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A Danza De Las Tijeras Continuidad Dinámica Y Reivindicación De La Identidad Indígena Andina / Dance Of The Scissors Dynamic Continuity And Reclamation Of Andean Indigenous Identity, Cinthia Durán

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project aims to analyze the contemporary ways in which the Dance of Scissors is practiced and reproduced to determine if its continuity outside the place of origin, with all the modifications that it has experienced, can be considered a form of cultural resistance. Resistance in this context is addressed in two specific ways: as a dynamic continuity of Andean indigenous identity and as a tool of cultural vindication. To achieve this goal, during the work period the research methodology consisted of interviewing dancers and scissors musicians; be a participant as observer of skills and essays of Tijeras dancers …

The Perceived Mental Health Effects Of China’S One-Child Policy, Avery Rasmussen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study looked at the perceived impacts of China’s 30 year One-Child Policy (OCP). Previous studies suggested the OCP affected Chinese culture and society in a number of ways, however no studies (to the knowledge of the principal investigator) had looked at perceptions of the effects of the OCP on anxiety levels and other mental health issues of students in China. This study sought to fill the aforementioned knowledge gap and aimed to determine perceptions about the mental health effects of the OCP on students. Specifically, this study endeavored to gain a better understanding of perceptions of the effects of …

Russia's Northern Rook: Nord Stream 2 On The European Energy Chessboard, David E. Wilson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline proposes to connect Germany to the world’s largest natural gas reserves in Russia, allowing the state-owned Russian energy behemoth Gazprom to double its export capacity through the ‘Northern Corridor’ transit route to Europe. This project has been the subject of sharp disapproval from Central and Eastern European countries, as well as the United States, which fear the prospect of increasing dependence on gas imports from a Russia perceived as politically aggressive and unreliable. This paper will identify the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 by adopting a geostrategic worldview …

Managing Health In All The Helpers: A Survey Of Mental Health Services For Humanitarian Aid Workers, Erin Mercado

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Humanitarianism has been a long-standing principle of helping those in need. However, the work of providing such assistance is not an easy feat. Humanitarian work is mentally taxing because of the high daily demands of the job as well as the potential for exposure to direct and secondary traumatization. These mental health risks can manifest into the mental health disorders if the stressors of the job are not well managed by individual aid workers and by the humanitarian organizations. The most common mental health disorders experienced by aid workers are depression, anxiety, burnout, and PTSD. Research into mental health and …

Rehabilitation And Reintegration Of Genocide Ex-Prisoners: Understanding The Correctional Role Of Prisons In Rwanda, Lulu Abdun

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After the Genocide Against the Tutsi in 1994, over 120,000 people were imprisoned in Rwanda for the perpetration of genocide. Twenty-three years after the Genocide, numerous genocide ex-prisoners have been released. Throughout their prison time and after their release, rehabilitation and reintegration programming has been available. This paper looks at the rehabilitation and reintegration programming available to genocide ex-prisoners, the success and challenges they currently face or have previously faced, and recommendations for reforms for the future prison/rehabilitation/reintegration process. This paper also examines the correctional role of prisons in Rwanda and how that contributes to successful reintegration. From interviewing genocide …

Mental Illness Stigma, Socially Acceptable Treatment, And Barriers To Health, Frances Renee Gellert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper discusses the topic of mental illness stigma and treatment in Uganda as explored through internship in the Social Work Department at Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital. The objectives of this project were to complete a meaningful internship while exploring causes of mental illness in Uganda, contradictions between traditional and modern approaches to treatment, and the affect of stigma on mental well-being. The internship included a total of 120 hours at Butabika Hospital. Individual research using documentary and literature review methods accompanied the internship. Butabika Hospital did not consent to the completion of formal research at, so any conclusions …

Ignorance Is Bliss: The Impacts Of International Travel And Education On Political Beliefs, Kyle Decker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This ISP examines the link between international travel and selected political beliefs. While the literature on the political effects of international travel are almost non-existent, many works exist that link increased education to higher political skepticism. In this study, we test the theory that international travel can be interpreted as education, and thus can have the same effect of engendering political skepticism.

This theory is tested using a survey which was distributed at various locations in Amman, Jordan. The survey first asked about the respondent’s basic demographical information, education level and international travel history. The political questions focused on two …

Reaching For The Heart: An Analysis Of Language As A Weapon Of Empathy For Three Capetonians, Sarah Mcdonald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this paper, I examine the role that cross-cultural language study plays in the lives of three Capetonians in order to explore its capacity to foster empathy between people of different backgrounds. Framed in the context of South African history and modern academic discourse around language use in educational and public spaces in the country, I present the stories of my three interviewees and analyze particular experiences that they relayed in order to trace trends of empathy and understanding through their language use.

