Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

State-Sponsored Terror And Security Force Collusion In Northern Ireland, Nate Keenan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When I began to develop my topic I knew I wanted to study government collusion. The problem with that topic is the enormous undertaking it would require and the research only allows for three weeks. Another that I did know was that I wanted to know more about the work that the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) does and how they deal with the families that are looking for answers concerning the deaths of their loved ones. I decided to ignore the paper topic for the time I was in Derry and focus on making the PFC the center of my …

Piecing Together Social And Environmental Priorities In The Ongoing Process Of Community Development In The Mst Assentamento Of Palmares Ii, Clara C. Ward

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the last twelve years the Amazonian MST assentamento, Palmares II, in the Southeastern state of Para, has experienced many successes in terms of advances in education, health care services, community organization, and physical infrastructure in general. This progress in community development is often considered to support the theory of agrarian reform as an effective mechanism for achieving greater social equality and stability. Despite these relative successes, community development to date has not supported the concept of agrarian reform as a mechanism of environmental preservation and sustainable land use. This is due in part to the failure of the community …

Voices From The Closet: Male Homosexuality And Dual Identity In The Republic Of Cyprus, Tasia Jelatis-Hoke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

What is the relationship between semiotics and gay identities in the Republic of Cyprus? I initially planned to explore the complex relationship between language, and more specifically semiotics and gay male identity in Greek Cypriots. Early in my research, however, I realized that a lot of background research was required before I would be able to do this sort of in-depth analysis. In addition, after becoming aware of the deep colonial legacy left to homosexuals in Cyprus I was reluctant to use the work of European theorists to analyze a post-colonial space. I also came across a pertinent assertion of …

The Cyprus Property Issue: A Study On Proactive Steps To A Resolution, Anya Esmaili

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper attempts to reveal what the citizens of Cyprus, both in the Republic of Cyprus and in the “TRNC,” think about the property problem in Cyprus. It explains what the problem is, and what actions can be taken to find a solution, in addition to what has already been done in the past. The property problem is one of the most critical, if the not the most critical facet of the Cyprus problem. To get the opinions of a wide range of people, this research includes personal interviews with displaced individuals (both Greek and Turkish Cypriot), interviews with political …

Options And Aid: What The Future Holds For The Displaced Sugar Cane Families Of Labasa, Fiji, Lieselot Whitbeck

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 1997, a large number of agricultural leases in the Fijian sugar belts began to expire without renewal. Stepping away from the debates over who should have access to land under what legislation and for what purpose, this paper concentrates on the people who are being directly affected by lease expiration: the cane farmers and cutters themselves. Through the collection and analysis of information gathered through personal interviews and associated literature, this paper focuses on the present moment in Fiji and identifies the needs of displaced cane families, the options available to them, and the different types of aid that …

Democratic Control Of Armed Forces: An Analysis Of The Role Of The Parliamentary Assembly In The Defense Reform In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Elisabeth Hubbard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The research beings with a discussion of the legal framework for defense reform in 2003 and in 2005 followed by an analysis of the role of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in implementing the legislation for reform.

The analysis focuses on efforts to build the capacity of the Parliamentary Assembly and asks the question: have the efforts to build the capacity of parliamentary oversight of the defense reform implementation been successful in increasing democratic control of the Armed Forces of BiH?

I conclude that yes, the capacity-building efforts have been successful in increasing democratic control. However, the Parliamentary …

Feminist Justice In Practice: Witness Experiences Of Survivors Of Wartime Sexual Violence In The Sud Bih, Brett A. Smith-Hams

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Wartime sexual violence is currently being prosecuted in numerous legal institutions across the world. In order for survivors of this sexual violence to have the best possible experiences, many improvements in the care, protection, and support of those who come forward to testify in these institutions need to be made. This study looks at the practices of one particular legal institution, the National Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently in the midst of trying several war crimes cases, many of which involve incidents of mass, systematic sexual violence as part of a larger military campaign in the region …

Corruption In Montenegro Untangling The Knot, Anna Lipton Galbraith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Corruption in Montenegro exists on various levels. The focus of this paper is high level corruption, particularly conflict of interest cases regarding privatization processes, spatial planning and the procurement of public contracts. The reason for this focus is that the abuse of power by the government is one of the largest obstacles to creating a democratic environment of trust and a society structured around the rule of law. These are the primary areas were the government of Montenegro continues to exert inappropriate influence. The first section of the paper will analyze the origins of corruption and attempt to simultaneously provide …

