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Menopause – A Time For Reflection, Eve Sicurella

Journal of International Women's Studies

A woman’s post-reproductive years can bring the greatest challenges of her life as physical and psychological changes compel examination of her new role in life. The author’s own experience of this leads her to reflect on cultural perspectives and healing practices that may impact the individual experience of menopause. In the USA, physical symptoms often have been managed by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) while the psychological changes, including the subtleties of what it means to be a (re)productive part of society have just begun to be addressed. In a holistic model, factors having a positive influence on a woman’s experience …

Perspectives On Women's Studies From India: Strengths, Struggles And Implications For Programs In The U.S., Aditi Mitra, Manjeet Bhatia, Sobha Chatterjee

Journal of International Women's Studies

An important goal of Women’s Studies (WS) is the advancement of women’s rights not just locally, but on a global scale. How well this goal is accomplished will ultimately depend on the current WS curricula adapting to include international and transnational perspectives. This paper investigates how Indian-WS programs, with some comparisons to WS programs in the US, are meeting this challenge. It begins by tracing the development of WS and examines its curricula by conducting a content analysis of ten syllabi from Indian universities and offers reflections from WS practitioners in India. The research yields important insights on institutionalization of …

Female Entrepreneurship In A West African Context: Network, Improvisation And Dependency, Anniken Førde

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article addresses gender and entrepreneurship in a West African context. Through a case study of the network Les Femmes Entrepreneurs in Ngaoundéré, North Cameroon, gendered spaces and how these are being articulated, maintained and changed are analysed. The Cameroonian female entrepreneurs have a broad understanding of entrepreneurship, including all kinds of improvisation to survive and fight poverty. The network consists of women performing a multitude of activities, using Les Femmes Entrepreneurs as a social and economic safety net as well as to gain access to international financial support. Their entrepreneurial practices challenge established narratives of entrepreneurship. It is argued …

Sex And Selfhood: What Feminist Philosophy Can Learn From Recent Ethnography In Ho Chi Minh City, Mathew A. Foust

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article explores the connection of class dynamics to the moral agency of sex workers and their clients. It revisits the analyses of several contemporary feminist theorists, placing these analyses in dialogue with a recent ethnographic study of the sex work industry in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In light of this comparative analysis, it is argued that accurate understanding and assessment of the moral agency of sex workers and their clients requires attunement to the complex and evolving class dynamics within which each is situated. Thus, while traditional frameworks for approaching this subject are useful, they are ultimately inadequate.

Changing Status Of Women And The Phenomenon Trafficking Of Women For Transactional Sex In Nigeria: A Qualitative Analysis, Clementina A. Osezua

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper examines the changing status of Bini women occasioned by the upsurge and endemic nature of the phenomenon of trafficking of women for the purpose of transactional sex. It engaged ethnographic methods of data collection with the use of family based interviews, focus group discussions using vignette stories, life histories, and key informant interviewing. Data were analyzed based on emerged themes. Findings revealed that “successful” trafficked Bini women enjoyed high socio-economic status in their families of procreation especially where family members were the direct recipients of the proceeds from transactional sex. Most mothers of “successfully” trafficked victims wielded greater …

2013 Fall Faculty Conference: Becoming A Model Community, Academic Affairs

Fall Faculty Conference

The 2013 Fall Faculty Conference featured breakout sessions and presentations by Michele Acker (Psychology), Jennifer Bennett Biology) Tammy Birk (English; Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies), Sarah Bouchard (Biology), Sue Constable (Education), Beth Daugherty (English), Paul Eisenstein (English), Joan Esson (Chemistry), Melissa Gilbert (Center for Community Engagement), Richard Gilbert (Integrative Studies), Robin Grote (Chemistry & Biochemistry) Hayes, Carrie Hayes (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Amy Johnson (Art), John Kengla (Integrative Studies and Senior Year Experience; Center for Community Engagement), Dee Knoblauch (Education), Shannon Lakanen (English), Andrew Mills (Philosophy), Diane Nance (Office of Sponsored Programs), Patridge, Stephanie Patridge (Philosophy), Shelley Payne (Health & Sport …

The Ethnophysiologocial Janus: Changing Perceptions Of Illness And Curing In The Guatemalan Mayan Highlands, Steven Shem Rode, Dr. John P. Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Ethnomedical literature rarely addresses the problem of how illness is recognized and understood among Nahualenos in southwest Guatemala. In that area of the world, mother/infant mortality rates remain high, and local perceptions of illness continue to bewilder western biomedical caregivers. This study investigates data collected from doctor-patient communication, linguistics, and traditional medicine to explain how ethnophysiological understandings of illness exemplify effective and ineffective teaching methods about bacteriology and prevention within the liminal Nahualeno society.

