Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Why Mexicans Migrate: A Glimpse At The Causes And Effects Of Rural Mexican Migration In The Community Of Yogana As Well As Current Movements Towards Local Development, Katie Norris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration is a current matter confronting both U.S. and Mexican society. For Americans, the topic signifies an ever-increasing entry of Mexican migrants to U.S. factory and agricultural hotspots. In comparison, for millions of Mexican citizens, migration marks an intricate aspect of daily life with a story embedded not only in the present day but in the histories and futures of individuals, families and communities as well. An on-going cycle of poverty explains the principle motivation behind the growing number of migrating citizens from Mexico. Social and environmental injustices associated with free-trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement …

“Mieux Vaut Prévenir Que Guérir”: The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Water- And Sanitation-Related Infectious Diseases And The Increasing Need For Disaster Preparedness, Naomi Malam

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The world is suffering from an extreme global water crisis. 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to adequate clean water, and 2.6 billion people lack access to water and sanitation. Approximately 10 million deaths per year can be attributed to this water crisis; water-borne infectious diseases play a significant role in this death toll. Diarrhoeal disease accounts for 2.6 million deaths per year and is one of the leading causes of death in many developing countries.

We are entering a period of undeniable climate change which is bringing about more natural disasters and extreme weather events than ever …

Las Percepciones De La Salud Mental Y Su Evolución, Rebecca Gourevitch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Previous literature has identified a strong stigma against mental health patients in many parts of Latin America, which can serve as a deterrent to seeking help for mental health (Acuña 2005; López 2008; Vicente 2007). The resulting lack of attention to one’s mental health can not only exacerbate mental illnesses but also impede proper attention to one’s physical health (Prince 2007). Therefore, combating this stigma is an important step to improving the health of a population. Some of the most effective strategies for combating the stigma are education, social interaction, and integrating mental health services into primary care (López …

La Correlación Entre El Autoestima Y La Intención De Cambiar En Seis Ámbitos De La Vida De Un Fumador Adolescente., Aaron Picus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: According to a study in 2008 by the National Agency for the Control of Narcotics, 26.1% of Chilean adolescents between the ages of 12-18 had used tobacco at least once during the month of the study and 13% used tobacco daily. Even though smoking has negative health effects, many adolescents in Chile still smoke. Since the 1970s, low self-esteem has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of poor health behaviors. Recent investigations have shown that, when measured in the social, school, family, self-body image, sports and physical activity, and global realms of the life of an …

Early Care And Education For At-Risk Children In Rural And Urban Slums In Kenya, Giselle Emilia Navarro Casillas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With the rise of changing family structures as well as an increase in the demands of an early preparation for children to enter primary school, Early Care and Education (ECE) has become extremely important in Kenya. In particular an increase of ECE centers for at risk children is important because research has shown that at risk children benefit more from a high quality early care and education program (Calman, L.J., & Tarr-Whelan, L., 2005). Observations were conducted in fifteen ECE centers located in urban slums and rural villages throughout Kenya where poverty is high and sanitation conditions are poor. This …

The Afro-Brazilian University Experience: How Racial Quota Policy Beneficiaries At The Federal University Of Bahia Perceive Racial Quota Debates, Ufba Quota Policy, And Life As Quota Students, Vivian O. Ekey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For my project I will explore the experiences of Afro-Brazilian students enrolled in the Universidade Federal da Bahia through the University’s Resolution 01/04.[1] Through interviews with six students admitted through the quotas system at UFBA along with interviews with civic society leaders, and university advisors, I aim to identify the varying attitudes that these students may have in response to criticisms of racial quotas, the implementation of the quota system on their campus, and their own experiences as quota students. The implementation of affirmative action in Brazilian Universities has sparked serious debate and questioning of racial politics and what …

El Futuro De La Inmigración En España - (“Future Of Immigration In Spain”), Joshua Bruno

