Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Curbing Corporate Inversions: A Study Of National And International Efforts To Establish Corporate Tax Equity, Scott Novak

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent years, the number of U.S. companies trying to merge with a foreign company and thereby reincorporate themselves in countries with a lower corporate tax rate – a practice known as corporate inversion – has skyrocketed. The public outcry in 2014 against corporate inversions led the U.S. Treasury to release a series of new anti-inversion regulations, and more policy changes are in the process of being debated. At the same time as this national discussion on the harmful effects corporate inversions have on the U.S. tax base is progressing, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is in …

El Recuperador Urbano Reconstruido: Una Perspectiva Crítica Sobre La Gestión De Residuos Urbanos En Buenos Aires Y La Nuevas Políticas Públicas De "Ciudad Verde" / The Urban Recycler, Reconstructed: A Critical Perspective On The Waste Managementprocesses Of Buenos Aires, And The New Public Policies Known As “Green City”, Mira Korber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Historically, a survival method for the most impoverished populations of developing countries has been the collection, accumulation, and sale of recycled materials accessible in the urban waste generated by large metropolitan areas. After Argentina’s economic crisis of 2001, the number of people who participate in this informal sector of work in Greater Buenos Aires boomed due to the financial recession that devastated the country. In the last fourteen years, the population of urban recyclers, colloquially called cartoneros or cirujas, has not diminished. Various advances have been made towards the legitimation of their work as environmental protection and recycling through their …

El Modelo Médico, El Capitalismo Y La Acción Pública: Un Estudio Sobre Discapacidad Y Empleo En La Argentina / The Medical Model, Capitalism And Public Action:A Study Of Disability And Employment In Argentina, Zoe Zakin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

People with disabilities are one of the largest “minority” groups in the world, accounting for approximately 15% of the global population. They are still, however, denied most of their basic rights in countries around the world. While movements have been made around access to education, transportation, and health systems, people with disabilities are still culturally thought of as incapable of being able to work. By being characterized this way, people with disabilities are denied a most basic human right. In Argentina, there has been greater effort in recent years to provide services for people with disabilities, which are a growing …

Premature Births And Maternal Health: An Analysis Of Risk Factors That Affect The Rate Of Prematurity / Los Nacimientos Prematuros Y La Salud Materna: Un Análisis De Los Factores De Riesgo Que Afecta La Tasa De Prematuridad, Alexandria Mickler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: What are the major socio-demographic risk factors influencing the rate of preterm birth in Valparaiso, Chile? Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify risk factors that influence the rate of preterm birth in an urban population of women living in Valparaiso, Chile. This study aims to understand whether a relationship exists between socio-demographic characteristics, such as economic level, education, lifestyle, access to medical attention and resources and the risk of prematurity. The outcomes of this study seek to determine the major biological, cultural, and social relationships and identify at-risk social groups. Additionally, this study considers the …

Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights Of Aymara Women In The Intercultural Health System In Chile / Salud Y Derechos Sexuales Y Reproductivos De Las Mujeres Aymara En El Sistema De Salud Intercultural De Chile, Ariela Schnyer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This investigation seeks to understand how Aymara women navigate their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Chile’s intercultural health care model. Indigenous communities have their own practices that complicate the provision of sexual and reproductive health by requiring health care providers to be aware of two different worldviews and how they may conflict, as well as what is necessary to provide respectful care. However, an ethnically and culturally pertinent framework is vital to actually assuring successful SRHR provision, whose tenants include autonomous choice and care free of discrimination, coercion or violence. These interactions were investigated through semi-structured interviews …

Autism Spectrum Disorder In An Indian Context: Impact Of Socioeconomic Factors On The Experiences Of Individuals With Asd And Their Families, Kendall Harman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

While Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that appears in comparable rates across social, ethnic and geographic groups, the quality and quantity of ASD-related resources and services is significantly lower in developing countries, including India. Moreover, sociocultural factors play a major role in the experiences of people with ASD. Yet, the bulk of ASD-related research has been conducted in developed countries. This study aimed to examine how social, cultural, political and economic factors impact the experiences of people with ASD living in India and their families. Seventeen parents of children with ASD were interviewed, and semi-structured observations of different …

Evaluating Current Management Of Drug-Resistanttuberculosis In Mumbai, India, Meryl Kus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research was aimed at analyzing the current state of drug resistant tuberculosis in Mumbai and how effectively different actors in the realm of public health are managing DR-TB. The methods for this project involved a variety of semi-structured interviews as well as field observation. Key findings show a very present and largely negative private sector influence, effective NGO models for disease control, a burden of DR-TB/HIV comorbidity, and a rapid increase to transmission-based spread of DR-TB. Key implications of conclusions include the necessity of increasing the private sector’s compliance with WHO standards, adaptation of community and education based NGO …