Odocoileus Hemionus Mortality Profiles And The Cultural Predatory Adaptations At Aspen Shelter, Utah, James T. Anderson, Dr. Joel C. Janetskik

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mortality profiles (ages at death) constructed from the faunal analysis of archaeological sites offer unique insights into specific cultural predatory patterns and lifeways of the sites former inhabitants. The products of prey age selection or mortality profiles allow archaeologists to understand strategies of hunting, land use, and “habitual techniques of procurement” . A mortality profile of 4 mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) was created from the thousands of identified bones excavated at Aspen Shelter, Utah in an attempt to understand such cultural adaptations.

The University Of Texas At El Paso Operating Budget Fiscal Year Ending August 31, 2014, U. T. System Board Of Regents

Campus Operating Budget

No abstract provided.

Mythogony (The Creation Of Myth): A Comparative Religion Study Of Sai Culture, St. Shane Sanders, Dr. Lanier Britsch

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The scope of my research was the analysis of a syncretic paradigm extending from east to west. India houses the three major ashram(a)s of a new religious movement and sub-culture, united by a mythological belief in their guru, Swami Sathya Sai Baba. The village born guru boasts a following of one million, which is made up of indigenous Indians as well as foreigners coming from as nearby as Nepal and Burma to as far as San Francisco, London, Trinidad and Portugal to name but a few of the nationalities of the people I interviewed. The culture incorporates the religious thought …

Conversations With Inanimate Objects: A Mortuary Analysis Of Oakland-Fraternal Cemeteries In Little Rock, Arkansas., Jeff L. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

From 2012-2013 a mortuary analysis of Oakland-Fraternal cemeteries in Little Rock, Arkansas was conducted for this thesis. Evidence that this cemetery serves as a cultural database for the city of Little Rock and that resources like this should be preserved as Cultural Resource Management projects are presented in an interdisciplinary approach to mortuary analysis combining the disciplines of Anthropology and Rhetoric. Analysis of iconography found on grave markers was conducted employing Robert E. Horn's visual rhetoric theories and methodologies. Kenneth Burke's Dramatic Pentad was also employed as a tool for measuring the motivations behind the authorship of grave markers. Issues …

Alexander Volkov And The Dancing Bacha: Uzbek Motifs In Motion, Rachel S. Golden

Theses and Dissertations

Alexander Volkov (1886-1957), an Uzbek artist identified by his expressive style, vibrant palette, and devotion to folk subjects, was a leading figure in the movement known as the Uzbek avant-garde. Volkov's influence is still at work among artists in Uzbekistan, though his legacy remains largely unexplored by Western scholars. The Arkansas Arts Center owns one drawing by Volkov depicting the tradition of dancing boys or bachas, a subject the artist also painted among his reflections on Uzbek culture. Work from the same period by fellow artist Alexander Nikolaev (Usto Mumin, 1897-1957), who was better known for his attachment to bachas, …

Tracking Fish And Human Response To Abrupt Environmental Change At Tse-Whit-Zen: A Large Native American Village On The Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, Kathryn Anne Mohlenhoff

Dissertations and Theses

Evidence of large earthquakes occurring along the Pacific Northwest coast is reflected in coastal stratigraphy from Oregon to British Columbia, where there also exists an extensive archaeological record of Native American occupation. Tse-whit-zen, a large Native American village dating between 1824 and 54 cal B.P. located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, was excavated with exceptionally fine stratigraphic control allowing for precise comparison of natural and cultural records. Here I report on the >10,000 fish remains from one 2x2 m excavation block; this assemblage spans one earthquake event, allowing study of changes in relative taxonomic abundance through time that …

La Mala Sangre: Daily Violence Within The Western Sephardic Diaspora, Daniel Strum

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

Recurrent private acts of violence within dense and homogenous communities, or diasporas, illustrate a tension between powerful gossip transmission and imperfect translation of such power into efficient social control.

This presentation explores the manifestation of private violence in the daily life of the Western Sephardic Diaspora in the early seventeenth century, examining inquisitorial sources from Portugal and notarial records from the Netherlands. These sources indicate that as much as group members expected mutual responsibility, trustworthiness and compliance with social norms from their fellow group members. Yet when they felt disappointed, they expressed their resentment aggressively. Aggression took shape of offenses …

Capturing Undergraduate Experience Through Participant - Generated Video, Paddy O'Toole

The Qualitative Report

The enrolment and attrition rate in science degrees in the Western world is of increasing concern, both nationally and at university level. At the same time, teaching undergraduate science requires universities to invest in laboratories, staff and equipment to meet the initial demand of enrolling students. In this article, I discuss participant - generated video as an innovative method of research used in a study to extend understanding about the experience of science students’ experience in an Australian university. In this paper, I present the method s and practices used to explore the experience of a selected number of undergraduate …

Transforming Architecture: Engaging The Built Environment, Ryan G. Hier

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

Contemporary society is transfixed by the newest piece of technology. More often than not these devices serve as commodities; eliminating a certain amount of burden from daily life. The architectural realm is no different. Building design decisions are constantly scruti­nized by their ability to perform, with respect to energy consumption and conservation. However, there is a different type of building performance worth considering: the act of transformation. Transformable architecture has the abili­ty to change structure, space, and function through physical movement of the architecture.