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following argument is about the highly disputed theme of Immigration. Like all countries around the world, Spain manages a population of foreigners that have turned up in search of a new opportunity. If these migrants are able to enter the European Union, they still face many obstacles, including racism and extreme poverty. Yet, their contributions to a struggling European economy are undeniable. The following paper attempts to highlight these important contributions and demonstrate how in a liberal democratic society, such as Spain’s, a more accepting immigration policy where more sanitary conditions provided to immigrants could work. Furthermore, these arguments …

Políticas Públicas Para Enfrentar Los Desafíos Proporcionados Por Las Rentas Económicas: El Caso Del Impuesto Específico A La Minería, Andrew Linville

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La economía chilena es fuertemente dependiente en la explotación y exportación de productos primarios y en sectores de recursos naturales, como los sectores minero, forestal, pesquero, y frutícola. El modelo de desarrollo emprendido por Chile en los últimos treinta años, uno de apertura unilateral y bilateral a flujos de bienes y capital, ha dado importancia especial a las políticas impositivas y reguladoras entorno a esos sectores. Sin embargo, la explotación de recursos naturales escasos proporciona un rango de desafíos únicos debido a la existencia de rentas económicas y los efectos de competencia, distribución y desarrollo regional que las acompañan. Mi …

Reconstructing Pitaguary Identity: Indian Exchange And Outside Resources, Tess Mcmahon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research explores the recent methods by which the Pitaguary Indians in Ceará, Brazil have been reconstructing and revalorizing their indigenous culture using outside resources. Like many Indian populations within the Latin America, the Pitaguary have lost their culture due to conquest, exploitation, and assimilation policies. Only in 1997 did the Pitaguary file for governmental recognition and territorial demarcation[1] as an indigenous group. Since the mid-1990s, the tribe has been engaged in ‘rescuing’ and rediscovering their traditions and their culture. Three years ago, in 2007, an organization called Movimento Saude Mental Comunidade do Bom Jardim[2] came to the …

As Rivers Run Dry: A Study Of Global Freshwater Scarcity And Its Implications For Socio-Economic Development, Sophia Wenzlau

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Water scarcity is a serious problem—without adequate supplies of clean freshwater, there cannot be life. The direct and indirect costs of water scarcity are huge, including poor public health, gender inequality, and acute restrictions for economic development. Currently, around 20 percent of the global population lacks access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities (UNEP Brief, 1). About 1.8 million people—most of them children less than five years old—die every year due to water-borne diseases from fecal pollution—the equivalent of about 15 killer tsunamis each year or 12 Boeing 747 crashes …

Reform Of The United Nations Security Council: A Rope Of Sand, Alice Minor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For nearly two decades the international community has debated how to address reform of the United Nations Security Council. Many argue that it is imperative that the United Nations Security Council be reformed for the body to maintain its relevance and legitimacy in the Twenty-first Century. The original United Nations Charter endowed special voting privileges and permanent membership to the five powers that emerged victorious from World War Two. These five powers no longer describe the international world order. Various reform groups such as the Group of Four, The United for Consensus movement, and the Africa Group have proposed reform …

A Review Of Psychosocial Support And The Challenges Faced In Disclosing Hiv Positive Status To Children In Kibera, Katherine Lesyna

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The AIDS pandemic has become an increasingly global problem as well as an everyday reality for most people living in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2009, an estimation of the number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa totaled around 22.4 million.1 The people that have been affected most by the pandemic are women and children.
In Kenya, about 1.5 million people are infected with HIV, about 180,000 of them being children.2 While a lot has been done to reduce HIV infections and treat those who are infected, children have been left behind until recently. There is still much …

The True Cost Of A Cup Of Coffee: Wealth Concentration And Worker Exploitation In The Nicaraguan Coffee Industry, Rose Levy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nicaragua es un país de mucha riqueza en la forma de recursos naturales- especialmente en la forma del café, el producto más comerciado después del petróleo en el mercado mundial. Mientras los intermediarios que venden su café internacionalmente y los productores más grandes continúan beneficiándose, los cortadores de café continúan viviendo en la ausencia de las ganancias creadas por su mano de obra. Por qué tanta riqueza queda en círculos tan concentrados? Hay una manera de distribuir las ganancias en una manera que beneficie a una mayoría de la población nicaragüense? En este ensayo, yo ofrezco un análisis de la …