La Atención De Mujeres Con Complicaciones Post-Aborto En Un Hospital Público Del Partido De La Matanza: La Perspectiva De Los Profesionales De La Salud / The Perspective Of Health Professionals On The Quality Oftreatment For Women With Complications Post-Abortion Ina Public Hospital In La Matanza, Hannah Collins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: In Argentina, abortion is illegal under all circumstances except for when a woman has been raped, has a mental disability or her life is in danger. There are approximately 500,000 abortions practiced each year in Argentina, and the majority is performed in an unsafe manner, which can result in complications that require medical attention. In 2010, over 50,000 women were hospitalized because of complications post-abortion. These complications can include hemorrhages, infections, or other toxic illnesses. After the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 they identified post-abortion care as a worldwide problem. Subsequently, Argentina created a guide for …

Promoción De La Salud En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires: Un Estudio Sobre El Trabajo De Los Promotores De Salud Y Las Percepciones De Su Rol En La Comunidad. / Health Promotion In The City Of Buenos Aires: A Study Of The Work Of Community Health Workers And Perceptions Of Their Role In The Community, Elizabeth Sherwin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contextual information: At the global level, inequities exist with respect to access and quality of healthcare. Primary Health Care is a strategy to respond to these inequities. It adopts an integral concept of health that includes no only illness but also the wellbeing of a person affected by many environmental factors. It is a strategy that aims to improve access to medical care and health information through health promotion and has the goal of giving the population more control over their health. Community health workers, people from the same neighborhood in which they work promoting health, are recognized on the …

La Cesárea Y El Parto Natural: Las Opiniones De Profesionales De La Salud En La Provincia De Buenos Aires / Cesarean Section And Natural Birth: The Opinions Of Health Provinces In The Province Of Buenos Aires, Jacqueline Chipkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Introduction: The ways in which women of society give birth have the power to influence maternal-infant health and shape the economy of the healthcare system. Today, the rates of cesarean sections are increasing throughout the world. In Argentina, on average, more than 35% of pregnant women received cesarean sections in 2008, with large differences observed in the rates between the public and private health sectors. The World Health Organization (WHO) has established that healthcare systems should only employ a cesarean section if labor cannot progress safely. According to this standard, the organization estimates that cesarean sections should only be utilized …

Financial Literacy And Financial Inclusion Of Women In Rural Rajasthan, Emily Levi-D'Ancona

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Financial inclusion is an important step in development, as access to finances can help the poor build money and lift themselves out of poverty. In many parts of the developing world, and especially in India, microfinance is seen as a new approach to fighting poverty by bringing financial services, including low-interest loans, to the poor so that they can afford to start a business or invest and eventually gain self-sufficiency – in other words, a method of financial inclusion for the poor. However, microfinance in India cannot sufficiently reach the poor populations, especially those in rural India, and many of …

Improving Social Resilience In Response To Climate Change In Far North Queensland And Torres Strait, Katie Costantini

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Currently, most approaches to decision-making in response to climate change have been based on biophysical knowledge, even though climate change is an inherently social dilemma. Social resilience involves communities’ ability to mitigate and prepare for the effects of climate change and recover to an improved state. Professor Allan Dale and his colleagues at the Cairns Institute at James Cook University developed a framework for social resilience based on four attributes: (1) Economic Viability, (2) Community Knowledge, Aspirations, and Capacity, (3) Community Vitality, and (4) Governance. They are using this framework to evaluate and monitor Far North Queensland and Torres Strait …

Informal Transportation In Uganda: A Case Study Of The Boda Boda, Bradley Raynor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, the closest mode of transport to mass transit that citizens have access to is the 14-seater taxis which fill the streets of Kampala, create traffic jams, and are unable to fulfill the transportation needs of the city’s growing population. In response, motorcycle taxis, called Boda Bodas, which are able to navigate traffic jams, access remote locations where taxis don’t go, and deliver passengers to their destinations in a timely manner, filled the gap in public transportation. Unfortunately, while many riders have organized themselves in associations, the industry remains largely unregulated by the Kampala …

Land Rights Among Subsistence Farmers: An Examination Of Madagascar’S Land Reform And Prevailing Systems Of Land Tenure In Betafo, Taylor Crowl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Madagascar, legal systems of land tenure have been inaccessible for the vast majority of the rural population. This has stranded millions of subsistence farmers in a sense of insecurity, as they lack legal rights for the property that they have farmed for generations. Madagascar’s land reform, launched in 2005, attempted to change these exclusionary tenure practices. This reform —known as the Plan National Foncier—created land certificates and local land offices in an attempt to make legal land tenure financially, geographically, and logistically accessible to the local population. This study discusses the successes, failures, and unforeseen consequences of Madagascar’s land …

The Sociology Of The Home An Autoethnography That Explores House Building In Rural Sandanezwe, Oliver Hayward