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: The Economic And Environmental Impacts Of Commercial Fishing, Jessica Glenn

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fish and fisheries play an important role in the Amazon River Basin. Fishing provides jobs to people of both urban and rural communities, and fish are a major source of protein in people’s diets and a major part of the Amazon River ecosystem. In recent years commercial fishing has increased due to greater access to both domestic and international markets, and government incentives which have helped fishermen obtain better equipment and boats. The purpose of this study is to observe the Belém Ver-O-Peso fish market and interview fisherman about different aspects of commercial fishing (what species of fish were caught, …

Study Of The Cultural Sexuality: A Matter Of Honor And Shame, Alyssa Mceachran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research seeks to understand the nature of a collective society. It seeks to attain knowledge about the role of sexuality and women in the context of a collective society. I intend to ascertain information through interviews and qualitative research with Turkish Cypriots. My questions will relate to a specific topic and how honor and shame are present. In the end of the research I hope to find connections between the concepts of honor and shame and the idea of sexuality in a collective society. I also want to note if morals and ideologies of the aforementioned concepts shift with …

The Effects Of The Makgadikgadi Wildlife Fence On Cattle Populations And Local Cattle Industry, Jenny Hazelhurst, Elliot Vander Kolk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the erection of the Makgadikgadi wildlife fence along the western border of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park on cattle populations and livestock owners to the west of the fence. Cattle foraging behavior and movement patterns were recorded using GPS and focal observation methods to determine resource use and pressures affecting the populations. Interviews were also conducted in the area of Meno-a-Kwena camp to examine the effects of the fence on the economics of the local cattle industry. Signs of resource stress were found in the continued selection of poor quality forage, …

Letters Of The Bush: A Case Study Of Traditional Setswana Herbal Medicine, Kristen Danley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Traditional medicinal techniques in southern Africa are under-studied, but they continue to play an important role in many people’s lives. In addition to its anthropological value, traditional medicine also has the potential to lead to new treatments for diseases. This study proposed to document the plants and methods used by a traditional healer in the village of Goo-Tau, Tswapong Hills region, Central District, Botswana.

The study was conducted over a period of three weeks through a series of interviews. Samples were collected of selected plant species. Plants were identified both during and after the study through field guides and consultation …

A Separate World: Conflicts Between Malagasy Society And The Mentally Handicapped, Jesse Travis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

“Ahora Tenemos Una Voz”: Transformaciones En La Vida Cotidiana De Mujeres Piqueteras En La Provincia De Buenos Aires = We Now Have A Voice”: Transformations In The Daily Life Of Piquetero Women In The Province Of Buenos Aires, Claudia L. Romeu Mejía

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The piquetero movement was born in the late nineties among many transformations in the Argentine economic system. It was a result of neoliberal policies which did not take into consideration the needs of the working class. The result was a society marked by poverty and lack of job opportunities. Groups of unemployed people opted to organize and made roadblocks to obtain social plans and other benefits from the government. Most of the people who compose these movements are women. This investigation analyzes the changes that have occurred in piquetero women’s daily life after their initiation in the social movements. It …

Raising The Future: An Introduction To Three Organizations Caring For Orphans And Vulnerable Children Using The Cluster Foster Care Model In Kwa-Zulu Natal, Madelaine Colby-Newton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is a brief introduction to the cluster foster care model of care for orphans and abandoned children as it is implemented at three organizations in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, including God’s Golden Acre, the Kenosis Community, and the Pietermaritzburg SOS Children’s Village. This study provides an over view of the histories of these three organizations, their structure and networking systems, the role of foster mothers and volunteers working in each organization respectively, the methods of education employed, medical services offered and prevalence of HIV, histories of abuse and neglect amongst the children being cared for, inclusion of Christianity …

Accès Aux Médicaments À Madagascar : L’Etat, La Pharmacie, Et L’Usager, Peter Olds