Life On The Periphery: The Effects Of Urbanization On Health In A Bidonville In Bamako, Mali, Adrienne Epstein Dit Raki Bah

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the past decade, the world has crossed a threshold that a century ago would have seemed unimaginable: the majority of the global population now lives in cities.A startling pattern of rapid urbanization began in the final decades of the 20th century and continues today at a striking pace. The percentage of the global population residing in urban areas increased from 32 percent in 1955 to 47 percent in 2002, and is expected to reach 65 percent in 2015. This trend is particularly notable in the developing world, where an arrival of rural migrants in search of labor has caused …

Bridging The Gap: Identifying Social Factors That Affect The Knowledge Of Sexually Transmitted Infections And Use Of Prevention Methods In Young Women, Ariel Spigel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the social factors that affect the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) in young women, focusing on their knowledge of the subject and use of prevention methods in order to discover why STIs, though preventable, are still prevalent in the lives of young adults, and more often, young women. Sixty-one anonymous, closed questionnaires were distributed to female students of at least eighteen years at the Colegio Estadual Francisco da Conceição Menezes in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil, and six structured interviews were conducted with students from the same pool. Results showed varying levels of knowledge, educational …

Renewable Energy In Rural Amazônia: A Case Study Of Its Advantages And Limitations In Santo Antônio, Amy Plovnick

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Isolated renewable energy projects are a promising alternative to diesel power for providing electricity in rural communities not connected to the conventional electricity transmission grid. However, there have been a limited number of such projects in rural Amazônia, and they often face obstacles that limit their sustainability. The objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental, social and economic impact of isolated renewable energy projects through a case study of a small-scale biomass and solar energy electrification project in the community of Santo Antônio, Pará. It will also evaluate the limitations to implementing and sustaining isolated renewable energy projects …

El Artesano Y La Comercialización Del Patrimonio Cultural Del Norte De Argentina Un Estudio De Caso: Salta Y La Quebrada De Humahuaca Y El Patrimonio De La Humanidad Por La Unesco, Jessica Slattery

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In northern Argentina, the artisan is in danger of extinction. In 2003, the Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina) was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This distinction encouraged preservation of natural and cultural heritage of the region and protection for way of life of indigenous peoples, exhibiting potential to have a positive environmental and social impact. Paradoxically, the designation of the Quebrada de Humahuaca as a World Heritage Site has created a series of adverse effects to the indigenous peoples of the region in context of globalization. The Gorge has become a tourist destination and opened the area to …

Mobility And Permanence Of Local Ethics: The Case Of Young Adults Involved In The Banco Palmas Economic Solidarity Movement, Lillian Steponaitis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The global capitalist model produces economic centers and peripheries on many scales. In Fortaleza, Brazil this pattern is evident, with the majority of the wealth and capital concentrated in central neighborhoods. As one travels to the edge of the municipality, one encounters economically and socially marginalized communities. One of these communities, Conjunto Palmeira, has attempted to mollify this exclusion by imagining and exploring new modes of existing and finding economic growth outside of the capitalist model. In 1998, the residents created Banco Palmas, a community bank. Operating under the philosophies of economic solidarity, Banco Palmas offers microcredit loans, circulates a …

¿Donde Están Los Padres De La Plaza De Mayo? La Militancia De Los Padres De Desaparecidos En Comparación Con Las Madres = Where Are The Fathers In The Plaza De Mayo? The Militancy Of The Fathers Of The “Disappeared” In Comparison To The Mothers, Iris Howorth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A military coup in March of 1976 led to a military dictatorship in Argentina that lasted until 1983. During the dictatorship, people the government considered “dissidents” became in danger of being a desaparecido, or one of the “disappeared.” The government systematically kidnapped, tortured, and killed people who were seen as a threat to the “Argentine way of life.” Although the kidnappings occasionally occurred in front of the family of the victim, the torturing and killing were all done secretly.