Through my discussion of this qualitative data, I reach the conclusion that language can be an effective …

The Power Dynamics Of Language: An Analysis Of The Positionality Of Amazigh Language In Morocco, Jessica Schwed

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2001, in an unprecedented act, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, stated in a speech that he would take actions to create an organization dedicated to the protection of Amaizgh language and culture. A few months later, he issued a royal Dahair that created the Insitut Royale de la Culture Amazighe (IRCAM), an organization that was tasked with protecting the Amazigh language and culture, as well as, advising King Mohammed VI on all matters related to Amazigh language and culture. The creation of this institution led to the start of a standardization process, whereby the IRCAM has committed to creating …

Un Vistazo Interior Al Sistema Educativo Público De Managua: Las Voces De Estudiantes, Padres Y Maestros, Karla Barron

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Public education is a complex topic that is impossible to fully comprehend due to its lack of uniformity on both a local and international level. In the United States, the quality of public education has a strong correlation to the socioeconomic status of the community it is located in. Experts in Nicaragua have extensively studied the public education system and have come to conclusions about its inability to properly prepare students for higher education, both in city and rural environments. This qualitative research study seeks to understand the current standing of the public education system for students at the secondary …

“Uno Es Palestino Por El Orgullo” Palestinian Assimilation And Identity In Nicaragua., Eric Thornton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Palestinians have been immigrating to Nicaragua and throughout Central America since the early 20th-century, and they have formed their own small community in Managua. The first generation of immigrants from Palestine arrived without any support from the Nicaraguan government, and had to rely on the community for survival. However, the second generation has been brought up in a different Nicaragua than their parents faced and now encounters a new set of challenges in preserving their identity and becoming part of mainstream Nicaraguan society. This paper seeks to investigate the outcomes of assimilation of the second generation of Palestinian-Nicaraguans. In addition, …

The Roles Of Activism And Citizen Science In The Area Covered By The East Gippsland Regional Forest Agreement, Ian Corbet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For this Independent Study Project, I have examined the roles of activism and citizen science under the East Gippsland Regional Forestry Act. I conducted the study in the hopes of understanding better how activists have contributed to the overall conservation of the forests of East Gippsland. As the government has recently extended the twenty year agreement for another year, I wanted to determine if the real stakeholders of the conservation movement were taken into account. I sought the perspectives of people involved in the either the administration, implementation or opposition to the RFA. This ended up being eight people in …

An Analysis Of Positive Coping Mechanisms Utilized To Overcome Trauma In Post-Genocidal Rwanda, Danielle Marvin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From April 7th to July 1st of 1994, one million Rwandan people were brutally murdered by their friends and neighbors in the meticulously planned and government-sponsored Genocide against the Tutsi. Survivors witnessed killings and sexual assault, had their lives threatened, lost multiple family members, and hid under dead bodies to evade the killers. To make matters worse, trust within communities and even within families was destroyed as Hutu perpetrators turned against Tutsis they had, days earlier, been inviting to family events. After the genocide, PTSD rates among adults in Rwanda were estimated at 20.5% for men and 30% for women …

Czech Artivism: The Function Of Activist Art In Czech Political Culture, Kristen Fontaine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research endeavors to explore the ways in which activist art functions within the context of the Czech Republic’s political culture. In a society where art had such a significant influence during the transition to democracy, the activist role of art is emphasized minimally in terms of contemporary culture. The main objective of exploring this function results in a threetiered methodology, utilizing secondary sources, direct observation, and interviews with activist artists themselves. The relevant scholarly literature discusses activist art both in the general sense, as well as within the context of post-communist countries. However, individual interviews with local activist artists …

Water, Sanitation And Hygiene In Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, Katelyn Bergl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Challenges And Successes Of Adolescent Reproductive Healthcare And Education In Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil, Elana Margosis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this project, I discuss the impact of social, medical, and political factors on the reproductive healthcare of adolescents in Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil. I collected qualitative data through formal interviews with public health professionals in the Sistema Única de Saúde (SUS), the Brazilian public health system, and through observations of clinic and home visits. Due to ethical concerns, I did not conduct formal interviews with the patients, were not of legal age. I focused on prevention of pregnancy and STI transmission of adolescents as metrics with which to measure sexual health. I gathered information with the intention to understand SUS’ …