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

“Beauty” As A Public Health Concern: An Analysis Of The Internalization And Effects Of The Western Beauty Ideal In Nairobi, Kenya, Elizabeth Lownik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acts of personal decoration or even body modification for the purpose of attaining a cultural norm of “beauty” have been undertaken in every human society for centuries. In certain societies, however, people engage in acts or practices to obtain such cultural beauty only at the expense of individual and community health. The current eating disorder epidemic in the United States, based on the Western beauty ideal of an extremely thin woman, is an example of such destructive behavior in the name of beauty. With the current phenomenon of globalization, Western cultural norms, including the beauty ideal, are spreading around the …

“Il Faut Manger” : Eating Disorders In Cameroonian Women, Jennifer Madowitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to investigate unhealthy eating attitudes and negative body images in young Cameroonian women. The study will center around a standardized questionnaire that covers eating attitudes. The research will also focus on the traditional Cameroonian idea of beauty, versus the more Western, “modern,” body image that is popular today. By exploring cultural factors through observation, as well as interviews, and analyzing key statistics from the questionnaire, this paper has come to the conclusion that though the problem of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction are not as high in Cameroon as they are in the United …

Entrepreneurship And “Conscientious Capitalism”? Economic Solidarity Within The Banco Palmas Network, Caroline Whistler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Capitalism is often thought of as a struggle between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. Although the very nature of the economic system is to reward innovative ideas that can survive competition and the ‘free market’, many ‘have-nots’ do not have the same opportunities to succeed as those born with economic resources. The gap between those with capital and those without has gradually widened into a gaping hole that few can cross. While there are certainly enough resources in Brazil to keep all citizens above the poverty line, the reality is that economic survival has been replaced by one of the most …

Não Sou Sua Puta: An Examination Of Preconceptions Of Sex Work In Salvador, Bahia, Charmaine Bee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“For Black women ceding control over self - definitions of Black women's sexualities upholds multiple oppressions. This is because all systems of oppression converge, " Patricia Collins. The system of Slavery is essential in any conversation around various systems of oppression which black women encounter, as many idealogies that support systemic racism were constructed during slavery. Black women face the intersectionality of multiple oppressions on a daily basis, one of these oppressions being sexism. Because of these various oppressions and definitions of black female sexuality by those in power the diversity of black female sexuality and self -definition has been …

Uma Doença Esquecida: A Falta De Conhecimento Da Hanseníase No Brasi, Anders Gustafson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hansen’s Disease is one of the world’s most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses. Its patients are often discriminated against, and marginalized from society. This study examines what role a fault in information regarding technical knowledge plays in perpetuating this prejudice. Data is based on interviews collected from patients, family members, and persons from the most affluent sections of society, all from the city of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. In addition, medical professionals provide their input. This information is referenced against sociological theory and historical precedence, to examine the role society and government have played in formulating the situation today. The study concludes …

La Economía Solidaria: Las Limitaciones, Las Contribuciones, Y Los Valores Comunes De Una Respuesta Inherentemente Local Dos Estudios De Campo, Alissa Kimmel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Economía solidaria is an alternative method of development that has sprung up in the last two decades in Latin America as a response to the devastating effects of neo-liberal policies. The questions that I was interested in exploring with this investigation were: How is economía solidaria defined in theory? How does it manifest in practice? What explains this discrepancy, if one exists? What do these answers tell us about the limitations, potentials, and unique contributions of economía solidaria? To search for these answers I studied two organizations of economía solidaria, where I utilized qualitative methods of observation, interviews, review of …

De Movimiento Político A Cooperativa Una Investigación De La Evolución Del Mtd-La Matanza, Will Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an investigation of how one group of unemployed workers in Argentina, the MTD-La Matanza, responded to the economic and social deterioration wrought by the market liberalization of the Nineties. This investigation examines the emergence of the MTD-La Matanza as part of the larger political movement of “piqueteros” in the mid-Nineties, the division and neutralization of this movement by the Government’s “Planes Trabajar,” and the resulting transformation of the MTD-La Matanza to a self-managed cooperative. Through this examination, I highlight the way in which the cooperative crystallizes as an alternative response to the changes of the nineties, particularly …