In an age where technology suc­ceeds in disengaging humans from interaction with each other, it can …

Integrating Climate Change With Human Land Use Patterns: Archaeology Of Butte Lake Northeast, Michael L. Wendt

Anthropology

This research explores the effects of climate change throughout the Holocene by investigating a multi-component site at Butte Lake, Alaska. This research combines expectations generated from ethnographic models to evaluate site use conditioned by environmental constraints within the theoretical framework of human behavioral ecology. Analysis of lithic materials, faunal remains, and site structure are evaluated to determine site type by occupational component. The results of this research show that a period of low effective moisture during the early Holocene (9000 to 5000 cal BP), as well as a period of both low temperature and increased effective moisture associated with the …

Social Life And Ritual Practices In An Alaskan Pentecostal Community (The First Assembly Of God, Fairbanks), Nickole Kathren Robarge

Anthropology

This MA thesis research project focuses on the First Assembly of God Church in Fairbanks, Alaska. It seeks to better understand the implementation of Pentecostal-Charismatic (PC) Christianity in 21st century urban Alaska. While social activism and outreach form a significant portion of the success of Pentecostalism in Alaska (as anywhere else), my research shows that it is also substantially due to the appeal of ritual to newcomers. In particular, I suggest that there are forms of spiritual possession and spirit embodiment that need to be examined in relation to the attractiveness of Pentecostalism in Fairbanks. There is a gap in …

The Legacy Of Shamans? Structural And Cognitive Perspectives Of Prehistoric Symbolism In The Bering Strait Region, Feng Qu, 枫 曲

Anthropology

This research explores the meanings of prehistoric artistic artifacts discovered in the Bering Strait region. The research focuses on the prehistoric period between AD 100 and 1700, including Okvik culture, Old Bering Sea culture, Punuk Culture, Birnirk Culture, Thule culture, and Ipiutak Culture. My archaeological data in this research were collected from the archaeological collections of the Okvik site on Punuk Islands, the Kukulik site on St. Lawrence Island, and the Nukleet site at Cape Denbigh at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Based on abundant ethnographic records from the Bering Strait region, this research relies on ethnographic …

Lithic Analysis At The Mead Site, Central Alaska, Allison A. Little

Anthropology

The purpose of this study is to understand chipped stone technological behaviors at the Mead Site located in central Alaska. Lithics from each cultural occupation ranging in age from 11,460BP to 1420BP were analyzed and compared. Specific objectives include (1) characterization of variability in raw material and use for each cultural component, (2) description of lithic stages of reduction represented in each component, (3) description of the basic lithic industries represented. and (4) the identification and characterization of spatial organization and lithic behaviors. Results indicate (1) the tools and debris from Cultural Zone (CZ) lb and CZ2 show preferential use …

Social Benefits And Cultural Consequences Of Basketball In Alaska, Andreas Droulias

Anthropology

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the social and cultural significance of the game of basketball in the community of Nenana, Alaska. Since the building of high school gymnasiums across rural Alaska in the mid-1970s, basketball has become a popular and socially significant activity in rural Alaskan communities. The dissertation focuses on the nature of the social relations that arise from playing basketball and related activities and the constitution of a social space within which these relations become meaningful. It argues that the sport is a metaphor for community cohesiveness and ultimately a reflection of the social and cultural …

Becoming Adults In A Rural Yup'ik Community: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study Exploring Resilience, Tara J. Ford

Psychology

The aim of this study is to explore strategies for navigating challenges in a rural Alaskan Yup'ik community among youth and young adults. This qualitative study captures a longitudinal perspective as youth (N=25; 11 -18 years old) were originally interviewed in January 2010. For the current study, participants were re-interviewed in December 2012. Follow-up interviews addressed life challenges over the past three years and resources that helped them with their hard times. To reinforce the multifaceted nature of growing-up in a rural Yup'ik community, scholarly literature along with observations, conversations with local residents, and local wisdom captured in anthropological work …

Sticks, Stones, And Broken Bones: Osteological Analysis Of Human Skeletal Remains From The Bluff Creek Site 1lu59, Roger Taft Alford