¿Trabajando Juntos? La Dinámica De La Relación Entre Movimiento Estudiantil Y Movimiento Docente De 2014-2015 / Working Together? The Dynamics Of The Relationship Between Student Movement And Teacher Movement 2014-2015, Klielle Glanzberg-Krainin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación explora la relación entre movimiento estudiantil y movimiento docente en período de movilizaciones por demandas educativas. Para investigar esta relación, este proyecto se centra en los años 2014-2015 como un estudio de caso, porque durante esos años, hubo una movilización docente grande, y casi al mismo tiempo hubo una movilización estudiantil. Por eso, es viable la pregunta acerca de si existía una relación y si existió, cómo fue a través de estos movimientos, porque estaban sucediendo simultáneamente. Este proyecto se realizó a través de entrevistas con personas que estaban involucradas con los movimientos. Después de recopilar toda la …

Un Rescate Incompleto: Los Éxitos Y Limitaciones Del Programa De Educación Intercultural Bilingüe Como Un Proyecto Anticolonialista / An Incomplete Rescue: The Successes And Limitations Of The Bilingual Intercultural Education Program As An Anticolonialist Project, Aviva Thal

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is an exploration of the Bilingual Intercultural Education Program (EIB) mandated in Chilean schools with a high density of indigenous students. It focusses on the implementation and impacts of EIB in Putre, a small town in the Arica and Parinacota region of Chile where the majority of the residents are Aymara. After gaining the region in the War of the Pacific at the end of the 19th century, the Chilean government waged a violent campaign of forced cultural assimilation known as “Chilenization” against the local Aymara people. The effects of the linguistic repression that occurred during this period …

“Que Rica...”: Sexualización Y Exotificación De Mujeres Migrantes Y Sus Experiencias Y Percepciones En El Centro Urbano De Santiago / "How Rich ...": Sexualization And Exotification Of Migrant Women And Their Experiences And Perceptions In The Urban Center Of Santiago, Alexandra Barton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration to Chile has been increasing every year since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship. The recent migration to Chile is feminized and centralized to the urban center of Santiago and surrounding areas. Current migrations trends in Chile are also including a wider range of immigrants, especially an increase of afro-latina women. These women tend to experience more discrimination, racism and sexism than the average Chilean woman. Previous studies and colonial theory demonstrate a history of the sexualization and exotification of migrant woman, especially in women of color due to the processes of colonization, euroization and racialization. Many migrant women …

La Lucha Por Kimsakocha: Resistencia Contra La Minería En Azuay, Ecuador \ The Struggle For Kimsakocha: Resistance Against Mining In Azuay, Ecuador, Lydia Petroske

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En Ecuador, hay una “reprimarización” de la economía, un fenómeno por el que se produce una creciente dependencia en exportaciones de productos primarios como recursos no renovables. Este fenómeno ha sido acompañado con una retórica estatal sobre pobreza y deuda social. Para el gobierno del estado, la industria extractiva es parte importante de su estrategia y retórica para hacer inversión social y combatir la pobreza, lo cual ha justificado una rápida expansión del sector extractivista. En el sur de Ecuador, la gente de las parroquias de Victoria del Portete y Tarqui ha estado luchando por más de 15 años contra …

Las Ofrendas A La Tierra En Un Mundo Global \ Offerings To Land In A Global World, Alison Wuensch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación aborda si las ofrendas a la Pachamama en el Cusco responden a la desvalorización de las culturas andinas en un mundo globalizado por el turismo, la globalización, la modernización, y la urbanización. El turismo místico en el Perú ha crecido desde las noventas con la promoción del estado peruano de la cultura viva, y una de las ceremonias andinas más importantes es la ofrenda a la Pachamama. El objetivo era identificar y explicar los efectos del turismo, la globalización, la modernización, y la urbanización en las ofrendas a la Pachamama según los chamanes y la observación. Fui a …

Kali Gandaki: The Road From Lower Mustang To A Global Food Market, Austin Van Wart

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Development in Nepal continues to be a major issue in both metropolitan and rural areas of the country. Of the many obstacles standing in the way of this objective, one of the most challenging is the mountainous geography that shapes the country’s lands, culture, and people. To overcome this obstacle, Nepal has followed many other developing countries by making rural road development a main priority in hopes of increasing connectivity, travel, trade, education, and accessibility to other benefits. One such example of this is the Kali Gandaki road in Lower Mustang.