To bring attention to what had happened, mothers of the “disappeared” began publicly demonstrating and questioning the government about what had …

Amor Revolucionario: La Educación En Las Escuelas De Reingreso En Buenos Aires, Argentina., Cara Tratner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

¿Cómo cambia la educación cuando la cultura institucional está basada en el amor? Pregúntalo a un alumno de una escuela de reingreso en Buenos Aires y vas a encontrar que el resulto es mas que un cambio teórico: es una revolución. Este documental muestra la realidad sombría de los procesos de exclusión social que impiden garantizar el derecho a la educación para todos los jóvenes, y la introducción de una nueva estrategia de política educativa en las ocho escuelas de reingreso que se crearon en 2004 para reincorporar a los jóvenes afuera del sistema escolar. Para responder al fracaso de …

Percepciones De Género En La Medicina Mapuche: Machi, Matriarca, Y Colonización, Krista Douglass

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Gender is a social ordering principle; a definition of masculinity and femininity according to an individual culture. While in Chile gender identity is often shaped by machismo, the Mapuche cosmovision is without gender disparities. Rather, relationships between men and women are governed by principles of equality and duality, just as the Mapuche deities balance both male and female energies. Women hold very important roles in the community as the leaders of the medical community. Although both men and women participate in various roles within this profession, machi, the spiritual healers, are mostly women. Males, or wentru machi, …

Una Investigación De La Cultura Y La Identidad Mapuche En La Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, Jessica A. Howard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Durante una estadía de tres semanas en la localidad rural de Chapod se realizaron observaciones y entrevistas con alumnos, padres y profesores de la Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, además de entrevistas con estudiantes en práctica de la Universidad Católica de Temuco, realicé una investigación sobre la cultura e identidad Mapuche en este establecimiento educacional. Encontré que aunque los estudiantes dicen ser Mapuches, ellos no tienen una cultura ni identidad Mapuche y, por tanto, la cultura e identidad Mapuche no permanecen en la escuela de Chapod. Este establecimiento educacional está incorporando algunos elementos de la cultura Mapuche, pero a mi manera …

Mi Educacion, Mi Voz, Nuestro Futuro: Una Investigación Con El Uso Del Diálogo Para Ver Y Entender Las Conversaciones De Los Protagonistas Sobre Los Expectativas, Aspiraciones Y Participación De La Educación Secundaria, Hilary Pollan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

(From Introduction)

The aim of my research, then, is to see and understand how the protagonists of education, high school students participate in dialogue, why do we participate in the dialogue? and what they want resulting from a dialogue?. To accomplish this purpose, I applied a methodology of Paulo Freire for "the investigation of generative themes" of dialogue, so would not only be studying how and why we participate in dialogue, but also practicing it in my research. I made a day of dialogue, which involved seven students from different schools and public high schools, private subsidized and private pay. …

Bringing War Criminals To Justice And Justice To Victims: Mass Rape In Bosnia-Herzegovina And The Efficiency Of The Icty, Meredith Loken

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates if the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has been efficient in achieving its main objective of “bringing war criminals to justice [and] bringing justice to victims.” This study explores the historical context by which the ICTY was created, and therefore examines the disintegration of Yugoslavia, focusing specifically on the Bosnian War. During this conflict, rape was employed as a method of warfare; this paper presents a brief theoretical examination of rape as a war weapon and analyzes rape and sexual violence as explicit methods of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It explores the evolution of gender …

Marriage And Other Social Unions: A Study Of Marriage Alternatives And Cultural Trends In The Netherlands, Claire Harris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project investigates marriage and varying marriage alternatives available in the Netherlands and how societal norms and cultural taboos have affected these arrangements over the past fifty years. The high levels of acceptance in the Netherlands are used as a framework to explain the toleration of differing lifestyle and relationship choices, such as registered partnership, informal cohabitation, and same-sex marriage rights. Information was collected by conducting seven interviews with Dutch adults from different backgrounds with diverse views of and experiences with marriage and marriage alternatives. Secondary data on marriage rates in the Netherlands since 1960 were also used …