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project took me to Sandanezwe, KwaZulu-Natal, a rural village outside of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, where a community member, Mpume Khanyezi, had originally asked me to design and build a new home for her family. I intended to engage in a heuristic inquiry so that I could complete a daily practice of letting go of my own opinions and immersing myself in the community in order to better act as a scribe for the mother and analyze the community objectively. I attempted to gather qualitative data through interviews, active participation, direct observations with village members and building parties. Ultimately, my …

Microfinance Et Développement Au Cameroun : L’Efficacité De La Mc2 Dans La Communauté Agricole De Batoufam, Elisabeth Hansen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The agriculture sector in Cameroon remains underdeveloped, and many farmers continue to suffer a lack of means. Given the debate concerning the efficacy of microfinance as a solution,this study aimed to examine the efficacy of a microfinance institution, La Mutuelle Communautaire de Croissance (MC²) in Batoufam, a rural agricultural village in Cameroon. In recent years, MC²s have become very popular in Cameroon; however, there is not yet a thorough study on the efficacy of the MC² of Batoufam. Through interviewing farmers, the Chief of Batoufam, the employees of MC² and of the NGO Appropriate …

Window To The Unbanked: The Potential Of Mobile Money As A Means Of Saving In Uganda, Allison Ryder

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The meaning of poverty is more than just merely the shortage of money. It is the lack of access to the instruments and means through which the poor could improve their lives. Many people lack appropriate means to manage their finances, which limits their economic potential and renders them vulnerable to exogenous shocks. Increasing financial inclusion to those without access contributes to poverty reduction by providing people with means to manage their finances. This study was conducted through a month long internship at the Bank of Uganda following with a short trip to Gulu, northern Uganda. The objective of this …

Energizing Europe: The Geopolitics Of Energy Security And Energy Diversification In The European Union, Gabriel Alfredo Uribe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Europe has always had an interesting relationship with Russia, be it social, political, or economic. From the days of the Cold War, when there was the ideological battle of communism versus capitalism, with the alliance of NATO representing a front against the Iron Curtain, certain remnants of this dynamic have still survived. Russia has not always had the best of relations with the European Union (EU), which has not made it easy for the EU to have fully functioning foreign relations with them. This is problematic specifically because of the importance that Russia has on EU energy security, as it …

Cultivating Rice In Import Dependent Cameroon: A Case Study Of The Successes And Challenges Facing Rice Farmers In Santchou, Cameroon, Kim Horwitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cameroon is qualified as an import dependent country, meaning it relies on imported food to feed its population. Specifically, Cameroon imports over 80% of its rice consumption, spending 145 billion French CFA on rice imports yearly. But, Cameroon has sufficient untapped arable land and a large enough agriculturally centered population to produce adequate rice quantities to meet demand without relying on imports. This paper examines the challenges facing rice farmers in Cameroon in the context of import dependence and why local farmers cannot currently produce enough rice to meet local demand, focusing on the experience of the rice farming community …

La Coexistencia De Dos Agriculturas En Argentina Una Mirada A La Vida De Una Granja Familiar: ¿Cómo Sobrevivir Al Lado De Las Grandes Empresas?, Camille Sanchez De La Vega

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Desde los primeros años del siglo XX, el desarrollo de Argentina como país estaba coincidió con el desarrollo de la industria agrícola. Hoy, Argentina es famosa por su papel en el mercado global como exportadora de bienes naturales. No solamente es un país con uno de los niveles más altos de alimentos transgénicos, sino que tiene el título del mayor exportador de producción orgánica en América Latina. Con los dos tipos de agricultura —exitosos pero contradictorios— con un enfoque hacia la exportación, quería entender como esta coexistencia está reflejada en el mercado interno para los bienes naturales.

A través de …

Parte De Nosotros: La Tierra, El Estado, Y La Identidad Avá Guaraní Dentro Del Modelo De Desarrollo Paraguayo, Shayna Orens

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Paraguay, a small and often overlooked landlocked country in South America has seen rapid economic growth in recent years. This growth, which can be attributed to the country’s agro-­‐ export model, has been highly unequal, concentrating both land and economic power in the hands of the few. Centered around the production and export of genetically modified crops like soy and corn, the model is one that requires vast amounts of land and has implied rapid deforestation and changes in land use and land cover, especially in Eastern Paraguay. Representing close to two percent of the population, the indigenous people of …

El Mundo Del Tejido: Concepciones De Identidad Femenina Y Roles De Genero En Chinchero, Cusco, Perú, Jamie Wollum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación, usando una estrategia feminista que enfoque en facetas sociales y económicas de la sociedad Peruana, identifica y analiza las maneras en que el tejido afecta la identidad femenina y los roles de género en la comunidad del pueblo Chinchero del Cusco, Perú. 1 En adelante lo mencionaré como ISP. J.Wollum 4 Los fines del estudio tratan de establecer una manera en que podemos desafiar el estado subordinado de la mujer con un análisis de su identidad. Examina las mujeres involucradas en la producción, venta, y compra de los tejidos en este pueblo como actores elementales en la construcción …