The Complex Realities Of Indigenous Health Care Delivery, Megan Waterman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The indigenous population of Australia faces a life expectancy that is eighteen years lower than the general population. This study addresses this incredible disparity by exploring the historical, cultural and social forces that impact on health status, focussing especially on health care service utilisation. Qualitative methods of interviewing and participant observation have been used to examine the two sectors of Aboriginal health service delivery in urban Victoria: Aboriginal community controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) and mainstream organisations. Accounting for the complex forces and realities in health service delivery, this is a discussion of the important components of the current realities for …

Faleoloa Laititi: The Role Of Small Shops In A Developing Samoa, Nicholas K. Courtney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Samoa presently finds itself caught between the wave of development and an unyielding tie to its culture. Development in Samoa consists of a multitude of efforts including, but not limited to, commercial agriculture, tourism, environmental protection, and private sector business. In all of the areas, the struggle between the Western view and the Samoan internalization of the Western view proves readily apparent. More so, the way of life in Samoa somehow drips its way through the cracks of all these ideas, creating protocol for development which is uniquely Samoan. The research examines the strength and weaknesses of the small roadside …

The Scholarship Of Vietnameseness: The Dialectic Of “National Identity” Between Self And Society In Vietnamese Education, Amber North

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores how college aged youth from various regional time and space identities access “national identity” in Vietnam. The study uses a theoretical framework as follows (1) Benedict Anderson’s theory that “nation” is in an “imagined” community (2) Keith Taylor’s theory of how surface orientations of linear time and space do not accurately characterize history. (3) Subaltern Studies: a field of Postcolonial Criticism that considers the alternative historical narratives of subalterns (non-elites, and for our purposes the nationally marginalized). Using this theoretical framework, I then explore how the youth access this “national imagination.” How is it that students connect …

Migrant Working Children In Ho Chi Minh City: Emerging Trends Between Economic Migrant And Runaway Child Workers, Paige Fern

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper studies the impact of doi moi on working children in Ho Chi Minh City. Doi moi, which was implemented in 1986, drastically changed Vietnamese society, economically, socially ad politically. These changes allowed a market economy to emerge, sparked remarkable economic growth, and reduced the overall level of poverty. The living standard of the entire population has improved as a result of these economic developments. Poverty reduction has not occurred equally across all regions of Vietnam. Since 1986, there has been a growing divide between rural and urban areas. Around 10 million children in Vietnam today, 30% of the …

‘Like A Parrot Screaming In Its Cage’ Activism And Empowerment In Nepal’S Bhutanese Refugee Community, Elena Phoutrides

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper will look at empowerment in the Bhutanese refugee community from a number of angles. First of all, it will examine issues of representation. Refugees are often represented to media sources and agencies by Bhutanese political leaders who do not always represent the variety of needs and views present in the 100,000-person plus refugee community. Second, this paper will discuss camp management and the ways in which participation is encouraged and discouraged by agencies involved in providing for refugees. The refugee community is far from silent on issues of participation and representation; thus this paper will look at several …

Ley Y Desorden: La Participación, La Política, Y La Planificación En El Archipiélago De Bocas Del Toro, Sage E. Trombulak

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Bocas del Toro Archipelago is quickly becoming one of Panama’s most popular destinations, both for tourists pursuing temporary fun-in-the-sun type activities and for wealthy Panamanians, Americans, and Europeans seeking a more permanent location for their vacation homes, luxury resorts, and retirement communities. These dual phenomena have become a subject of escalating concern for the political leadership in Bocas del Toro and for a plethora of local, regional, and international NGOs, as unprecedented levels of development are leading to the degradation of one of Panama’s most beautiful and biologically diverse landscapes, stresses on urban infrastructure, and rapid economic growth that …

Searching For A Path: Evangelicals In Nicaraguan Politics, Jacob Siegel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Evangelicals now comprise approximately 20-25% of the Nicaraguan population, but the Nicaraguan political system has remained dominated by the specter of the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, in the 1990s, some evangelical leaders, including ones who had previously been vocal opponents of political involvement, sought new outlets for political participation. I claim that the evangelical political movement has drawn on three justifications: a struggle against political marginalization, a crusade for “traditional moral values,” and a fight for economic betterment.

Here, utilizing interviews with 18 Nicaraguan Protestants involved in Christian political or social movements, I trace evangelical political parties though …