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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
This Is Not About Cows: Historic And Contemporary Challenges To South-Central Madagascar’S Cattle Systems, Dan Myers
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Madagascar’s most cattle-dependent regions have, in recent years, been surrounded by narratives of a sudden and violent decline in both the sheer number of and benefits conferred by the nation’s distinctive zebu cattle, narratives which largely attribute this decline to theft and insecurity. This paper examines the broader state of cattle-based livelihoods in two such regions, Haute Matsiatra and Ihorombe, through evidence garnered from semi-structured interviews conducted over three weeks in the major cattle market towns of Ambalavao and Ihosy, and in the rural commune of Sakaviro, five kilometers south of Ambalavao. By incorporating secondary historical sources and recent work …
Sembrando El Cambio: Agroecología Cuencana Y Paradigmas Del Desarrollo, Erin Walters
Sembrando El Cambio: Agroecología Cuencana Y Paradigmas Del Desarrollo, Erin Walters
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Durante mi tiempo en Cuenca, tuve la oportunidad de observar varios modelos de producción agroecológica: primero con el Proyecto de Agricultura Urbana (PAU) donde tienen dos granjas que producen comida para poblaciones vulnerables de Cuenca, y segundo con una familia perteneciente a la Asociación de Productores Agroecológicos del Austro (APAAUSTRO), que cultiva para la subsistencia y vende los alimentos extras. Analizo la historia y la estructura de estos tipos de producción, contextualizándolas en el proyecto y la política del desarrollo “convencional” y la Revolución Verde. Exploro cómo difieren de lo que tradicionalmente se considera el desarrollo, por virtud de varios …
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 …
Nutrition And Education In An Urbanizing Nation, Molly Pritz
Nutrition And Education In An Urbanizing Nation, Molly Pritz
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Child malnutrition is a growing public health issue in Nepal, particularly in urban areas. Not eating enough, or not eating enough of healthy foods, can have life-long implications on development and cognitive ability. Because of its relevance to development within the country, many donor organizations and non-governmental organizations are working to promote child nutrition education programs. The purpose of this research is to investigate the implementation and structure of urban child nutrition educational programs involving treatment and prevention in Kathmandu, Nepal. Through qualitative interviews and field observations with three primary organizations, this research analyzes the patterns and disconnects between various …
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 …
An Assessment Of The Impact Of Sand Mining: Unguja, Zanzibar, Caroline Ladlow
An Assessment Of The Impact Of Sand Mining: Unguja, Zanzibar, Caroline Ladlow
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Resource consumption is one of the most crucial environmental problems facing the world today. Therefore nonrenewable resources need to be sustainably used to ensure the survival of both future generations and the resources at stake. The goal of this study was to investigate the impacts of sand mining on the environment, economy, and communities of Zanzibar. The environmental, economic, and social impacts of sand mining activities were studied at various sites on the island of Unguja. The effects on vegetation, coastal erosion, communities, and local economies were researched based on field observations and interviews with local people and officials at …
Extractivist Agribusiness Model: Analysis Of Social Resistances Emerging In Response To The Extractivist Agribusiness Model: A Case Study Of The Industrial Belt Of Gran Rosario, Alexa González
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
In regards to human rights and environmental rights, there is a paradox that exists between the rhetoric and actions of the government regarding agribusiness. While the Argentine government increasingly connects their rhetoric to the promotion of these rights, they have allowed transnational corporations to modify the agricultural model in a way that exploits the land for the production of commodities. People living in fields where biotechnology is operated and urban-industrial zones where the commodities are exported report health problems and deaths in light of the corporations’ presence. Confronted with the degradation of their fundamental rights, those whose lives are being …
Taming The Teesta: Exploring The Holistic Effects Of Hydroelectric Dam Development On The Teesta River Through Documentary Film, Taylor Graham
Taming The Teesta: Exploring The Holistic Effects Of Hydroelectric Dam Development On The Teesta River Through Documentary Film, Taylor Graham
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Since time immemorial, the Lepcha people have called the Himalayan region that makes up the modern state of Sikkim their home and have held sacred the rivers, mountains, and forests that make up the biologically diverse region. Over the past two decades, India’s rapid development has generated a powerful thirst for electricity, and the country has increasingly looked to the cold, powerful rivers thundering from the Himalayas to supply that desired power. Hydroelectric projects have been proposed and implemented throughout the Himalayan region. Nowhere, however, are the dams as numerous or their effects as acutely felt as in India’s northwestern …
The Himalayan Gold Rush The Untold Consequences Of Yartsa Gunbu In The Tarap Valley, Noah Stone
The Himalayan Gold Rush The Untold Consequences Of Yartsa Gunbu In The Tarap Valley, Noah Stone