Environmental Impacts Of The Battery Cage Industry Depicted Through Sculpture, Amber Kraus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the planet’s population increases, so does the demand for mass-produced food products. The result of the increase in demand has been the rapid development of the factory farming industry. A prominent component of the factory farmed by-product industry is the battery cage egg-farming scheme, which has cultivated immense amounts of ecological damage to the hens and environment involved. The damage studied includes: air and water pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and fossil fuel use. The environmental damage is prevalent throughout the Australian state of New South Wales, and the public must be informed.

The visual arts were utilized as the …

Population, Progeny And Power: Analyzing Population Growth, Family Planning And The Factors That Contribute To High Child Bearing Rates In Kizanda Village, Tanzania, Jade Enright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The population growth rate is reaching an astounding level in Tanzania and Eastern Africa. It is applying increasing pressure on things like social services, land availability, job opportunities, conservation and localized resources. This study looks at the perceptions of both men and women surrounding social and environmental factors contributing to the high population growth rate. It looks more specifically at factors including childbearing, birth control methods and their effectiveness, and how the birth rate correlates with changing quality of life. This study was conducted in Kizanda Village in the West Usambara Mountains of Northern Tanzania, a region following the trend …

The Post-Industrial And The Urban Village: A Study Of Land And Space In Beijing’S Caochangdi Art District, Ke Li

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Arts districts have traditionally been associated with industrial areas that have been reconstructed to fit post-industrial economies. From Tate Modern in the U.K. to 798 in Beijing, abandoned factories have been refitted into cultural clusters. Yet, there is a research gap when concerning arts district in less traditional spaces. This study examines how this framework applies in Beijing’s Caochangdi art district, aiming to understand how place-specific factors influence the development of an arts district and what Western gentrification theory looks like in a Chinese light. During the month of May 2014, I conducted twenty interviews, including nine with members of …

Not Just A Formality: How Inefficient Bureaucracy And Government Distrust Fuel Nepal’S Informal Economy, Anders Karl Lindgren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Currently the Nepali government and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are involved in a campaign to increase rates of government registration among small businesses, which are technically illegal to operate unregistered. The program incentivizes and facilitates registration, attempting to change the cost-benefit analysis that shopkeepers make when deciding whether to register. Using interviews with small business owners in the Kathmandu area, this study provides qualitative data about what information these shopkeepers have, how they perceive the registration process, whether the government has traditionally followed through on its promises, and how all of these factors affect their registration cost-benefit analyses. Additionally, …

Externalities Of The Transatlantic Trade And Investment Partnership: Effects On Emerging Economies And The Developing World, Eric Stroiman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The process of globalization and the liberalization of the global trade regime has become an integral part of the modern political and economic landscape. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union has the potential to be the most impactful free trade agreement of the 21^st century as these blocks represent the two largest economies in the world. This paper analyzes the conceivable effects of this agreement on the uninvolved emerging economies and developing countries of the world. The two main theories on the outcome heavily involve the fate …

Powering Rural Transformation: Solar Pv In Rural Uganda., Matt Piggins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intent of this study was to understand the role that solar PV plays in the process of rural electrification, what barriers exist in the PV market, and how the Rural Electrification Agency is bringing down those barriers. Moreover, I sought to understand solar PV’s development impact in rural areas and how people in rural regions of Uganda are using the technology, especially those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Additionally, I sought to understand if PV is a financially viable option for the rural poor or if it is only obtainable by the rural upper and middle class. …

Rhetoric Or Results?: Tourism, The Aquarium, And The People Of Fortaleza, Molly Silvia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When one thinks of tourism, he or she conjures images of travel, exotic locations, and spending money. Yet rarely do people stop and think about where exactly their money is going. Nowadays, tourism is a booming industry that many countries believe contributes significantly to their GDP. But while tourism may contribute significantly to a country’s economy, it may not provide the people of that nation with any substantial improvements in their quality of life. This monograph questions why Brazil has chosen to invest its GDP in the tourism industry, while the nation has 21.4% of its population in poverty (The …

Tabasará Libre: A Case Study Of Development And Indigenous Rights, Katharine Evans

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the 1960s, indigenous groups in Panama have been fighting to maintain their land and ways of life against the growing threat and reality of national development. This study uses the Barro Blanco Hydroelectric Power Project as a case study to examine the consequences of development and the ultimate role that development plays in indigenous marginalization and assimilation. Data was collected through interview, participatory observation, and outside research over the course of a three week period. Findings include the role the government, legislation, and the public have played in this fight.