine ways for golf courses in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, to promote water conservation. As the demand for freshwater exponentially increases around the United States, it becomes necessary to examine current freshwater uses, especially those for recreational purposes. Golf courses are one of the largest freshwater users, with a typical course consuming hundreds of thousands of gallons every day for grass maintenance. With water shortages and insecure future water supplies, golf courses around the United States are urgently looking for ways to promote water conservation. This includes golf courses in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The severe drought …

Abolitionist Animal Rights: Critical Comparisons And Challenges Within The Animal Rights Movement, Corey Lee Wrenn

Animal Rights Movement Collection

The abolitionist movement is an emergent and radical approach to nonhuman animal rights. Calling for a complete cessation in nonhuman animal use through the abolishing of property status for nonhuman animals and an adoption of veganism and nonviolence, this approach stands in stark contrast to mainstream approaches such as humane production and welfare reform. This paper describes the goals and stances of abolitionism; the basic debate between abolitionism and other nonhuman animal rights movements; and the current state, challenges, and future prospects for abolitionism. It is argued that abolitionism, as developed by Francione, is the only morally consistent approach for …

“Modern Day Canary In The Coal Mine”, John A. Crawford

The Confluence (2009-2020)

Salamanders serve an array of functions in the Missouri environment, as this primer on amphibians by John Crawford suggests.

Carbohydrate Consumption And Fatigue: A Review, Jennifer R. Pharr

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Fatigue is a condition that negatively impacts quality of life and occurs in about twenty four percent of adults worldwide. Many factors may contribute to fatigue. One factor is the macronutrient composition of a person’s diet, particularly, the amount of simple carbohydrates. This paper is a review of the current literature and examines the relationship of carbohydrate consumption and fatigue to determine if a diet low in simple carbohydrates results in an improvement in fatigue ratings. Results of studies regarding carbohydrate consumption and fatigue vary, the preponderance demonstrate a positive relationship between simple carbohydrate consumption and fatigue. Additionally, diets low …

Understanding The Culture Of Ahiska Turks In Wheaton, Illinois: A Case Study, Omer Avci

The Qualitative Report

This study focuses on the cultural characteristics of Ahiska Turks in Wheaton, Illinois in the United States. By trying to understand the culture of the participants, I sought to shed light on how the Ahiska Turks managed to cope with the hardship they experienced and yet preserved their ethnic identities. In this multicase study, I interviewed six male Ahiska Turks. As a result of my analyses, eight themes emerged: family, religion (i.e., Islam), language (i.e., Turkish), communal life, endogamy, authoritarianism, oppression against the preservation of culture and identity, and education for upward mobility. The Ahiska Turks’ agrarian way of life, …

A Key Challenge In Global Hrm: Adding New Insights To Existing Expatriate Spouse Adjustment Models, Ritu Gupta, Pratyush Banerjee, Jighyasu Gaur

The Qualitative Report

This study is an attempt to strengthen the existing knowledge about factors affecting the adjustment process of the trailing expatriate spouse and the subsequent impact of any maladjustment or expatriate failure. We conducted a qualitative enquiry using grounded theory methodology with 26 Indian spouses who had to deal with their partner’s expatriate assignment relocation. The open and axial coding techniques and the process of theoretical sampling are discussed at length. Our investigation reveals the recurrence of several factors earlier studied in previous models such as cultural novelty, family and peer support, the organization’s support and the spouse’s personality. Additionally, we …

Chronic Disease And Risk Factors Among Nevadans With Disabilities: A 2009 Brfss Study, Jennifer R. Pharr, Sheniz Moonie

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Previous research has found that people with disabilities are more likely to have chronic diseases (coronary artery disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes), secondary conditions (high blood pressure, high cholesterol) and risk factors for chronic disease (physical inactivity and obesity) (Havercamp, Scandlin, & Roth, 2004; Kinne, Patrick, & Doyle, 2004; Nosek, Hughes, Petersen et al., 2006; Reichard, Stolzle, & Fox, 2011). The purpose of this study was to conduct a secondary analysis using data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to identify differences in chronic disease risk factors and chronic disease/ secondary conditions between adults with and without …