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Despite the fact that it has been used in tradition medicine for centuries, the caterpillar fungus known as yartsa gunbu (Othiocordyceps sinensis), has only become a popular medical supplement in the last fifteen years. Demand in China has driven what has been dubbed ‘the Himalayan gold rush’, a scramble for the fungus that has utterly transformed the agro-pastoral economies of the remote Himalayan regions where cordyceps is found. In many cases, the locals have prospered economically from the commodification of yartsa gunbu. In one such region of Nepal, the Tarap valley of the Dolpa district, while the villagers have benefitted …
The Pelagic Artisanal Fishing Of Mangapwani, Northern Unguja, Shavonne Stanek
The Pelagic Artisanal Fishing Of Mangapwani, Northern Unguja, Shavonne Stanek
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
A total of 99 interviews were conducted. Over a period of 28 days from April 5- May 2, 2015, a total of 75 interviews were conducted with 72 fishermen, 2 drying processors and 1 Bwana Diko. During a 5 day preliminary period from March 12-16, 2015, a total of 24 interviews were conducted with 7 fishermen and 14 drying processors. The interviews focused on their work in the local fishing industry, the amount of fish caught and dried, and their opinions on the sustainability of their industry. The interviews were conducted using a translator who relayed the responses in English …
Urban Gardening Practices In Bangalore: Towards A More Localized Food System?, Delfina Grinspan
Urban Gardening Practices In Bangalore: Towards A More Localized Food System?, Delfina Grinspan
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Localized Food Systems (LFS) have garnered much attention in recent years among civil society, research, and policy circles, among others. Increased attention and efforts to build more localized food systems are principally motivated by the awareness of the pressures exerted by increasing urbanization on food security and access, and concern for the ecological and social costs of the dominant globalized food system. In their varying purpose to address these two issues, LFS tend to be characterized by certain patterns of (localized) land, water, and other resource use; by direct marketing and distribution arrangements; and by the presence of extensive linkages …
Western Farmers’ Markets In Kathmandu: Vendor Perspectives, Caroline Saunders
Western Farmers’ Markets In Kathmandu: Vendor Perspectives, Caroline Saunders
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
This study seeks to understand Western farmers’ markets (FMs) in Kathmandu by understanding vendors’ motivations for attending FMs; and further, their perspectives on the purpose and potential for expansion of FMs in Kathmandu’s food economy. In the US and Europe, FMs are often seen in the literature as a component of a social movement (SM) called the ‘alternative food movement’ (AFM) concerned with environmental sustainability and social justice within the processes of food production and consumption (Isenhour 2012). FMs, a type of direct market that offer face-to-face interaction between producers and consumers, are a site for the transmission of values …
Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Sustainable Food Sourcing: Dayutang Village, Hani Rice Terraces, Nina Whittaker
Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Sustainable Food Sourcing: Dayutang Village, Hani Rice Terraces, Nina Whittaker
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Reflecting on the importance of dynamic agricultural management techniques in addressing climate change and food security, this paper examines the Hani rice terraces of southern Yunnan as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). It identifies local inhabitants’ traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as a key source of their success, and uses research conducted in Dayutang Village, Yuanyang County from May 4- June 2, 2015 through participative observation and guided conversation to explore the role of Hani TEK in sustainable food sourcing around the village. The TEK used in food sourcing in Dayutang is shown not only to provide villagers with …
The Curious Case Of Solu Khumbu: A Study Of The Effects Of Tourism In The Town Of Junbesi, Hannah Cho
The Curious Case Of Solu Khumbu: A Study Of The Effects Of Tourism In The Town Of Junbesi, Hannah Cho
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Before 1953, the year that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Everest, almost all Sherpas were subsistence farmers, traders, and herders. But ever since the 1980’s, Sherpas have taken over the trekking industry in this region. The increase of tourism and the monopolization of this industry have altered the livelihoods of Sherpas in Solu Khumbu. However, most tourism related research on Solu Khumbu has been done primarily on upper Khumbu, which has been affected by tourism drastically differently than Solu. I will be doing a case study of how the changes in tourism have affected Junbesi, a popular agriculture based …
El Crecimiento De China Y Su Vinculaciones Con La Industria De Soja En La Argentina / Chinese Growth And Its Connections With The Argentinian Soy Industry, Anita Desai
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
This paper analyzes the growth of Chinese influence in Argentina over the course of the last fifteen years, particularly as it relates to the soy export market. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are used to examine the increasingly important bilateral relationship and its effects on Argentine industries, communities, and opportunities for growth and development. The paper finds that Argentina’s bilateral trade deals in the soy industry have created a dangerous dependence on China, characterized by reprimarization on global value chains, the deterioration of legal restrictions on trade, as well as huge environmental and social risks. Although the increased trade has …