Theses and Dissertations

Remains from twentyour human burials recovered from the Bluff Creek Site (1LU59) in Alabama exhibited evidence of interpersonal conflict trauma. When the victims of interpersonal conflict were placed in their approximate time period, it became apparent that frequencies of interpersonal conflict changed over time, from the Archaic (15.4%) to Woodland (6.7%) to Mississippian (45.5%) periods. These changes are explained by changes in settlement patterns and associated stress over resource competition. As Archaic hunter-gatherers became less mobile and settled in to small “hamlets”, the stress over competition for resources was reduced, causing the frequency of interpersonal conflict trauma to fall slightly …

Cartel Bombings In Mexico, Robert J. Bunker, John P. Sullivan

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Contemporary Mexican cartel use of car bombs began in mid-July 2010 and has since escalated. Given the proximity to the United States, some literally within miles of the border, the car bombings, with about 20 incidents identified over the last 2 1/2 years, should be of interest to local, state, and federal U.S. law enforcement, the U.S. Army, and other governmental institutions which are providing increasing support to Mexican federal agencies. An historical overview and analysis of cartel car bomb use in Mexico provides context, insights, and lessons learned stemming from the Medellin and Cali cartel car bombing campaigns. In …

Life Histories In Kizimkazi Dimbani, Zabzibar, Stephen B. Backman, Dr. David P. Crandall, Gary Burgess

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Kizimkazi Dimbani is a village of just over 1500 people on the southern end of the island of Zanzibar, which is about 50 miles off of the coast of Tanzania. In the fall of 1998 I went to Zanzibar with a group of seven BYU students under the International Study Programs Office in the Kennedy Center. The group performed a variety of research projects including topics focusing on health, conservation biology, village economics, education, and anthropology. My project was based on a study of the relationship between the kinship and political systems of the village. Through our research we were …

Life Histories In Kizimkazi Dimbani, Zabzibar, Stephen B. Backman, Dr. David P. Crandall, Dr. Gary Burgess

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Kizimkazi Dimbani is a village of just over 1500 people on the southern end of the island of Zanzibar, which is about 50 miles off of the coast of Tanzania. In the fall of 1998 I went to Zanzibar with a group of seven BYU students under the International Study Programs Office in the Kennedy Center. The group performed a variety of research projects including topics focusing on health, conservation biology, village economics, education, and anthropology. My project was based on a study of the relationship between the kinship and political systems of the village. Through our research we were …

Valuation Of The Ecosystem Services Provided By Coastal Ecosystems In Shandong, China: Developing A Non- Market Valuation System, Jing Guo

Working Papers

Non-market valuation assesses the contributions of ecosystem services to human well-being by determining the preference of users. That is how much money users are willing to pay for ecosystem improvements or how much they are willing to accept for ecosystem losses. Through exploring these preferences, the natural capital can be accounted for economically and quantitatively. It can not only lead to better understanding of ecosystem benefits, but also make it possible to compare ecosystem services with other conventional goods and services (e.g. real estate) in monetary terms.

Shandong is a coastal province of China, which is located on the eastern …

Eng 5091-001: The Call Of Stories: Introduction To Narrative Theory, Daiva Markelis

Fall 2013

No abstract provided.

The Possible Negative Consequences Of Underground Dam And Reservoir Construction And Operation In Coastal Karst Areas: An Example Of The Hydro-Electric Power Plant (Hepp) Ombla Near Dubrovnik (Croatia), T. Roje-Bonacci, O. Bonacci

KIP Articles

The Ombla Spring represents a typical abundant coastal karst spring located in the vicinity of the town of Dubrovnik (Croatia). Its outlet is at an altitude of 2.5 m above sea level (m a.s.l.) and the water from it immediately flows into the Adriatic Sea. The minimum and maximum measured discharges are 3.96 m3 s−1 and 117 m3 s−1, respectively. The Trebišnjica River traverses through its catchment. The mean annual discharge, after the canalization of over 60 km of its watercourse with spray concrete (in the time span 1981–2011), is 24.05 m3 s−1. Before massive civil engineering work which took …

The Possible Negative Consequences Of Underground Dam And Reservoir Construction And Operation In Coastal Karst Areas: An Example Of The Hydro-Electric Power Plant (Hepp) Ombla Near Dubrovnik (Croatia), T. Roje-Bonacci, O. Bonacci

KIP Articles

Abstract. The Ombla Spring represents a typical abundant coastal karst spring located in the vicinity of the town of Dubrovnik (Croatia). Its outlet is at an altitude of 2.5 m above sea level (m a.s.l.) and the water from it immediately flows into the Adriatic Sea. The minimum and maximum measured discharges are 3.96 m3 s−1 and 117 m3 s−1, respectively. The Trebišnjica River traverses through its catchment. The mean annual discharge, after the canalization of over 60 km of its watercourse with spray concrete (in the time span 1981–2011), is 24.05 m3 s−1. Before massive civil engineering work which …