The Prospects Of Using Athrospira Platensis As A Malnutrition Treatment In Kenya, Kari N. Harris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to explore the current efforts using spirulina as a malnutrition treatment in Kenya. There are currently five spirulina cultivation sites that growing spirulina, four of which are located in the Nyanza Province. Their production and scope of advocacy efforts are limited. Some of the cultivation sites have a better quality control measures and strategic plan in place for expanding cultivation. Significant efforts need to be made to improve the scope of production and create links with nutrition experts in other non-governmental organizations and at the national level.

Transformación De La Mente: Desarrollando Una Conciencia De Empoderamiento Ideológico En Mujeres = Transformation Of The Mind: Developing A Consciousness Of Ideological Empowerment In Women, Amber Lakin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El objeto de esta investigación es estudiar cómo se hace el cambio mental en el empoderamiento. Esta pregunta se contesta primero por un estudio de la vida de Rosa Amelia, una mujer empoderada quien vive en la comunidad de Jocote en el país de Nicaragua. Esto sirve para averiguar cómo ocurre el proceso de empoderamiento ideológico. Después se examina por un análisis de su vida con la información suplementaria del proceso de otras tres mujeres de Jocote, Blanca Nubia, Cándida y Juana.

Esta investigación identifica cinco causas principales del empoderamiento ideológico: conocimiento, solidaridad, empoderamiento económico, la oportunidad de salir de …

Ending Generational Poverty: A Contemporary Application Of The Work Of Paulo Freire In Nicaragua, Los Angeles And Uganda, Nicole Broom

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Para disminuir el nivel de pobreza generacional en poblaciones marginalizadas, hay que explorar formas educativas alternativas porque los esfuerzos existentes no han mostrado una habilidad para reducir ese fenómeno. A pesar de las diferencias en geografía y el estatus socioeconómico de los países de origen de esas organizaciones, las siguientes instituciones comparten ciertos fundamentos filosóficos, muchos de los cuales corresponden a las teorías de Paulo Freire en Pedagogy of the Oppressed, que sirven como prácticas efectivas para servir a poblaciones marginalizadas: Pearl Lagoon’s Academy of Excellence en Laguna de Perlas, Nicaragua; Camino Nuevo Charter Academy en Los Ángeles, California; …

Semillas Y La Ciudad: La Agricultura Urbana En Oaxaca De Juárez Como Un Aporte A La Soberanía Alimentaria, Katie Oberwager

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto trata de examinar el movimiento creciente de la agricultura urbana en Oaxaca de Juárez, México como un aporte potencial a la soberanía alimentaria. Las políticas económicas en los Estados Unidos tienen un efecto directo en las vidas mexicanas, y esto es especialmente la verdad con los campesinos mexicanos. Por ejemplo, el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte ha causado la inundación de México con maíz barato. La mayoría de los campesinos mexicanos no pueden competir con estos precios bajos y han sido obligados a huir de su tierra en busca de trabajo en las ciudades o …

La Medicina Alternativa En Oaxaca: Su Coexistencia Con La Medicina Alópata, Katie Deeg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En este ensayo exploro la coexistencia entre la medicina alternativa y la alópata en Oaxaca y determino que, dada la relevancia cultural de la medicina alternativa y el estatus deficiente de la salud y servicios médicos en el estado, la promoción de la medicina alternativa es importante para ayudar a la gente a alcanzar la mejor calidad posible de salud. Primero presento una definición de la medicina alternativa dentro del contexto de Oaxaca y describo su presencia en Oaxaca. Considerando la naturaleza de la coexistencia entre la medicina alternativa y alópata, presento mis descubrimientos sobre la importancia de usar los …