The purpose of this research paper is to identify …

The Business Of Brandy: The Changing Roles Of Women In Apple Brandy Production In Lower Mustang, Nepal, Madeline Sachs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Lower Mustang, Nepal is famous across the country for its well-known trekking circuit and an agricultural climate especially suitable to apple cultivation. Home to the indigenous Thakali ethnic group, the region was made accessible by motor vehicle via the Jomsom-Beni road just ten years ago. While before the road transportation of fresh apples was nearly impossible, necessitating the production of dried apples and apple brandy, now farmers make a lucrative profit off of high demand throughout the country. Additionally, the production of apple brandy has boomed, and the region has four to six distilleries in production at any one time. …

Developed Toast, Modern Laundry: Nepali Household Appliance Discourses, Maureen Mccord

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates discourses of modernity, globalization, class identity, and social change in Kathmandu, Nepal, through the lens of ten Nepali women’s purchase and usage of home appliances. Four weeks of ethnographic research sought to identify prevailing practices and attitudes toward household appliances in the city, situating them in broader discourses of globalization, modernity, class identity, and social change. The project is composed of participant observation in Nepali homes, including informal interviews, with project participants sourced from my own social network. My collaborators’ practices and opinions on appliances engage discourses of the developmentalist and modernizing South Asian state, fluid and …

Power To The Period: The Role Of Menstruation In Nepal’S Formal Workplace, Johannah Mitchell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Within the greater context of Nepal, menstruation is a topic that has long-held significance as a taboo topic due to religious and cultural connotations. However, over the past five years, there has been a push in Nepali schools to acknowledge menstruation and menstrual hygiene management as legitimate aspects of health curriculums. This is a great step forward for the country, but also begs the question of whether this educational movement is being recognized in other areas of society, such as the formal workplace. Through discussion with various individuals- from government officers to healthcare employees- this research examines attitudes towards menstruation, …

Remembering Negdels: Nostalgia, Memory & Soviet-Era Herding Collectives, Maya Sutton-Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the socialist period Mongolia’s nomadic herders were grouped into collective herding units called negdels. Today, over twenty years after Mongolia transitioned to democracy, herding has been privatized completely and negdels are a distant memory. This study explores the history of negdels by conducting twenty-five oral interviews with herders about their memories of collective herding. This study focuses on a soum in the Mongolian countryside, Bayandelger, while also incorporating interviews with people from Ulaanbaatar. Bayandelger is a unique location for this project because it was selected by the Soviets to receive assistance in an effort to make it a model …

Barriers To The Diffusion Of Renewable Energy Technology In Mongolia Lee, Madeline Academic Director: Sanjaasuren, Ulziijargal Claremont Mckenna College International Relations Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, Salkhit, Hatgal Nomadism, Geopolitics, And The Environment Sit Study Abroad Spring, Madeline Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the international community looks promote sustainable development in developing countries, many policies have focused on the introduction of renewable energy technology (RET). For Mongolia specifically, RET is both a viable and optimal option, considering the country’s vast natural resources and the unsustainability of the country’s existing energy system. However, Mongolia has faced challenges with the development of its RET sector and still largely relies on international assistance and funding to develop largescale projects.

This study analyzes the barriers that Mongolia faces to the effective diffusion of RET into Mongolian society. Over the course of four weeks, 10 individuals were …

Access To Information And Services Regarding Maternal Health And Healthcare Within Tribal Communities Around Udaipur, Rajasthan, Arista Jhanjee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following study seeks to investigate access to antenatal and delivery-related services and information among women residing in rural, tribal communities around Udaipur, Rajasthan, and to analyze determinants that affect such access. More specifically, it seeks to evaluate one determinant in particular: that of association with and use of the services provided by the nonprofit organization Seva Mandir, which works with rural communities throughout southern Rajasthan in order to facilitate the improvement of health and development activities and outcomes. Methods used for the collection of the data upon which the study draws were qualitative: interviews were conducted with 27 women …

Daycare, Decision-Making, And The Determinants Of Health: A Mother-Centric Approach To Understanding Childcare And Child Health In Rural Dharamshala, Arielle Rawlings

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Indian children have long suffered from some of the world’s worst rates of malnutrition. However, there is an evident mismatch between the macro proliferation of India’s intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and the micro ways in which it is often approached, as established views that place blame on mothers for the poor health status of their children have systematically removed blame from underlying structural determinants of health such as government policies, social inequalities, and economic conditions. Taking a mother-centric approach, this study examines the links between childcare practices and maternal decisionmaking in the context of Dharamshala, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh. Interviews …

Agrarian Reform In Sumber Klampok, Emma Trainor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agrarian reform in Indonesia is part of a movement beginning after independence was gained in 1945. Farmers have been fighting to obtain rights to their land from a government that has a history of violence, repression, and corruption for decades. Environmental, indigenous peoples’, peasant, and agrarian movements were given a legitimate, legal framework to work within after 1960 when the Basic Agrarian Law was passed, protecting the rights of the people to their land. However, during both the Old Order and especially New Order regimes, the law was often ignored by the government, and many grassroots organizations had to work …